An animal or plant in a particular natural area. Description of natural areas

In the minds of most people, the image of the country's nature is closely connected with a certain type of vegetation or with characteristic (special) animals for a given territory. To compile a geographic characteristic, it is enough to consider geography natural zones  land (natural zones in the ocean are not allocated). The term "natural area" is used to mean natural complexes  on the plains; in the mountains, natural complexes are called high-altitude belts. A complete complex (geographical) characteristic of a natural complex of this level includes a description of all the components of nature. Usually, several natural zones are located in the country. The names of natural zones and altitudinal zones are determined by the type of vegetation, prevailing in them.

Characteristic fauna  in the country it is advisable to start with a list of typical animals living in natural areas in the given territory, and then provide brief information about the species composition, location (ranges), and features of animal behavior.

Natural area  - a plot of the earth's surface, which differs from others in the originality of the natural complex, is quite clearly manifested in appearance. The boundaries of natural zones are determined by the nature of the vegetation, which best reflects the characteristics of each of the natural zones.

Natural areas differ in the ratio of heat and moisture. The names of these zones are determined by the dominant type of vegetation. Natural areas are well defined on the plains. In mountains with a change in height, the ratio of heat and moisture also changes, and accordingly, natural complexes, called high-altitude natural zones, change. The higher the mountains, the more altitude zones they have. For example, climbing Kilimanjaro, in one route you can see the change of most of the natural zones that exist on Earth.

A characteristic of any natural zone in a geography including a characteristic of flora and fauna. The main taxonomic unit of living organisms is view.

Habitat - a set of environmental conditions that affect the life of organisms. On Earth, there are several environments mastered and inhabited by organisms: aquatic, terrestrial open spaces, terrestrial enclosed spaces, air, ground, and living organisms themselves. For vegetation, the habitat is the ratio of light, heat, moisture and nutrients in a particular area. For the animal kingdom, habitat is determined by water, climate and vegetation.

Vegetation  (flora) is a historically developed set of species (groups) of plants that live in a given area. There are several main types of vegetation: woody, shrubby, grassy, \u200b\u200bmoss-lichen, mushrooms. Aquatic vegetation - algae - is distinguished into a separate group. Woody vegetation  divided into coniferous and deciduous; coniferous - on dark coniferous (spruce, fir) and sweet coniferous (pine, larch, cedar); deciduous - on broad-leaved (oak, hornbeam, beech) and small-leaved (birch, aspen). The collection of woody plants is called the forest. Forests can be coniferous, deciduous, mixed. Shrubs  there are also coniferous and deciduous, and shrubs growing in deserts often do not have leaves at all (saxaul).

Grassy vegetation  represented by cereals (feather grass) and forbs (flowering plants). Moss-lichen vegetation,  in turn, consists of mosses (green, sphagnum) and lichens (deer moss - reindeer moss).

Swamps  they do not form a natural zone, they can happen in almost any zone, even in the desert there are wetlands. Swamps are lowland, upland and mixed. Lowland swamps  have a flat surface, often with patches of "clear" water and bog. The vegetation is represented by sedge, reeds, reeds, green mosses and herbs. Horse bogs are formed in the bends of the relief, on the hills, vegetation - sphagnum moss, trees, shrubs and shrubs. Some bogs are rich in berry berries (cranberries, cloudberries) and medicinal plants, as well as rare species of plants and animals.

Fauna (fauna) is a historically developed set of animal species that live in this area. The most important sign of any fauna is its species composition, and the number of species included in it determines its condition. An essential feature of any fauna is the ecological nature of its constituent species. However, it is not enough to describe the animal world at the level of the natural zone. It is necessary to characterize the fauna behind the habitat at the mesoscale or micro level, that is, describe the features within the territory of the natural zone, because each environment has its own special groups of animals.

Area  - part of the territory or water area of \u200b\u200bthe globe where populations of a certain species or other taxonomic unit of animals (plants) are constantly found.

All plants and animals can also be grouped according to their place in society: dominant  or are rare.  Rare plants (and animals) are protected. In addition, two more groups of plants and animals are distinguished: endemic and relict. Endemics  - plants and animals that are found only in this territory. Endemicity is a sign that determines the degree of originality of the fauna. The number of endemic species in different fauna is different. The highest proportion of endemism in island fauna, and on continents, is in areas with a strongly dissected relief, that is, in mountainous countries, since geographical isolation is a necessary condition for the formation of endemic species. An example of an ancient and distinctive fauna is Australia, where eight endemic families of mammals (marsupials) live, three endemic families of birds, not including endemic genera of all classes of vertebrates.

Relics  - plants and animals that came to us from past historical eras. Relics and endemic species are not always rare and need special protection.

Test questions and tasks

1. Expand the content of the concepts of "nature", "geographical envelope", "geographical environment of society", "natural resources", "environment".

2. Give a definition of the concept of "natural resources".

3. What are the main criteria for the classification of natural resources.

4. Describe the features of accounting Component-based assessments of natural conditions and resources in geography.

5. What are the main issues of an integrated approach to the assessment of natural conditions and resources based on the study of their territorial combinations?

6. Justify the dependence of methodological approaches to environmental management on the models of economic development of the country.

7. Name and describe the main criteria for the study of the territorial structure of natural resources of the country.

8. Explain the role of the relief in the regional characterization of nature.

9. Expand the contents of the concepts of "morphostructure" and "morphosculpture."

10. What is climate?

11. What is the difference between climate and weather?

12. What is the methodology for characterizing the climate?

13. Name and briefly describe the main and transitional climatic zones.

14. Give the main criteria for determining the types of weather.

15. Describe the features of the study of water in the geography.

16. Expand the scope and content of the concepts of “ocean water” and “land water”.

17. Expand the concept of "natural zone".

18. What is the methodology for studying and assessing the country's natural zones?

Natural conditions in different places of the globe are not the same, and naturally vary from the poles to the equator. The main reason for this is the spherical shape of the Earth. Indeed, if the Earth were flat, like a blackboard, its surface oriented (directed) strictly across the sun's rays would heat up everywhere the same, both at the poles and at the equator.

But our planet has the shape of a ball, because of which the sun's rays fall on its surface at different angles, and therefore they heat it differently. The sun “looks” at the Earth’s surface almost “point blank” during the day, and twice a year, at noon, its hot rays fall here at right angles (in such cases the sun is at its zenith, that is, directly above your head) . At the poles, the sun's rays fall obliquely, at an acute angle, the sun for a long time moves low above the horizon, and then for several months does not appear at all in the sky. As a result, the equator and even moderate latitudes receive much more heat than the areas near the poles.

Therefore, in both hemispheres of the Earth there are several thermal zones: equatorial, two tropical, two moderate and two cold. Solar heat is the driving force of natural processes and phenomena that we observe around us in the surface shell of the Earth. Now scientists call this shell the biosphere, i.e., the sphere of life.

And since solar heat is distributed unevenly on the Earth, then in the biosphere, in the nature around us, large differences from one thermal zone to another are clearly expressed. Accordingly, geographical zones are already distinguished. Their boundaries coincide with the boundaries of thermal zones.

But in each of the geographical zones, the natural conditions are different. After all, the width of these belts in places is more than 4 thousand. km! The closer one or another part of the geographical zone to the equator, the more heat it receives and the more different it is from other parts remote from the equator. Such differences are especially pronounced in climate, soil, vegetation, and wildlife. Therefore, within the geographical zones, geographical, or natural, zones are clearly expressed, that is, areas more or less homogeneous in natural conditions. They stretch most often a strip along the parallels. So, in temperate zones, zones are distinguished: forest, forest-steppe, steppe, semi-desert and desert.

The distribution of natural zones around the globe and their boundaries are determined not only by the amount of solar heat. Of great importance is the amount of moisture that is distributed unevenly on land. This leads to large differences in natural conditions even at the same latitude. In Africa, the equator has a lot of heat everywhere, but on the west coast, where there is also a lot of moisture, dense tropical forests grow, and on the east, where it is not enough, savannas stretch out, sometimes quite dry.

In addition, mountain ranges that change the direction of the zones along the parallels affect the position of geographical land zones. In the mountains, there are their own high-altitude zones, since with the rise it becomes colder. At high altitudes, the earth's surface gives up the surrounding space a lot of heat, "supplied" to it by the sun. This happens because the air above is rarefied, and although it allows more sunlight to pass through than at the foot of the mountains, the heat loss of the earth’s surface increases even higher with height.

The high-altitude zones occupy smaller spaces than the plains (latitudinal), and, as it were, repeat them: mountain glaciers - the polar zone, mountain tundra - the tundra, mountain forests - the forest zone, etc. The lower part of the mountains usually merges with that latitudinal zone, within which they are located. So, for example, the taiga approaches the foothills of the Northern and Middle Urals, at the soles of some mountains of Central Asia that lie in the desert zone, the desert stretches, and in the Himalayas the lower part of the mountains is covered with tropical jungle, etc. The largest number of high-altitude zones (from glaciers on the tops of the mountains to the rainforests at the foot) is observed in high mountains located near the equator. High-altitude zones, although similar to the zones of plains, but the similarity is very relative.

Indeed, the amount of precipitation in the mountains usually increases with height, while in the direction from the equator to the poles it generally decreases. In mountains with height, there is no such change in the length of day or night as when moving from the equator to the poles. In addition, climatic conditions are becoming more complicated in the mountains: the steepness of the slopes and their exposure (northern or southern, western or eastern slopes) play an important role, special systems of winds arise, etc. All this leads to both the soil and The vegetation and fauna of each high-altitude zone acquire special features that distinguish it from the corresponding lowland zone.

Differences in natural areas on land most clearly reflect vegetation. Therefore, most zones are named for the type of vegetation that prevails in them. These are the zones of temperate forests, forest-steppes, steppes, tropical rainforests, etc.

Geographical zones are also traced in the oceans, but they are less pronounced than on land, and only in the upper layers of water - to a depth of 200-300 mGeographical zones in the oceans in general coincide with thermal zones, but not completely, since water is very mobile, sea currents constantly mix it, and in places they transfer it from one zone to another.

In the oceans, as on land, there are seven main geographical zones: equatorial, two tropical, two temperate and two cold. They differ from each other in temperature and salinity of the water, the nature of the currents, vegetation and wildlife.

So, the waters of cold zones have a low temperature. They are slightly less than in the waters of other zones, dissolved salts and more oxygen. The vast expanses of the seas are covered with thick ice, and the vegetation and fauna are poor in species composition. In temperate zones, the surface layers of water are heated in summer and cooled in winter. Ice in these zones appears only in places, and even then only in winter. The organic world is rich and diverse. Tropical and equatorial waters are always warm. Life in them is plentiful. What are geographic areas of land? Get to know fromthe most important of them.

Ice is called a natural zone adjacent to the poles of the globe. In the northern hemisphere, the northern edge of the Taimyr Peninsula, as well as the numerous islands of the Arctic — areas lying around the North Pole under the constellation Ursa Major (“arctos” in Greek - bear) belong to the ice zone. These are the northern islands of the Canadian Arctic archipelago, Greenland day, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, etc.

In the southern polar region - Antarctica (from the Greek word "anti" - against, that is, against the Arctic) - there is ice covered mainland Antarctica, which enters the ice zone of the southern hemisphere.

The harsh nature of the ice zone. Snow and ice do not melt here completely even in summer. And although the sun shines for several months without interruption, around the clock, it does not warm the earth, which has cooled over a long winter, as it rises low above the horizon. In addition, the sun is often covered by thick clouds and fogs, and the white surface of snow and ice reflects its rays. On a polar night, severe frosts rage.

In 1961, Soviet researchers in Antarctica had to work in frosts at 88.3 °. At the same time, hurricane winds still blew - up to 70 m / sIn engines, because of such low temperatures, gasoline did not catch fire, and metal and rubber became fragile, like glass.

Summer is coming, the sun rises over the Arctic desert, now it will not hide behind the horizon for a long time. Yet clear, sunny weather is infrequent. The sky is drawn in by low clouds, it rains for several days in a row, and even snow. There are very few plants: the conditions are too harsh. Ice fields covered with snow are spread everywhere, and bare cliffs and rocky deposits darken on the islands and the coast. Even where ice and snow do not interfere with plants, strong winds destroy them. Only in places, in the lowlands protected from icy breathing, small “oases” manage to form in a short summer. But even here the plants do not stretch upward, but cling to the ground: it is easier for them to resist the wind. As soon as the snow falls, the first flowers already appear. They develop very quickly, because the sun shines around the clock.

In the most favorable conditions of the icy desert of the Arctic, shreds of Arctic meadows and swamps are found. On the island of Svalbard polar poppies turn yellow. More than thirty species of flowering plants include the Franz Josef Land flora. Even in the icy expanses of the central part of Greenland, red-brown or green fields formed by microorganisms can be seen from an airplane.

Noisy in the summer in the Arctic. Migratory birds returning to their nesting sites: luriks, chistiki, guillemots, various gulls ... There are not so many species, but each one is represented by many thousands of birds. They nest on the ledges of coastal cliffs in huge colonies, making a terrible noise. Therefore, these colonies are called "bird bazaars." How to explain the desire of birds to settle in such enormous quantities in small areas? The fact is that steep cliffs with ledges, small areas are very convenient for nesting, and near - an abundance of fish that birds feed. In addition, it is easier to drive a predator together.

Other birds fly to the Arctic: geese, terns, eiders. In spring, a long fluff grows on the abdomen on the abdomen, with which it covers its nest. This fluff is unusually warm and light and therefore very much appreciated. People collect it on the nests of the eider and even arrange artificial nests in the form of a half-open box for it.

In Greenland and on the islands of the Canadian Arctic archipelago, an animal has been preserved whose ancestors lived during the time of mammoths and long-haired rhinos. This is a wild musky bull, or musk ox. It really resembles both a ram and a bull. Its massive body is covered with long hair.

The nature of the Antarctic is poorer than the Arctic. The average height of Antarctica is 2200 mabove sea level, but the earth’s surface is much lower here, because it is hidden under a thick layer of ice, its average thickness is more than 1500 mand the largest - 5000 mSparse vegetation is found here only on the coast of the mainland. These are mainly mosses and lichens. Flowering plants here are known only three species. Not rich in species and Antarctic wildlife. There are no such large animals as the polar bear. Seals are found off the coast of Antarctica, and petrels and albatrosses fly over the oceans washing it. Albatross wingspan to 4 mThese birds spend most of their lives above water, catching fish.

The most remarkable animals of Antarctica are penguins. These birds lost their ability to fly, their wings turned into swimming flippers. Penguins are great swimmers and divers. And on land they are clumsy, waddling, resembling fat funny little men in black tailcoats and white shirts. Penguins inhabit numerous colonies. Their only enemy is the sea leopard (one of the species of local seals).

For a long time, the Arctic and especially Antarctica were almost not mastered by man. Now, thanks to the achievements of science and technology, we can already speak not only about the study and use of these little-studied areas, not only about the adaptation of man to their harsh natural conditions, but also about the influence of man on the nature of the ice zone.

At high altitudes in the mountains the same cold as in the ice zone, the same stones blown by the wind, only in some places covered with mosses and lichens. But there are no sea open spaces nearby; migratory birds do not like “souks”. There are no many months of polar days and nights. On high mountains, low atmospheric pressure, the air is poorer in oxygen, so not all animals can adapt to life in high altitude conditions. A large predator, the snow leopard, tolerates cold and altitude. The whitish shade of the fur makes it inconspicuous against the background of snow and gray stones. In summer, the leopard usually keeps on the line of eternal snows, and in winter it descends lower, after its prey - mountain sheep and mountain turkeys (ular).

The more grass in the steppe, the more large herbivores. And the more predators. In our steppes, the characteristic predator is the wolf (although it is found in other zones), and in the North American ones there are small coyotes.

Of the steppe birds, only bustard and gray partridge live settled, not flying away to the warm countries for the winter. But in the summer, many representatives of the feathered kingdom settle in the steppe: ducks, waders, demoiselle crane, larks.

At a great height above the steppe, feathered predators hover: eagles, vultures, etc. Open spaces allow them to notice prey from above at a distance of several kilometers. Birds of prey sit down to rest on the barrows, telegraph poles and other elevations, from where it is better to see and easier to fly.

The steppes of North America are called prairies. In them, along with plants that are common for our steppes (feather grass, wheat grass), there are those that are not found in the eastern hemisphere: buffalo grass, Graham grass, etc. The steppes of South America, the pampa, are even more diverse.

Rigid grasses a meter to one and a half tall in places completely cover considerable spaces of the pump. Where the soil is slightly wetter, bright green creeping plants appear and with them - scarlet, pink, white verbena. In damp places, yellow and white lilies grow. The most beautiful plant of the pampa is the silver ginerium, whose silky panicles seem to have absorbed the most diverse tones of sky blue. In this sea of \u200b\u200bgrass herds of wild cattle roam, herds of horses, it is important to ostrich the Nanda. At lakes and rivers where groves of trees and shrubs are found, you can see black squirrels, tiny hummingbird birds, and noisy parrots.

In some mountains (Tien Shan, Altai, in the mountains of Transbaikalia, in Big Khingan, in the Cordillera, etc.), there are places where much resembles a plain steppe. In Central Asia, the mountain steppes almost do not differ from the flat feather grass and fescue.

In the distant past, steppes occupied vast territories on the plains of North America and Eurasia. Now they are completely plowed up. On fertile steppe soils, wheat, corn, millet, and various melons are grown.

The natural vegetation cover of the steppes now almost no longer exists. The animal world has also changed. The ancestors of our pets have long disappeared here - a wild bull tour and wild horse tarpans, some birds have become rare. Now only in a few nature reserves, such as, for example, our Askania-Nova, you can see the real virgin steppe.

Subtropical forests and shrubs

Approximately between 30 and 40 ° C. w. and s.sh. Subtropics lie. Their nature is extremely diverse. Under these latitudes you can see the lush evergreen forest, the steppe, and the sultry desert - the moisture is so unevenly distributed here - the source of life.

Subtropics, often called Mediterranean, are located on the western margins of the continents, because all the features of their nature are most pronounced on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

Summer in these places is hot and arid, rains fall mostly in winter, during which even mild frosts rarely occur. The vegetation cover of the Mediterranean subtropics is dominated by thickets of evergreen shrubs and low trees. Here a noble laurel, a strawberry tree, which annually sheds bark, tender myrtle, wild olives, roses, and junipers grow. In many plants that have adapted to dry summers, the leaves turned into thorns. Entwined with the same prickly vines, they become an insurmountable obstacle for travelers.

When the time comes for flowering, shrubbery (they are called maquis) turn into a sea of \u200b\u200bluxurious flowers - yellow, white, blue and red. A strong aroma spreads in the surrounding air.

One of the most beautiful plants of the Mediterranean subtropics is the Italian pine, or pine. The wide, spreading crowns of the pine trees seem especially magnificent in the vicinity of the dense spindle-shaped crowns of cypresses. These beautiful trees most often grow alone. A pine grove has been preserved very little. Small forests, which can still be found in the Mediterranean subtropics, consist mainly of evergreen oaks - cork and stone. Trees are rare here, and between them grasses and shrubs are rampant. There is a lot of light in such a forest, and this is very different from shady Russian oak forests.

The subtropics on the eastern margins of the continents represent a different picture. In Southeast China and Southern Japan, precipitation is also uneven, but only there is more rain in the summer (and not in winter, as in the Mediterranean subtropics), that is, at a time when vegetation is especially in need of moisture. Therefore, dense, humid forests of evergreen oaks, camphor laurel, magnolias grow here. Numerous vines, entangling tree trunks, thickets of tall bamboos and various shrubs enhance the originality of the subtropical forest.

In the southeastern part of the USA swampy subtropical forests dominate, consisting of American species of pine, ash, poplar, and maple. Swamp cypress is widespread here - a huge tree reaching 45 min height and 2 macross. In Russia, the subtropics include the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, the Lankaran lowland on the Caspian coast. The subtropics are the birthplace of valuable cultivated plants: oranges, tangerines, lemons, grapefruits, persimmons, etc. In addition to citrus fruits, olive, laurel cherries, figs, pomegranates, almonds, date palm trees and many other fruit trees and bushes are grown here. See also: .

Deserts

Deserts occupy vast territories on the globe, especially in Asia, Africa and Australia. Their total area is estimated at 15-20 million. km 2 . There are temperate deserts, subtropical and tropical.

In the temperate zone, all the plains of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to Central China in the east are almost entirely deserted spaces. In North America, some intermountain depressions in the west of the mainland are deserted.

Subtropical and tropical deserts are located in the north-west of India, in Pakistan, Iran, Asia Minor. They cover the Arabian Peninsula and the entire north of Africa, the western coast of South America for nearly 3,500 kmand central Australia. On the outskirts of the desert are usually bordered by semi-desert transition zones.

The climate in the deserts is sharply continental. Summer is very dry and hot, during the day the air temperature in the shade rises above 40 ° (up to 58 ° in tropical deserts). At night the heat decreases, the temperature often drops to 0 °. In winter, cold weather sets in, even in the Sahara, frost occurs during this time. Precipitation in the deserts is not enough - no more than 180 mmin year. Chilean Atacama Desert gets them less than 10 mmIn some places in tropical deserts, rains do not happen for several years in a row.

In the hot, sultry summer, scarce plant remains in the desert soils “burn out”. Hence the light gray or light yellow (sometimes almost white) color of soils, which are called soils. Most often, the soil cover in the deserts is very weakly expressed. Stony or clay areas are replaced by seas of moving sand. "Sand waves" - dunes - reach 12 mheights. Their shape is lunate or crescent, one slope (concave) is steep, the other is gentle. Connecting the ends, dunes often form entire dune chains. Under the influence of wind, they move at a speed of tens of centimeters to hundreds of meters per year. Unobstructed winds in the desert sometimes reach terrible power. Then they lift clouds of sand into the air and a formidable sandstorm sweeps over the desert.

Clay deserts are almost devoid of vegetation. These are usually low places. They are easily flooded and in the period of small rains are similar to lakes, although the depth of such "lakes" is only a few millimeters. The clay layer does not absorb water - it quickly evaporates in the sun, and the dry surface of the earth cracks. Such sections of the desert are called takyrs. Often in the deserts, various salts (table, glauberova, etc.) appear directly on the surface, forming barren salt marshes. In the sands, plants feel better than on takyrs, because the sands absorb water better and are less salted. In summer, small moisture reserves even form in the lower, cooler layers of sand: these are condensed water vapor coming from the atmosphere.

The name "desert" does not mean a complete absence of life. Some plants and animals have adapted well to conditions of dry climate and high temperatures.

In the deserts of Central Asia, saxaul grows - black and white. Large saxaul sometimes reaches 5 mheights. Its leaf-branches are so small (it helps to keep moisture), that on a sultry summer day the trees appear bare in winter. But under the black saxaul in the lowlands there is even a faint shadow, saving animals and people from the sun.

In many desert plants during the hot season, relatively large "spring" leaves are replaced by small "summer" leaves. And if the “summer” leaves are larger, then they are either fluffy (near wormwood in Central Asia) or covered with a shiny wax layer. Such leaves reflect the sun's rays and do not overheat. In some plants (sand acacia) the leaves turned into thorns, which also prevents the evaporation of moisture. A small shrub - black wormwood - is usually devoid of leaves and looks very gloomy. And only in the spring the black wormwood seems to come to life, covered for a short time with fluffy silver foliage.

In the deserts of the western hemisphere, many different cacti grow. They adapted in their own way to the arid climate: large reserves of water accumulate in fleshy stems and leaves, sometimes 96% of the total weight of the plant. Giant North American Cactus (height up to 15 m)stores in its stems 2-3 thousand lwater. Desert plants, as a rule, have a well-developed root system. It allows them to extract moisture from the deep layers of the soil. Some of these plants (desert sedge) can fix sands with a powerful root system.

Desert animals also have their own adaptations to environmental conditions. Many inhabitants of the desert are painted in yellow-gray tones, which allows them to hide from enemies or quietly sneak up on prey.

All the inhabitants of the desert are trying to hide from the scorching heat. Pigeons, sparrows and owls manage to nest and rest in the walls of wells. Birds of prey (eagles, crows, falcons) make nests on the mounds and in the ruins of buildings, choosing the shadow side. Many animals hide in burrows where in summer it is not so dry and hot, and in winter it is not too cold. And if the inhabitants of most zones of the temperate zone hibernate in the winter, then other desert animals fall asleep in the summer, thus transferring a lack of moisture.

And the thin-toed gopher generally dispenses with drinking water: it has enough moisture contained in the plants eaten. The shaggy jerboa does not “know how” to drink: when in captivity they offer him water, he soaks the paws in it and licks them.

Like many inhabitants of the steppes, some desert animals are excellent runners. Huge distances run in search of water and food wild donkeys kulans. They can reach speeds of up to 70 km / h.Cheetahs run even faster - wild cats on long legs with semi-retractable claws.

The dry climate of the deserts is extremely unfavorable for amphibians, but there are a lot of reptiles here: various snakes, lizards (including very large ones - lizards), turtles. Fleeing from the heat and from enemies, many of them quickly burrow into the sand. And the agama lizard, on the contrary, climbs into the bushes - away from the hot sand.

The camel is perfectly adapted to life in the desert. He can eat grass that is not absorbed by other animals, drinks little, is able to drink even salt water. Camels tolerate long-term hunger: fat is stored in their humps (up to 100 kgand more). There are corns on the body and legs of the camel, allowing it to lie on the hot sand. Leaning on a wide cloven hoof, the camel freely moves on sand. All these features make him an indispensable assistant to man in the desert. The camel goes to harness, under the pack and saddle, gives a warm coat. It is domesticated 4 thousand years ago.

Under the sands of deserts, traces of ancient settlements and irrigation systems are often found. They were destroyed during wars, and, abandoned by people, once flowering lands became prey of the desert. But even now, where the places of livestock grazing do not change for a long time or shrubs are cut too much, sands that are not already bonded by the roots of plants go on the offensive.

Fixing loose sands with plants is one of the surest ways to conquer the desert. In addition, sands can be “bonded” with special emulsions, a thin film of which is easily pierced by young shoots of plants.

If you irrigate the desert with enough moisture, its appearance will be transformed. Then it will be possible to grow rice, cotton, melons, corn, wheat, orchards, vineyards. Desert oases provide 25-30% of the world cotton harvest and almost 100% of the world date crop. On irrigated lands in the deserts of Central Asia, two crops of various crops can be harvested per year. Read more about the desert zone.

Savannahs

In the equatorial belts of the northern and southern hemispheres there are tropical steppes - savannas (from the Spanish "saban" - a wild plain). In Africa, on the Brazilian Highlands in South America and northern Australia, they occupy vast spaces.

The climate of the savannah is tropical. Two seasons are very clearly expressed here - dry and wet. In this regard, the whole life of nature is subject to a certain rhythm.

In the dry period, the heat reaches 50 °. At this time, the savannah makes a dull impression: yellowed and dried grass, foliageless trees, reddish-brown, cracked soil, the absence of visible signs of life.

Savannahs - vast areas covered with grassy vegetation with rarely scattered acacias, baobabs and shrubs.

But then the rains begin, and the savannah is waiting literally before our eyes. The soil greedily absorbs moisture and is covered with tall grass above human height. Trees and shrubs grow green everywhere in groups or alone. Crown trees are umbellate, especially in acacia trees.

The largest plant in the African savannah is baobab. It is not taller than our pine, but its trunk is extremely thick - up to 10 macross. Outwardly, this tree is unattractive, only its large white flowers are beautiful. Baobab fruits are not tasty, but for monkeys - a real treat.

Eucalyptus trees grow in the savannahs of Australia - giant trees up to 150 tall mThere are many types of them. In some species of eucalyptus leaves can rotate edge to the sun and therefore give almost no shadow, but this reduces the evaporation of moisture. Among the rarely scattered trees, scrub is found - dense thickets of acacia brigolou, desert oak, sandalwood. Between them come across bizarre “bottle trees” with a trunk swollen from the base to the crown.

The fauna of the savannah, especially African, is unusually rich and diverse. Large representatives of land animals live here: clumsy hippos live on the shores of lakes and in water, heavy buffaloes come, among the branches of mimosas you can see beautiful giraffe heads. In the thick of the grass, crouching to the ground, the lion guards the prey. And not always fast legs of antelopes save these light graceful animals from the formidable lord of the African savannah. But more often, careless zebras become its victims.

A slight rustle of grass betrays the presence of other inhabitants. These are snakes. There are a lot of them, and the worst of them is asp. Both humans and animals are afraid of him: the sting of an asp is fatal. Only the eagle-buffoon fearlessly fights this snake and almost always wins. See also: .

The abundance of heat, and in the wet period and precipitation, fertile soil like our chernozem, allows us to grow various crops, cotton, peanuts, sugarcane, bananas, pineapples in the savannah zone. Therefore, people from time immemorial have been engaged in agriculture here, and cattle graze on the luxurious pastures of the savannah. In the African savannah lives the largest modern bird - African ostrich.

Rainforests

Tropical forests grow near the equator, on both sides, between the northern and southern tropics. It is very hot and humid. Annual precipitation reaches 10 thousand in places. mm, and in Cherrapunja (India) - 12 thousand. mmThis is 20 times more than in the temperate forests. The abundance of heat and moisture - this is the main reason for the fabulous wealth and diversity of plants and animals in the tropical rainforest.

The weather here is amazingly constant. Before sunrise, the forest is quite cool and quiet, the sky is cloudless. The sun rises and the temperature begins to rise. By noon, heat sets in, the air becomes suffocating. Two or three hours later clouds appear in the sky, lightnings sparkle, deafening peals of thunder shake the air and rain begins. Water flows as if in a continuous stream. Under its weight, tree branches break and collapse. Rivers overflow. Rain usually lasts no more than an hour. Before sunset, the sky clears, the wind subsides, and soon the forest plunges into the night darkness, which comes quickly, almost without twilight.

Under the tropical rainforests, red lateritic soils are formed with a thickness of up to several tens of meters. Their color is due to the presence of a large number of iron oxides. Sometimes yellow-white aluminum oxides are still mixed in - then the soil becomes spotty. During tropical showers, a significant part of the humus is washed out of the soil, and for the cultivation of cultivated plants (sugarcane, citrus fruits, etc.) it must be fertilized.

Some trees lose their leaves alternately from different branches. Fallen leaves usually do not turn yellow, and therefore green everywhere dominates here. In the tropics, there are up to 600 species of various ficus, some of which are significantly larger than our oak. Palm tree-like ferns grow in the forest. There are a lot of palm trees in the tropics. They have no branches - leaves are collected at the top of a tall trunk. The fruits of date, coconut, oilseed and other palm trees are used by man.

A variety of animals live in the wilds of the rainforest. From the giants of elephants, rhinos, hippos to subtle insects - everyone finds shelter and food here. Representatives of some groups of wildlife in the rainforests are numerous. It is here that most of the monkeys live, including anthropoids. Of the birds alone

there are over 150 species of parrots in South America. The Amazon Parrot is easy to learn to speak. The parrot does not understand the meaning of the spoken words - it simply imitates a combination of sounds. There are a lot of insects in the rainforest: over 700 species of butterflies are known in Brazil, which is almost five times more than in Europe. Some of them are giants, such as a titania butterfly: its wingspan is up to 30 cm.

In water-rich tropical forests, along with various reptiles (crocodiles, turtles, lizards, snakes), there are many amphibians. On the island of Kalimantan alone, amphibian species are 7 times more than in Europe. Reptiles of the tropics are enormous: some crocodiles are up to 10 mand the South American anaconda boa reaches 9 mIn the tropics there are a lot of diverse ants. The abundance of plant food attracts many herbivorous animals to the rainforests, which are in turn followed by predators: leopards (panthers), jaguars, tigers, various marten, etc. Striped or spotted coloring of many inhabitants, although it seems very bright and noticeable, in fact, it helps animals hide in the half-darkness of the lower tiers of the rainforest, penetrated in some places by the sun's rays of sunlight.

The nature of the so-called mangrove rainforests is peculiar. They grow on the low sea coasts, protected from the surf, but flooded during high tides. Mangroves are dense thickets of low (5-10 m)trees and bushes. They grow on viscous silty soil. In such conditions, branched air (stilted) roots, which are immersed in silt, serve as a support for the plant. But since silty soil is poisoned by hydrogen sulfide, plants get oxygen only from the air - with the help of other, special air roots. In the old leaves, this forms the reserves of fresh water necessary for young foliage. The fruits of plants have air cavities and do not drown in water, but can swim in the ocean for a long time until they linger somewhere on the shallows and sprout. Mangroves, fixing silt and sand, interfere with navigation at the mouths of tropical rivers.

The rich nature of the rainforest has long provided people with its gifts. But even today, large areas of wild jungle are inaccessible, swampy, poorly developed by humans. The rainforest is growing very fast. For some reason abandoned fields, roads, clearings and clearings immediately overgrow. All the time people have to fight the jungles advancing on the fields. The raids of predators on villages, monkeys and ungulates on the plantation do a lot of harm.

Many wonderful representatives of the tropical fauna (elephants, rhinos, antelopes) were barbarously destroyed by European colonialists. Now, some states have already taken measures to protect rare tropical animals: hunting is prohibited, reserves have been created.

The appearance of the Earth’s natural zones and their borders were not always the same as they are now. Over the long history of our planet, relief, climate, vegetation, and wildlife have repeatedly changed.

In the distant past, cooling on Earth many times occurred. During the last such period, a significant part of Eurasia and North America was covered with thick ice.

In the southern hemisphere, ice penetrated into South America and Australia. But then it became warmer again and the ice receded in the northern hemisphere to the north, and in the south to the south, remaining huge caps only in Greenland and Antarctica.

After the end of the last ice age, modern natural zones arose on Earth. But even now they do not remain unchanged, because nature has not stopped in eternal development, it continues to continuously change and update. A significant role in this process is played by man, his labor activity. A man grows cultivated plants on the site of wild steppes and dense forests, destroys some animals and breeds others, irrigates arid areas and drains swamps, connects rivers and creates artificial seas - he transforms the face of the Earth.

But sometimes the impact of man on nature leads to undesirable consequences. Plowing of land is often accompanied by erosion and erosion of soils, their dispersal and, therefore, the deterioration of the conditions of existence of plants. Therefore, in the United States, after 2/3 of the forests were destroyed, the area of \u200b\u200bdeserts doubled.

The burning of forests in Africa caused the deserts to attack the savannah, which in turn occurs where rainforests are reduced.

Such changes in geographical areas reduce the natural wealth of our planet. The transformation of nature must be reasonable. We must not impoverish it, but make it even richer and more beautiful.

Natural area - a piece of the earth’s surface that differs from others by the peculiarity of the natural complex, which manifests itself in a rather clearly defined external appearance. The boundaries of natural zones are determined by the nature of the vegetation, which more clearly than other components reflects the characteristics of each of the natural zones.

Natural areas differ in the ratio of heat and moisture. The names of these zones are determined by the dominant type of vegetation. Natural areas are well defined on the plains. Sometimes their length deviates from latitudinal, and this can occur under the influence of various reasons. For example, in central North America, natural zones have an almost meridional extent. Changes in flora and fauna from west to east under the influence of moisture occur in those natural zones that stretch across the entire mainland, for example, the taiga zone in Eurasia. This should be taken into account when characterizing large countries; species of plants and animals in the western part may in this case differ from those in the eastern. In the mountains, as their height changes, the ratio of heat and moisture also changes, and accordingly, natural complexes called high-altitude natural zones change. The higher the mountains, the closer they are to the equator, the larger and more diverse the number of altitude zones, the more interesting these objects are for tourism (see). Therefore, it is not surprising that climbs to Kilimanjaro are so popular with tourists, where in one route you can see the change of most of the natural zones available on Earth.

The characteristic of any natural zone in tourist regional studies includes (at a minimum) a characteristic of flora and fauna. The main taxon (the basic taxonomic unit) of living organisms is the species. But in tourism, the concept of a group of living organisms is usually used. The term “group” can be understood as the name of a type, subtype, superclass, class, order, or species of an animal, depending on how these names correspond to commonly used semantic meanings. For example, in one row different taxonomic units can be listed as group names: sponges (type), coral polyps (class), butterflies (order), mollusks (type), fish (overclass), amphibians, mammals (class), etc. d.

Habitat - a set of environmental conditions that affect the life of organisms. On Earth, there are several environments developed and inhabited by organisms: aquatic, near-water, terrestrial open spaces, terrestrial enclosed spaces, air, soil, and living organisms themselves. From the point of view of conditions and opportunities for the development of tourism in general and in the main areas, the first five environments are of the greatest importance. For vegetation, the habitat is the ratio of light, heat, moisture and nutrients in a particular area. For the wildlife, habitat is determined by climate and vegetation.

Vegetation (flora)  - This is a historically established set of species (groups) of plants living in this area. There are several main types of vegetation: woody, shrubby, shrubby, grassy, \u200b\u200bmoss-lichen, mushrooms. In addition, aquatic vegetation is algae. Woody vegetation is divided into coniferous and deciduous; coniferous - for dark coniferous (spruce, fir) and light coniferous (pine, larch, cedar); deciduous - on broad-leaved (oak, hornbeam, beech) and small-leaved (birch, aspen). The collection of woody plants is called the forest. Forests can be coniferous, deciduous, mixed, hard-leaved. Shrubs are also coniferous and deciduous, and shrubs growing in deserts often have no leaves at all (saxaul). Shrubs and trees growing in the subtropics have hard leaves that protect against evaporation, and are called hard-leaved. Shrubs, unlike shrubs, do not have a lignified trunk, only the lower part of the shoot is lignified in them, they are usually small.

Grassy vegetation is represented by cereals (feather grass, bluegrass) and forbs (flowering plants). Moss-lichen vegetation, in turn, consists of mosses (green, sphagnum) and lichens (deer moss - reindeer moss). Depending on the type (s) of vegetation, ground-based open and closed spaces are distinguished. Open spaces include tundra, steppes, meadows, semi-deserts, deserts, and closed spaces include forests.

Over the centuries, trees, grasses, shrubs have adapted to each other and to the environment, forming a kind of "green state" - plant communities. Each species or group of plants occupies a strictly defined place in them, a position called a tier. Most plant communities consist of several tiers. For example, oak forest: the highest, first tier is formed by oaks; the second - shrubs (hazel, hawthorn, bird cherry) - form an undergrowth; the third - shrubs (blackberries, bones); the fourth - shade-tolerant herbaceous plants (medunica, bluebells, lily of the valley); the fifth tier is mosses and lichens creeping on the ground. But the type of forest is determined by the dominant plants of the first tier - oaks. Each natural zone corresponds to a specific plant community, sometimes there are several. For example, in taiga, depending on environmental conditions, spruce forests (dark coniferous taiga) and pine forests (light coniferous) are distinguished. The number of tiers in each plant community is again determined by the habitat and dominant plants.

Swamps  - not a natural zone, they can be found in almost any zone, even in the desert there are wetlands. The importance of marshes in tourism, as noted above, is determined by vegetation. Swamps are lowland, upland and mixed, the number of tiers in them is different. Marshes, occupying large territories, are not favorable for tourism in any country. Exceptions are small areas of swamps located among other types of vegetation. For example, a section of a swamp in the middle of a forest or in a desert. Such sites do not worsen the microclimate and do not limit the terrain (they can be circumvented), but diversify the nature, as they have a special composition of flora and fauna. Lowland swamps have a flat surface, often there are areas of "clean" water and bogs. The vegetation is represented by sedge, reeds, reeds, green mosses and herbs. Horse bogs are formed in the bends of the relief, on the hills, vegetation - sphagnum moss, trees, shrubs and shrubs. Many bogs are rich in berry berries (cranberries, cloudberries) and medicinal plants, as well as rare species of plants and animals. The more different plant communities you can find in this territory, the more diverse (multi-tiered) they are, the more attractive this area is for tourism.

Fauna (fauna) - This is a historically established set of animal species that live in this area. The most important sign of any fauna is its species composition. The number of species included in it reflects its wealth. An essential feature of any fauna is the ecological nature of its constituent species. For example, it is well known that the animal world of the tundra is very different from the animal world of broad-leaved forest, that some species inhabit the desert, and others inhabit the taiga. The fauna of the tropical and equatorial forests is characterized by the presence of a large number of species adapted for living on trees. These include the climbing forms of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and some insects. Most animals are characterized by year-round activity. Fauna of the steppes or deserts - animals that spend the winter (or a hot, dry period) in a state of hibernation.

The ocean is inhabited by special forms that are not found on land, this is due to the peculiar environmental conditions. The most important factors for the existence and spread of marine organisms are light, heat, salinity, and the nature of currents. All inhabitants can be divided into actively (or passively) moving and bottom. The group of actively swimming animals consists of fish, large cephalopods, mammals, etc., all of which are of significant interest for tourism. The bottom surface of the continental shelf is a rich fauna. There are good lighting conditions and an abundance of food (thickets of algae and sea herbs). These are echinoderms, sea anemones, sponges, corals, crabs, etc. But, as a rule, in most countries it is not enough to characterize the animal world at the level of the natural zone. It is necessary to characterize the fauna by its habitats at the meso- or microlevel, i.e., features within the territory of the natural zone. Meadow, floodplain, forest edge - open spaces. Boron, oak, overgrowth, coppice - closed spaces. A lake, a small section of a river or sea - a body of water. Coast or coastal area - near-water space. Each of these environments corresponds to its own special groups of animals. Sometimes, in order to determine the possibility of developing a certain type of tourism, it is necessary to know specific areas, habitats of certain animals or plants.

Area  - part of the territory or water area of \u200b\u200bthe globe where populations of a certain species or other taxon of animals (plants) are constantly found. You can get an idea of \u200b\u200bthe area by studying its cartographic image.

All plants and animals can also be grouped according to their place in the plant community: plants or animals that grow everywhere (living) in a given natural zone (or parts thereof) - dominant, or background-forming, plants (animals); rare - rarely found on this territory of the Earth as a whole. Rare plants (and animals) are protected - protected plants and animals. In addition, two more groups of plants and animals are distinguished: endemic and relict.

Endemics  - plants and animals found only in this territory and nowhere else. Endemicity is a sign that determines the degree of originality of the fauna. The higher the systematic rank of endemic taxa, the more distinctive the fauna, the more interesting the area for tourism. The number of endemic species in different fauna is not the same. The highest percentage of endemism in island fauna, and on continents - in areas with a strongly dissected relief, i.e. in mountainous countries, because geographical isolation is a necessary condition for the formation of endemic species. An example of an ancient and distinctive fauna is Australia, where eight endemic families of mammals (marsupials), three endemic families of birds live, not counting the endemic genera of all classes of vertebrates.

Relics  - plants and animals that have come down to us from past historical eras. Relics and endemic species are not always rare and need special protection; it happens that the background animal or plant is a relic (Nile crocodile, for example) or endemic (Przewalski's horse). But, of course, all relics, endemic plants and especially protected plants and animals are of interest to tourism.

And finally, the last group - game animals and plants. Only numerous, ubiquitous animals, as well as mushrooms, wild fruits, nuts and berries can be assigned to the fishing group. The majority of medicinal plants belong to the same group.