Biomes Of The World

50 Pages 12375 Words

ubstrates to animals as well. And soils in turn are much influenced by regional climates, as well as parent-rock geology.
The vegetation of an area is dependent on climate and soils and, in turn, influences very greatly both the plant and the animal species that can exist in a location. Vegetation varies in size and structure (physiognomy), in its seasonal manifestation, and in how it changes over time. Its importance is greater than the sum of its individual plant parts, as many species of animals, for example, are influenced greatly by the physical structure of the plant community, still others by the actual species of plants present.
A major component of the plants and animals in a region is their overall diversity, indicative of how many species can coexist there. This varies substantially both among and within bioclimatic zones, dependent on both climate and vegetation. In more diverse communities the degree and types of interactions among plants and animals are increased, with an increase in the number and complexity of stories to be told.
Plant and animal adaptations are the physical manifestations of organic evolution. Each individual is a collection of adaptations that allow it to function effectively in its environment, and these adaptations characterize the species to which it belongs. They are affected by all aspects of the environment, both physical (climate, water, substrate) and biological (other species as prey, predators, parasites, competitors or symbionts). Each species is unique, yet it shares particular types of adaptations with many other species. The generalities that can be expressed about these adaptations, if effectively presented, should reside in the brain as the conceptual file folders within which the individual species fact sheets can be stored.
Finally, as humans are significant in the world far out of proportion to being only one of millions of species in it, an interpretive element dealing with ...