The characteristics of the vegetation of tropical biomes are more the outcome of continued human activity than a response to the climatic conditions

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‘The characteristics of the vegetation of tropical biomes are more the outcome of continued human activity than a response to the climatic conditions’

With reference to one tropical biome, discuss the extent to which you agree with this view. (40 marks)

A biome is a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat. There are different types of biome, one is a tropical biome. An example of a tropical biome is a savanna. A savanna is a rolling grassland scattered with shrubs and isolated trees, which can be found between a tropical rainforest and desert biome. Not enough rain falls on a savanna to support forests. Savannas are also known as tropical grasslands. They are found in a wide band on either side of the equator on the edges of tropical rainforests. Savannas have warm temperature year round. There are actually two very different seasons in a savanna; a very long dry season (winter), and a very wet season (summer). In the dry season only an average of about 4 inches of rain falls. Between December and February no rain will fall at all.  In the summer there is a lot of rain. In Africa the monsoon rains begin in May. An average of 15 to 25 inches of rain falls during this time. It gets hot and very humid during the rainy season. Every day the hot, humid air rises off the ground and collides with cooler air above and turns into rain. In the afternoons on the summer savanna the rains pour down for hours. This is due to the sub tropical high pressure zone which has built up due to the Hadley cell. There is a persistent band of organized convection throughout the tropics called the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. The Inter Tropical Convergence Zone extends along a long band in the deep tropics, and can often be traced around the whole globe. This persistent band of organized convection draws air into it all low levels from latitudes north and south of its location.

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Savanna soils are closely linked with climate and tend to reflect the local seasonal rainfall pattern. Soils in the savanna are commonly leached, ferralitic soils. These are similar to soils of the rainforest, but not as intensely weathered. Soil development shows a marked seasonal pattern. During the wet season, the excess of precipitation over potential evapotranspiration means that leaching of soluble minerals and small particles will take place down through the soil. These nutrients are deposited deep within the soil. By contrast, in the dry season E is less than P, and so silica and iron compounds are carried up ...

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