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CLIMATES AND HABITATS

Climates

All About Climate | National Geographic Society

Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a given area. Climate is determined by a region's climate system. This is made up of 5 components:

  • Atmosphere

  • Hydrosphere

  • Cryosphere

  • Land surface

  • Biosphere

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Climate Features

The most prominent features of a climate are the temperature, and the precipitation. Other features include:

  • Humidity

  • Windiness

  • Atmospheric pressure

  • Cloud cover

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Köppen Classification System

The most widely accepted classification system, the Köppen system details 5 major climate groups, which are subsequently split into more concise systems:

  • Tropical

    • Wet (Rainforest)​

    • Monsoon

    • Wet and dry (Savannah)

  • Mild

    • Mediterranean​

    • Humid subtropical

    • Marine

  • Dry

    • Arid​

    • Semi-arid

  • Continental

    • Warm summer

    • Cool summer

    • Subarctic (Boreal)

  • Polar

    • Tundra​

    • Ice cap

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Tropical

  • Tropical Wet

    • Also known as Rainforests​

    • They have warm weather and regular rainfall (150cm annually)

    • Coolest temperatures range from 20 to 23 Celsius and can reach to between 30 to 33 Celsius

  • Tropical Monsoon

    • A wind system that reverses its direction every 6 months​

    • Bring large amounts of rainfall in summer

    • Often experience flooding during the wet season

  • Tropical Wet and Dry

    • Some years have light rains​

    • Other years there are heavy rains

    • May experience flooding

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Dry

  • Low rainfall

  • Experience record high temperatures up to 60 Celsius

  • Some arid areas never experience rainfall

  • Not humid

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Mild

  • Also known as Temperate

  • Have distinct cold seasons

  • Mediterranean

    • Warm summers and short, rainy winters​

    • Clear skies

    • Cool nights

    • Little rain

  • Humid Subtropical

    • Summers are hot and humid​

    • Winters are severely cold

    • Precipitation is spread evenly throughout the year

    • Hurricanes and other violent storms are common

  • Marine

    • Long cool winters

    • Temperature average around 5 Celsius in winter​

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Continental

  • Extreme seasonal change

  • Where most weather phenomena occur

    • Fall colours​

    • Thunderstorms

    • Tornadoes

  • Warm Summer

    • Wet summer seasons​

  • Cool Summer

    • Low temperatures​

    • Cool winters

  • Subarctic

    • Long, cold winters​

    • Little precipitation

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Polar​

  • Tundra

    • Temperatures can average 10 Celsius in July​

    • Wildflowers

    • Migratory birds

    • Insect-rich grass and fish-rich seas

    • Whales

  • Ice Cap

    • Few creatures​

    • Temperatures rarely rise above freezing

    • Clear skies

    • Low precipitation

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High Elevation

  • Upland and Highland

    • Both are defined by having very different temperatures and precipitation​

    • Often different at the base of the ground and the highland area

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Habitats

Biomes | National Geographic Society

Biome - Wikipedia

A habitat, or biome, is classified by the plants and animals living there. Other information, like temperature, soil, and the amount of water, can help determine what life exists in a habitat. Habitats can be made up of many ecosystems, the ways in which creatures interact with one another. Though habitats are sometimes more concisely defined, such as a tropical rainforest, the widely agreed base classifications are:

  • Forest

  • Grassland

  • Freshwater

  • Marine

  • Desert

  • Tundra

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Olson and Dinerstein Biomes for WWF

A team of biologists formed by the WWF developed a scheme to divide the Earth's land masses into biogeographical zones, called ecozones, and divide them further into ecoregions. 

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Terrestrial

  • Forests

    • Moist broadleaf forests (tropical and subtropical, humid)​

    • Dry broadleaf forests (tropical and subtropical, semi-humid)

    • Coniferous forests (tropical and subtropical, semi-humid)

    • Broadleaf and mixed forests (temperate, humid to semi-humid)

    • Coniferous forests (temperate, humid to semi-humid)

    • Boreal forests/taiga (subarctic, humid)

    • Mediterranean forests, Woodlands and Scrub forests (temperate warm, semi-humid to semi-arid with winter rainfall)

    • Mangrove (tropical and subtropical, salt water inundated)

  • Grasslands

    • Grasslands, Savannas and Shrublands (tropical and subtropical, semi-arid)

    • Grasslands, Savannas and Shrublands (temperate, semi-arid)

    • Flooded Grasslands, Savannas (temperate to tropical, fresh or brackish water inundated)

      • Brackish being saltier than freshwater, but not as salty as seawater​

    • Grasslands and Shrublands (alpine or montane climate)

  • Desert

    • Deserts or Xeric Shrublands (temperate to tropical, arid)​

      • Xeric being dry, or lack of much water​

  • Tundra

    • Tundra (arctic)​

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Freshwater

  • Large lakes

  • Large river deltas

  • (Polar) freshwaters

  • (Montane) freshwaters

  • Coastal rivers (temperate)

  • Coastal rivers (tropical and subtropical)

  • Floodplain rivers and Wetlands (temperate)

  • Floodplain rivers and Wetlands (tropical and subtropical)

  • Upland rivers (temperate, upland)

  • Upland rivers (tropical and subtropical, upland)

  • Xeric freshwaters

  • Oceanic islands

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Marine

  • Polar

  • Temperate shelves and seas

  • Tropical coral

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Heinrich Walter Zonobiomes

  • Considers the seasonality of temperature and precipitation

  • It finds nine biome types, with defined soil and vegetation types

  • Equatorial

    • Always moist, with little temperature seasonality​

    • Soil type: Equatorial brown clays

  • Tropical

    • Summer rainy season, cooler dry season​​

    • Soil type: ​Red clays or red earths

  • Subtropical

    • Highly seasonal, arid​

    • Soil type: Sierozemes

      • Adequate fertility, good water-physiological properties​

      • Salty layer, shallow, good drainage

  • Mediterranean

    • Wet winters and dry summers​

    • Soil type: Mediterranean brown earths

  • Warm temperate

    • Occasional frosts, high summer rainfall​

    • Soil type: Yellow or red forest soils, slightly podzolic soils

      • Moderate leaching, clay and iron​

  • Continental Summer

    • Moderate climate with winter freezing​

    • Soil type: Forest brown earths and grey forest soils

  • Continental

    • Arid, with hot summers and cold winters​

    • Soil type: Chernozems to sierozems

      • Chernozems: fertile black soil rich in hummus and a lighter lime-rich layer beneath​

  • Boreal

    • Cold temperate with long cool winters​

    • Soil type: Podzols

  • Polar

    • Long cold winters​

    • Soil type: Tundra humus soils with permafrost soils

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