Biome definition and ecosystem relationship

Summary

A biome is a distinct geographical region characterized by a particular combination of climate, vegetation, animal life, and ecosystem conditions. It is formed by a biological community that develops in response to the region’s physical environment and regional climate. The concept was broadened historically to include climatic and soil factors (and later the ecosystem framing), and it has been widely used to map and compare large-scale ecological patterns across the world. Biomes are closely tied to ecosystems because a biome can be understood as a large-scale grouping of ecosystems that share similar environmental conditions and biological community structure. Classification schemes often use climate variables—especially temperature and precipitation—to delineate biome types, since boundaries between biomes are not sharply defined and must be drawn using averaged conditions. Different researchers have proposed various biome classification systems (e.g., based on humidity/temperature, temperature–precipitation gradients, or seasonality), reflecting that biomes are ecological outcomes of interacting physical factors and living communities.

Key Points

• 1

  A biome is a large geographic unit defined by shared climate, vegetation, animal life, and ecosystem characteristics.

• 2

  Biomes relate to ecosystems because they represent groups of ecosystems shaped by physical environment and regional climate, with boundaries that are necessarily approximate.

• 3

  Many biome classification approaches rely on climate variables (temperature, precipitation, moisture, seasonality) to predict vegetation structure and associated animal communities.