Natural areas of the Earth

Natural zones are certain parts of the Earth's surface, which differ significantly from others by the uniqueness of natural resources and especially the external appearance. Such a division has been practiced for a long time and represents an opportunity to carry out natural-geographical zoning.

In simpler terms, the natural zones are territories, the external appearance, the flora and fauna of which are strictly defined and do not resemble any other. The peculiarity characteristic of each of them can be traced clearly and allows certain species of plants or animals to be found in accordance with the zones in which they can grow or live.

Natural zones are easy to recognize by the change and nature of the dominant type of vegetation. It is for them to clearly trace where one ends and the next one begins.

The survival conditions of individual species of trees, grasses, shrubs are determined by specific climatic characteristics that provide for different natural areas. Each of them has its own individual characteristics, due to the different amount of precipitation, humidity and air temperature.

Natural zones are so diverse that in one part of the planet the sun and the vegetation can be mercilessly scorched, as well as the animal world, and in the other - permafrost and never melting snow. The contrast is more than obvious. Nevertheless, in nature everything is reasonable and harmonious, these transitions are not sharp.

Natural areas of the world are: the arctic desert and tundra, taiga and mixed forest, forest-steppe and subtropical forest, Mediterranean belt and monsoon forest, arid desert, semi-desert or arid steppe. They also distinguish a semi-arid desert, a grassy savannah, a woody savannah, dry and humid rainforests, alpine tundra and mountain forest.

The characteristic of natural zones provides a description of all the climatic features that are inherent in them. For example, the most mysterious and still poorly studied zone of arctic and Antarctic severe ice deserts, as well as a zone less severe in the climate - the tundra, are found in the Antarctic and Arctic belts.

In the Arctic, the air temperature is low, precipitation is extremely low, the whole territory is covered with ice, only lichens and moss are from vegetation.

In Tundra high humidity, strong winds, numerous lakes and marshes, and the soil is a real permafrost. The feature of the territory is a woodland, as well as a moss-lichen cover. Nature in these parts is very meager and monotonous.

Characterization of natural areas implies not only their description, but also takes into account the smooth transitions, an example of which can serve as forest tundra and woodlands. In such areas, representatives of flora and fauna, characteristic of both adjacent areas, may exist.

The natural zones of the world are revealed in their full glory in the forest zone in the Northern Hemisphere, where the real kingdom of broad-leaved and mixed forests is located. There are often such trees as oak linden, ash, beech, maple. Summer in these places is quite warm, up to 20 ° C, and winters are harsh, down to -50 ° C, high humidity.

Forest steppe can also be called a transitional natural zone, which is located in the Northern Hemisphere. In this area, you can observe the alternation of coniferous forests and steppes, an abundance of tall grass, which is well traced in the US and Canada.

The steppe zone is in the northern temperate geographical zone, there are no forests in it, and the territory is covered with herbs, but moisture is not enough. Conditions for the growth of trees are only along river valleys. Soil is chernozem, which is intensively used by man.

Deserts and semi-deserts are found in the following belts: temperate, tropical and subtropical. Precipitation is extremely scarce. These territories are characterized by flat surfaces, scarcity of flora and specificity of fauna. There are deserts very different: sandy, solonchak, stony, clayey.

At present, scientists have calculated that the desert occupies more than 16.5 million km2 (without Antarctica), and this is 11% of the land surface. With Antarctica, this area is more than 20%. The grass in the desert is poor, the soil is underdeveloped, sometimes there are oases.

Perhaps the most exotic are tropical forests. They do not have seasonal differences in the weather, and trees do not show annual rings. This is a real paradise for plants and an attractive place for wildlife researchers.