What is a biome?

In many articles and documentaries of nature the word biome is named, but what is a biome? Sounds like something related to ecosystems, something that has to do with life (hence the prefix bio-). However, more than related to biology and natural sciences, it is a concept used in climatology.
What is a biome?
Biome is then defined as a geographic area, usually large in size, in which groups of animals and plants are found that can remain there due to their ability to adapt to the environment. That is, they are able to live in the environment around them even if there are changes in conditions.

The variable that determines the area of ​​distribution of animal and plant species is the climate. The conditions created by the climate are those that favor the formation of a certain type of soil. Thanks to the type of soil it can give rise to certain species of plants and, in turn, different species of animals can be developed. Therefore, it is the weather that conditions the biome.

Biomass characteristics

Now that you know what a biome is, let's see its most outstanding features. Due to the action of man and the negative effects of climate change, changes in climate characteristics occur. 

As changes occur in the climate and in the specific areas where animals and plants develop, they can be threatened. Many of the species that live in these places are able to adapt and survive in the face of new conditions and new scenarios, but, unfortunately, not all species have the same capacity to adapt and die.

Biomes significantly affect the characteristics of natural environments. When a biome harbors large numbers of individuals of a given species, they can dominate over other species and cause them to fight for their survival. 

However, on the contrary, if there is little abundance of a certain plant species in the biome, and there are animals that need them as food, this will be an important limiting factor for the survival of the animal species. That is why biomes condition the lives of many living things.

That is why it is vitally important to learn and know as much as possible about these biomes because human actions can alter the natural balance of the elements that compose it. There are many species that live in a biome and many of them we barely have knowledge about their way of life, etc. 

However, it is important to keep them just as we know and know how they work since some of the species that inhabit the biomes, although some are large living beings and others are extremely small, are extremely dependent on each other.

For a biome to be recognized as such there are numerous variables to consider. The first thing is that the climate of place is evaluated since there cannot be too many variables that condition it. On the other hand, the geographical distribution of a particular area affects the biomes that compose it. 

Therefore, it is important to discover the type of adaptation that an animal or a plant can have in order to continue to thrive in a biomedespite the changes that can occur in him due to the actions of the human being and the natural ones. 

It is also important to know the adaptation of each species because we are not only referring to the physical changes that can occur but to the changes in behavior. These behaviors can be studied in order to know the key indicators to see how a living being is able to adapt to changes in the environment.

Plants and animals, separately, but at the same time together, work to be able to constitute the different biomes that exist in the world. We say that they are separated, because plants are organisms other than animals, with a totally different behavior and physiology. What unites them both is that many species of plants depend on animals to pollinate and disperse their seeds and often, animals depend on plants as a source of food.

The importance of biomes

In the society we have today, so urbanized and industrialized, it is difficult to see the vital importance of plants in the world. There are many people who do not believe that plants play such an important role on the planet. 

The most important thing that makes plants vital in our lives is that without them, animal life on Earth would die.That is, herbivorous animals could not feed and therefore, carnivorous animals would not have food. The chain would break and the functioning of natural ecosystems would be destroyed. 

That would also affect us. That is, we consume many plants to obtain nutrients for our health and our proper functioning. But we also consume animals, which is why plants and animals are fundamental to life on the planet. However, plants alone, many of them, if they could survive without animals.

Biomes and their importance

We must also mention that one of the essential elements we need to live both ourselves and the rest of living beings is oxygen. This is produced by plants, so we have another reason to say that they are very important in life on the planet. Seen in another way, plants need the carbon dioxide exhaled by animals to be able to do photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a key process for all forms of animal and plant life and, of course, ours.

Factors that determine biomes

Two important factors that determine the animals and plants that live in any biome are temperatures and rainfall. Depending on the temperature range and annual rainfall levels that exist in the biome, the number of species that can live there will depend.

We must also mention competition between species as a determining factor in a biome. Many species of animals and plants cannot live in a certain biome because other species prevent it. Many times they compete for food and other times for territory.

As we have mentioned above, the most important factor for the survival of the species is the climate. That is why we do not find biomes such as deserts and rain forests. The climate has all the control over what you will live and grow in any biome and it can also change depending on the rotation of the Earth, that is why some areas have rainy seasons and in other periods of the year they are hot and dry.

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