Vegetation Regions

• Based on the ecosystems they support• Ecosystem = biome

Forestlands• Categorized by the type of tree they support:• Deciduous trees: aka broadleaf trees.

• Shed their leaves at least once a year• Almost exclusively in the northern hemisphere

• The rainforest is covered with broadleaf trees (usually stay green all year)• Coniferous trees: aka needleleaf trees.

• “cone-bearing” trees• Northern regions of North America, Asia, and Europe

Grasslands

• Mostly flat, very few trees, grassy plains• Tropical grassland, called savanna• Northern hemisphere, called steppe or prairie• Southern hemisphere, called papmas

Desert and Tundra• Plants in these extreme climates are specially adapted to tolerate the dry or cold conditions.• Tundra:• Plants that hug the ground:

mosses, lichen

• Desert: plants that can conserve water and withstand heat:• Cacti, sagebrush, shrubs