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A fundamental classification of biomes is into:
# Terrestrial (or continental) biomes and
# Aquatic biomes.

Biomes are often given local names. For example, a Temperate Grassland Or Shrubland biome is known commonly as '' Steppe '' in central Asia , '' Savanna '' or Veld in southern Africa , '' Prairie '' in North America , '' Pampa '' in South America and '' Outback '' in Australia .


LATITUDE CLASSIFICATION


Latitude is a major climate-influencing factor determining biomes. There is a good correlation between the distribution of climates with latitude, and homogeneous vegetation bands. Another major factor is humidity. This can be illustrated by the fact that Biodiversity increases away from the poles towards the equator, and increases with Humidity .
The most widely used classification of biomes is related to latitude (or temperature zoning) and humidity


Arctic or subarctic area



Subarctic and boreal area



Temperate cold



Temperate warm or sub-tropical



Tropical



Aquatic




ALTITUDE AND LATITUDE CLASSIFICATION


Another system of classification takes into account altitude and humidity, ignoring temperature as a factor. This classification is used to define the Global 200 list of Ecoregion s identified by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as priorities for conservation.

This classification gives the following terrestrial biomes :



OTHER BIOMES


The Endolith ic biome, consisting entirely of microscopic life in rock Pore s and cracks, Kilometer s beneath the surface, has only recently been discovered and does not fit well into most classification schemes.


SEE ALSO



EXTERNAL LINK

Biomes of the world (Missouri Botanic Garden)