Natural Vegetation and Wildlife

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Definition of Natural Vegetation

• The term natural vegetation grouping of plants which has developed in an area without human interference.

Definition Of Wildlife

• The term wildlife refers to living organisms that are not in any way artificial or domesticated and which exist in natural habitats.

Types Natural Vegetation and Wildlife

• Rain Forests• Deciduous Forests• Mediterranean Forests• Coniferous Forests• Tropical Grasslands• Desert• Tundra

Rain Forests

• A rainforest is a place roughly within 28 degrees north or south of the equator.

• Minimum normal annual rainfall between 175 cm (69 in) and 200 cm (79 in) occurs in this climate region.

• Mean monthly temperatures exceed 18 °C (64 °F) during all months of the year .

• Rainforests are home to half of all the living animal and plant species on the planet.

Vegetation• Emergent trees are 100 to 120 feet tall. They form umbrella shaped canopies

that grow above the canopy of the forest. They have small pointed leaves. • A closed canopy of 80-foot tall trees. Light is available at the top and greatly

diminished below it. • A closed canopy of 60-foot tall trees. There is high humidity and restricted

air movement. • Shrub layer. Very little light is available. • There are litter and wet leaves at the bottom of the forest layer.

Deciduous Forests

• The monsoon deciduous forests are found in areas receiving annual rainfall of 100 to 200 cms in India, with a distinct dry and rainy seasons and a small range of temperature.

• They occur on the wetter western side of the Deccan Plateau, the north-eastern part of the Deccan Plateau and the lower slopes of the Himalayas, on the Siwalik Hills from Jammu in the west to West Bengal in the east.

Vegetation

• Trees of this biome include both broadleaf, deciduous trees, such as maple, oak, hickory, and beech, and evergreens, such as hemlock, spruce, and fir.

• A deciduous forest typically has three to four, and sometimes five, layers of plant growth.

Wildlife

• Wolves• Eastern Chipmunk • Newt • Dholes • Turkey • Mallard Duck • Mountain Lions • Collared Peccary • Skunks• Wood Mice • Salamander

Mediterranean Forests

• Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub is a temperate biome, characterized by dry summers and rainy winters. Summers are typically hot in low-lying inland locations but can be cool near some seas, as near San Francisco, which have a sea of cool waters. Winters are typically mild to cool in low-lying locations but can be cold in inland and higher locations.

Vegetation

• The vegetation of Mediterranean forests consists of broad leaved plants.

Wildlife

• The wildlife in this region consists of rare birds like golden eagle. Also found are the spiny mouse and the wild goat.

Coniferous Forests

• They are also called Taiga, which in the Russian language means untouched. They exist in northern hemisphere between 50° and

70°.

Vegetation• On the Pacific coast coniferous forests grow the tallest stand

of trees in the world called the redwoods. • These trees form a narrow zone in a fog belt along the

northern California coast. • Many of these trees are higher than 300 feet. The tallest

redwood in the world is 368 feet tall. • These trees can have a diameter of five to eight feet.

Wildlife• Beaver • Bald Eagle • Brown Bear • Ground Squirrel • Red-Tailed Hawk • Snow Leopard • Black Bear • Spotted Owl • Otter• Earth Worm • Timber Wolf • Porcupine • Bob Cat • Red Fox • Raccoon

Tropical Grasslands

Tropical Grasslands

• Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants.

• The climate here is mainly mordrate.

Vegetation

• Grasses are the dominant vegetation. • Trees and large shrubs are largely absent.• The various species of grasses include purple needle grass,

blue grama, buffalo grass, and galleta. Flowers include asters, blazing stars, coneflowers, goldenrods, sunflowers, clovers, psoraleas, and wild indigos.

Wildlife

• Prairie dog • Coyote • Gray wolf • Red-tailed hawk• Llama • Opossum • Pampas deer

Desert

• A dry, often sandy region of little rainfall, extreme temperatures, and sparse vegetation.

Vegetation

• Many of the fascinating features of desert plants are adaptations -- traits that help the plant survive in its harsh environment. Desert plants have two main adaptations:

• Ability to collect and store water • Features that reduce water loss

Wildlife • Amphibians

Sonoran Desert ToadArthropodsArizona Bark ScorpionBlack Widow Spider (Western)BirdsCactus WrenGreater RoadrunnerLappet-Faced VultureOstrichMammalsCaracalBlack-Tailed JackrabbitFennec FoxKangaroo RatMeerkatPronghornSpotted HyenaReptilesSidewinder RattlesnakeTexas Banded GeckoTexas Horned Lizard

Tundra

• In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons.

Vegetation

• Considering the extremely inhospitable conditions of the tundra biome, there are as many as 1,700 different plant species that grow here.

• The tundra plants consist mostly of mosses, grasses, lichens, sedges, and shrubs. About 400 types of flowers bloom in the growing season, which lasts just for 50-60 days.

Wildlife

• Even though there is not much biodiversity, with only about 48 species of land mammals occurring in the tundra biome, there are surprisingly large numbers of each species.

• The tundra animals mainly are slightly modified forms of deer, bears, foxes, wolves, rodents, hares, and shrews.

Thanks to ….. Wikipedia DK family encyclopedia www.biomes.com www.dictonary.com