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biome
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terrestrial biomes of the world
Quizzes
Chutes d'Ekom - a waterfall on the Nkam river in the rainforest near Melong, in the western highlands of Cameroon in Africa.
Ecosystems
Read Next
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
Periodical Cicada, Adult, Magicicada spp. Requires 17 years to complete development. Nymph splits its skin, and transforms into an adult. Feeds on sap of tree roots. Northern Illinois Brood. This brood is the largest emergence of cicadas anywhere
Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?
Portrait of a mountain gorilla at a short distance. gorilla close up portrait.The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei)
Falling Stars: 10 of the Most Famous Endangered Species
Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Mission District, San Francisco, California. (Photo dated 2019.) holidays
Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?
Cathedrale St.Jean in Lyon, France has a 14th-century astronomical clock that shows religious feast days till the year 2019; Perpetual Calendar
Ten Days That Vanished: The Switch to the Gregorian Calendar
Aspirin pills.
7 Drugs that Changed the World
Close up of praying mantis walking on stone ground against a blurred background in Japan
6 Animals That Eat Their Mates
The United States Supreme Court building, Washington, D.C.
14 Questions About Government in the United States Answered
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