biomeA huge community of living things shaped by climate. The same biome can turn up on several continents: grasslands are found on every one but Antarctica.
climateA region's usual round of seasons and weather. A climate is usually worked out from 30 years of weather records.
deciduous forestWoods whose leaves change color and drop each year. Oaks, maples and beeches grow there. The biome has four seasons, with hot summers and cold winters.
desertThe driest biome, where little rain ever falls. A desert gets 250 millimeters of rain a year or less, about 10 inches. Cactuses, small bushes and short grasses grow there.
grasslandA biome covered mostly by grasses, with few trees. Grasslands are called prairie in North America, pampas in South America and steppe in Eurasia. They get 500 to 900 millimeters (20 to 35 inches) of rain a year.
permafrostSoil that stays frozen right through the summer. To count as permafrost, ground must stay frozen for two years or more. It lies under about 15 percent of the land of the Northern Hemisphere.
Show all 36 terms (30 more)
Land biomes, continued
precipitationAny water, liquid or frozen, that the clouds let fall. Rainforests get the most of any biome, 2,000 to 10,000 millimeters (79 to 394 inches) a year. Deserts get the least.
rainforestA thick, tall forest that gets very heavy rainfall. There are two kinds, tropical and temperate. A tropical rainforest stays warm and free of frost all year.
shrublandLand covered mostly by shrubs, with few tall trees. The shrubland biome has hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters, and its plants are adapted to fire. In California it is called chaparral.
taigaThe cold forest biome of needle-leaved evergreens. It is also called boreal forest or snow forest, and it is the world's largest land biome. Pines, spruces and larches are its main trees.
tundraThe coldest biome, too harsh for trees to grow. The word came into English from Russian. Mosses, lichens, grasses and low shrubs grow there.
vegetationThe plant cover of a region, from moss to tall trees. A biome is usually named for its main vegetation: grass in a grassland, trees in a forest.
More biomes, land and water 12
cloud forestA damp forest high up, often hidden in low cloud. Cloud forests are found mostly in the tropics and subtropics. Moss often covers the ground and the trees.
cold desertA desert with cold winters, where snow can fall. Parts of Utah and Nevada are cold desert. Much of the land near the poles gets so little rain or snow that it counts as desert too.
estuaryThe tidal end of a river, part fresh and part salt. Brackish water is fresh water mixed with salt water. Estuaries are among the most productive places on Earth, and many animals breed or stop to feed in them.
freshwater biomeThe biome of inland waters, from ponds to big rivers. Lakes, streams and many wetlands belong to it too. Fresh water is usually less than 1 percent salt.
intertidal zoneThe band of coast that the tides cover and uncover. It can be a steep rocky ledge or a long, gently sloping beach or mudflat. The things that live there spend part of each day under water and part in the open air.
marine biomeThe biome of the salty seas, the largest on Earth. Sea water covers more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface and holds more than 97 percent of its water.
open oceanThe waters far out from any coast. Scientists call it the pelagic zone, from the Greek word for open sea. Whales, sharks and tuna live there.
riparian zoneThe strip of land along the banks of a river. Riparian comes from the Latin ripa, a river bank. The plants of the bank filter the water that runs off the land.
savannaA warm grassy plain dotted with scattered trees. The trees stand far enough apart that sunlight reaches the ground, so grass grows in an unbroken layer beneath them.
seagrass meadowAn underwater field of grass-like flowering plants. Seagrass grows in shallow water along coasts and in estuaries. The meadows shelter young fish, shrimp, seahorses and sea turtles.
tropical dry forestA warm forest that goes leafless in the dry season. It is warm all year but has a dry season that lasts several months. Dropping their leaves keeps trees such as teak from losing water.
wetlandGround that lies under shallow water or stays soggy. Marshes, swamps and bogs are wetlands. Wetlands soak up floodwater and filter the water that passes through them.
What shapes a biome 12
abiotic factorA nonliving part of a habitat, such as sunlight. Water, temperature, soil and light are abiotic factors.
aquaticLiving in water, or having to do with water. The two main kinds of aquatic biome are freshwater and marine. Water is seldom in short supply for the things that live in them.
climatographA chart of a place's temperature and rain by month. It shows two things for each month: the average temperature and the average precipitation. It is also spelled climograph.
dormancyA long pause in which a living thing stops growing. Dormancy saves energy through a hard season. Many plants take shorter days and falling temperatures as the signal that winter is coming.
dry seasonThe part of the year that brings hardly any rain. In much of the tropics the year is split into a dry season and a wet season. The belt of tropical rain moves north and south over the year.
ecotoneThe zone where two biomes meet and blend. An estuary, where a river meets the sea, is an ecotone. An ecotone can be a broad, gradual blend or a sharp line.
elevationHow high the ground stands, with the ocean as zero. High on a mountain it is too cold and harsh for trees. The treeless land up there is called alpine tundra.
faunaEvery kind of animal that lives in a region. Scientists name a fauna for its place, as in the Sonoran Desert fauna. The matching word for plants is flora.
growing seasonThe part of the year when plants can grow. It lasts as long as there is enough warmth, rain and daylight. The tundra has almost no trees partly because its growing season is so short.
latitudeThe angle that fixes how far north or south a spot is. It is 0 degrees along the equator and 90 degrees at the North and South Poles. Forests are grouped by it: tropical, temperate and boreal.
terrestrialLiving on land, or having to do with land. Tundra, taiga, grassland and desert are terrestrial biomes. Their temperatures swing more through the day and the year than those of water biomes.
wet seasonThe months of the year when most of the rain falls. It lasts at least a month. Savannas get one wet season and one dry season a year. Lands with a Mediterranean climate have wet winters and dry summers.
How this list was compiled: Term list chosen for this site on 2026-10-12. Each meaning is written in our own words and was checked that day against the article on the term in the English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: Biome, Climate, Precipitation, Vegetation, Tundra, Permafrost, Taiga, Desert, Grassland, Rainforest, Temperate deciduous forest, Shrubland, Chaparral, Savanna, Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, Cloud forest, Freshwater ecosystem, Marine ecosystem, Estuary, Wetland, Riparian zone, Intertidal zone, Seagrass meadow, Pelagic zone, Terrestrial ecosystem, Aquatic ecosystem, Abiotic component, Fauna, Latitude, Elevation, Alpine tundra, Growing season, Wet season, Dry season, Climograph, Ecotone and Dormancy. Climatograph and ecotone were also read in Wiktionary, the free dictionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/). The land biomes and their figures for temperature and rainfall were checked a second time against Mission: Biomes of NASA's Earth Observatory (https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/biome: tundra, coniferous forest, temperate deciduous forest, rainforest, grassland, shrubland and desert), and the kinds of biome, cold deserts, savannas, alpine tundra, fresh water and the grouping of forests by latitude against The world's biomes of the University of California Museum of Paleontology (https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/index.php and its pages on deserts, forests, grasslands, tundra, freshwater and marine). Estuaries, wetlands and the intertidal zone were checked against the ocean facts of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/: What is an estuary?, What is a wetland?, What is the intertidal zone?) and What is a Wetland? of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/what-wetland). The fact after each meaning is from the same pages. Licence: own work
How it works
This biome vocabulary worksheet lists biome, climate, precipitation, vegetation, tundra, permafrost, taiga, desert, grassland, rainforest, deciduous forest and shrubland beside their meanings in another order. The key prints as the last page.
Read the full guide
More biomes, land and water
Set opens on Land biomes. The second set has savanna, tropical dry forest, cloud forest, cold desert, freshwater biome, marine biome, estuary, wetland, riparian zone, intertidal zone, seagrass meadow and open ocean.
What shapes a biome
The third set has terrestrial, aquatic, abiotic factor, fauna, latitude, elevation, growing season, wet season, dry season, climatograph, ecotone and dormancy.
Canopy, forest floor and the animals of each biome are on the biome word search.
Questions and answers
How many biomes are there?
It depends on who is counting. The University of California Museum of Paleontology groups them into six: freshwater, marine, desert, forest, grassland and tundra. NASA's Earth Observatory describes seven on land alone, with three kinds of forest and shrubland.
What is the difference between tundra and taiga?
Trees. The tundra is too cold, and its growing season too short, for them to grow. The taiga to its south is forest, mostly of pines, spruces and larches. The boundary between the two is called the tree line.
What determines the biome of a place?
Mostly its climate: how warm it is and how much rain or snow it gets. Latitude and elevation shape the climate in turn, which is why the top of a high mountain can be as treeless as the Arctic.