HOW HAVE PLANTS ADAPTED TO DIFFERENT BIOMES ACROSS THE WORLD?

Temperate deciduous woodlands

Tropical rainforests

Hot desert

How have plants adapted to different biomes across the world?

Plants are everywhere and in every country. There are millions of plant species and they are all essential to the earth. Even though no plant is the same they all have one thing in common- water, sun light and space are crucial for survival. However, when these essentials are increased or decreased, plants are forced to adapt to new surroundings. There are three main types of biomes that they need to adapt to. They are the tropical rainforest, deciduous forest and the hot desert.

The tropical rainforests have the most diverse population of plant species. Over 70% of plants in the rainforest are trees. Many of the trees have straight trunks that do not branch out for 100 feet or more; there is no point in growing branches below the canopy because there is very little light. A vast majority of the trees have smooth, thin bark, as there is no need to protect them from water loss and freezing temperatures. It also makes it difficult for epiphytes and plant parasites to get a hold on the trunks.

With over 80 inches of rain per year, plants have made adaptations that help them shed water off their leaves quickly so the branches are not weighed down and break. Some leaves have oily coatings to shed water. Some trees have leaf stalks that turn with the movement of the sun so they always absorb the maximum amount of light. Leaves in the upper canopy are dark green, small and leathery to reduce water loss in the strong sunlight.

Lianas are thick vines that climb trees, trekking 3000 feet up the sides of trees, trying to avoid being hunted by dreaded loggers. They have thick woody stems and vary in length and shape. They begin life

on the leafy floor, relying on the surrounding trees for support as they begin their journey; they do this by attaching themselves with sucker roots and growing with other young sapling. Once the journey is complete, they spread themselves onto other trees or join other Lianas who have succeeded in the journey to find light.

Epiphytes forget about putting their roots into the soil, instead they sink their roots into branches much higher up. They grow everywhere, on tree trunks and even leaves, mainly on branches. Epiphytes begin their life in the canopy of the rainforest. They rely on being transported by wind or birds.

Bromeliads are in the same family as the pineapple. They have a thick waxy layer of leaves that form a bowl shape, used for catching rainwater; some can hold up to several gallons of water at a time. They can be mini eco systems in them selves. Bromeliads are home to frogs, salamanders, snails, beetles and larvae. When the animals die, they are decomposed and supply the plants with nutrients.

Strangler figs send their long roots to the ground; they choose their victim and start to suffocate the poor tree within. Once the tree inside has died and decomposed, an enormous upright strangler fig is left in its place. By using an adult tree as its host, the strangler tree cleverly avoids competition for light and nutrients on the ground level.

The rainforest is home to hundreds of different types of adaptations. Here are a few more of them.Rainforests have a shallow layer of fertile soil, so trees only need shallow roots to reach the nutrients. However, shallow roots cannot support huge rainforest trees; so many trees have developed huge buttress roots. These stretch from the ground to two metres or more up the trunk and help to anchor the tree to the ground.

Another type of biome is a deciduous forest. Deciduous forests deciduous trees are trees that shed their leaves once a year at the approach of a cold or dry season and later grow new leaves. Deciduous trees usually have broad leaves e.g. ash, beech, birch, maple

and oak. In summers their broad green leaves help capture sunlight needed to make food through photosynthesis. They do not have a problem with sunlight like the rainforest, because the leaves are much smaller, more light can get to them.

As temperatures drop, the tree cuts off the supply of water to the leaves and seals off the area between the leaf stem and the tree trunk. With limited sunlight and water, the leaves are unable to photosynthesise causing leaves to change to the beautiful red, yellow and orange leaf colours of autumn. When the leaves fall from the tree, they are decomposed into the soil by earthworms and other decomposers. This makes the soil more fertile and gives it nutrients.

In the winter, it is too cold for the trees to protect their leaves from freezing, so they simply loose them. Before the leaves die, some of the food material they contain is absorbed into the twigs and branches where it is stored and used the following spring. The warmer temperatures of spring signal to the trees that they can grow new leaves again, and restart the cycle. Some examples of trees and plants in a deciduous woodland forest are:

Trees include Maple, many Oaks, Elm, Aspen, and Birch. These are very common in typical deciduous woodlands.

The hot desert is arguably one of the hottest and driest places on earth. It is hard to imagine anything surviving there. With the location very close to the equator, the daytime can reach temperatures over 40 degrees, and at night can fall to freezing. Therefore, plants must have a unique way of surviving these massive drops in temperature.

Deserts have a limited range of plants that are able to survive in their conditions, unlike other biomes, which have unlimited numbers of plants.

The plants such as the cactus in the hot desert are succulents. This means that they are able to store water in their leaves, roots and stem. Plants have long roots that are able to tap into water that is deep underground. They have short life cycles; the plant will stop growing until there are better conditions for them to continue their growth. They have fewer leaves and more spines, not only do they offer protection, they have a smaller surface area and this helps reduce the amount of water lost. In addition, plants are coated to keep the water on this inside instead of the out. Plants are almost all ground-hugging shrubs and short woody trees. All of the leaves are packed with nutrients. Some examples of these kinds of plant are Turpentine Bush, Prickly Pears, and Brittle Bush.

Therefore, biomes across the world are completely different to one another. From the Amazon rainforest, the Sahara desert and the deciduous woodlands of Europe there is no doubt that each plant has cleverly adapted to their surroundings. Avoiding the obstacles that Mother Nature made has tested their skills to the limit. Some more than others but nevertheless all of them are unique.