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biome
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terrestrial biomes of the world
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Chutes d'Ekom - a waterfall on the Nkam river in the rainforest near Melong, in the western highlands of Cameroon in Africa.
Ecosystems
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Ghost forest along the Lewis Gut - a stream along the coast near Core Point, North Carolina. Photographed in 2022
Ghost Forests Are Becoming the New Haunts of Climate Change
Majestic sequoias in Sequoia National Park. (trees; sunlight; forest; conifers; sequoia tree)
Saving the World’s Largest Trees
Camel caravan moving across the Sahara desert sand dunes, Morocco, North Africa
How Do Deserts Form?
Discover
Shah Jahan. Taj Mahal. Mughal architecture. Emperor Shah Jahan fifth Mughal Emperor (reigned 1628-1658) India, Himachal Pradesh, Basohli or Jammu and Kashmir, Mankot, circa 1690 Drawings; Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper (see notes)
6 Important Mughal Emperors
Odissi Indian classical female dancer on white background. (Indian dancer; classical dancer; Indian dance)
6 Classical Dances of India
Title: Senate Square, St. Petersburg, December 14, 1825: repression of the troop mutiny - watercolor by Carl Ivanovitch Kollman, 1825 depicts Decembrist uprising clashing with cavalry, with spectators watching. (new style December 26, 1825) Europe. Saint
8 of the Largest Empires in History
Chapter 4 pg 42 - Chapter header of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Published in 1884 by The American Publishing Company
Periods of American Literature
Sailboat against a beautiful landscape
Which Waters Do You Pass Through When You “Sail the Seven Seas”?
Secret Service Agent Listens To Earpiece
Secret Service Code Names of 11 U.S. Presidents
Orange basketball on black background and with low key lighting. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time
terrestrial biomes of the world
terrestrial biomes of the world Worldwide distribution of major terrestrial biomes.

biome

biology
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Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Also known as: formation, major life zone
Written by
Adam Augustyn
Adam Augustyn was a senior editor at Encyclopædia Britannica.
Adam Augustyn
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: • Article History
Also called:
major life zone
Key People:
Victor Ernest Shelford

biome, the largest geographic biotic unit, a major community of plants and animals with similar life forms and environmental conditions. It includes various communities and is named for the dominant type of vegetation, such as grassland or coniferous forest. Several similar biomes constitute a biome type—for example, the temperate deciduous forest biome type includes the deciduous forest biomes of Asia, Europe, and North America. “Major life zone” is the European phrase for the North American biome concept.

(Read E.O. Wilson’s Britannica essay on mass extinction.)

Adam Augustyn