GrasslandGrasslands are a wide range of land that is made of grass entirely. Mountains rose in western North America which created a favorable climate to grasslands. This occurred in the Miocene and Pilocene Epochs, spanned a period of 25 million years ago where ancient forests were replaced by grasslands.
Following the Pleistocene Ice Ages, grasslands expanded in range as hotter and drier climates prevailed worldwide. |
Chaparral A chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily on 8% of the California land. Chaparrals rely heavily on Mediterranean climate to maintain its shape. The lands feature summer-drought-tolerant plants and evergreen leaves, s contrasted with the associated soft-leaved drought. The name comes from the Spanish word for scrub oak, "chaparro."
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DesertDeserts cover about one fifth of the Earth's surface and occur where rainfall is less than 50 cm/year. Although most deserts, such as the Sahara of North Africa and the deserts of the southwestern U.S., Mexico, and Australia, occur at low latitudes, another kind of desert, cold deserts, occur in the basin and range area of Utah and Nevada and in parts of western Asia. Most deserts have a considerable amount of specialized vegetation, as well as specialized vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Soils often have abundant nutrients because they need only water to become very productive and have little or no organic matter. Disturbances are common in the form of occasional fires or cold weather, and sudden, infrequent, but intense rains that cause flooding.
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Temperate evergreen forests are found in areas with warm summers and cool winters. They vary enormously in their kinds of plant life. Needleleaf trees dominate in some of these forests, while others are home primarily to broadleaf evergreen trees or a mix of both tree types.Temperate evergreen forests are common in the coastal areas of regions that have mild winters and heavy rainfall, or inland in drier climates or montane areas. Many species of trees inhabit these forests including pine, cedar, fir, and redwood. |