The factors affecting biome distribution
I can understand how climate and local factors affect biome distribution.
The factors affecting biome distribution
I can understand how climate and local factors affect biome distribution.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- On a large-scale, climate is the main factor affecting the distribution of biomes.
- Local factors (altitude, rock and soil type and drainage) can affect local biome distribution.
- Biotic and abiotic components interact within biomes, reflecting these large-scale and small-scale factors.
Keywords
Climate - the average weather conditions (such as rainfall and temperature) recorded over a 30-year period
Altitude - the height above sea level
Drainage - the distribution, storage and movement of water in the environment
Common misconception
Within a given biome, the plants and animals are the same everywhere.
Small-scale variation occurs within global biomes due to local factors.
To help you plan your year 10 geography lesson on: The factors affecting biome distribution, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 geography lesson on: The factors affecting biome distribution, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 4 geography lessons from the Ecosystems, biomes and the biosphere unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Global biomes are large-scale ecosystems defined by their main type.
Q2.On which of these continents are tropical rainforests not found?
Q3.Which of these terms is used by geographers to refer to the spread of something?
Q4.The pattern of biomes is broadly latitudinal, with tropical rainforests near the and tundra nearer the poles.
Q5.Determine the biome from the following description of a biome's climate characteristics: high daytime but low night-time temperatures, plus extremely low rainfall across the year.
Q6.Which global biome would be most likely to have the climate characteristics shown in this climate graph?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Climate is the average weather conditions over a period of a minimum of years.
Q2.Why is it hotter at the Equator than at the poles?
Q3.Which key climatic factors influence the distribution of biomes?
Q4.Match these global climate zones to the biomes most likely to be found in them.
tropical rainforest
tropical grassland (savanna)
desert
temperate deciduous forest
coniferous forest