Year 9 · Geography · Geographical knowledge and understanding
Biomes of the world
Learners identify and describe the world's major biomes, their climate and vegetation, and how people use and modify them.
Awaiting educator review. This material was drafted by our content team with AI assistance and is waiting for review by a qualified educator. Please check it suits your child before using it. Created 10 October 2026.
Learning goals
Learners will
- Define biome and identify the world's major terrestrial biomes.
- Explain how climate shapes the distribution of biomes.
- Describe how people have modified biomes for food production.
Success looks like
- I can name and locate at least five major biomes.
- I can explain how temperature and rainfall influence biomes.
- I can give an example of a biome modified for agriculture and describe the consequences.
The big idea
A biome is a large region with a distinctive climate, plants and animals. Climate, especially temperature and rainfall, is the main factor that determines where biomes occur.
Major land biomes include:
- Tropical rainforest: hot and wet all year, extremely high biodiversity (e.g. the Amazon, Congo Basin, parts of Southeast Asia and far north Queensland).
- Savanna: tropical grassland with scattered trees and wet and dry seasons (e.g. much of northern Australia and East Africa).
- Desert: very low rainfall, plants adapted to dry conditions (e.g. the Sahara and much of inland Australia).
- Temperate forest and grassland: moderate rainfall and four seasons (e.g. south-eastern Australia, Europe, the North American prairies).
- Boreal forest (taiga) and tundra: cold climates of the far north, with conifer forests (taiga) and treeless tundra.
People have changed biomes on a massive scale, especially to grow food. Large areas of grassland and forest have been converted to cropland and pasture. Geographers sometimes call these human-shaped landscapes anthromes. Deforestation for agriculture can reduce biodiversity, cause erosion, alter water cycles and release carbon dioxide.
Worked examples
Identifying a biome from climate data
A place has average temperatures of 26–28 °C all year and rainfall over 2,000 mm a year spread across all months. Which biome is it?
- Hot all year: tropical.
- Very high rainfall in every month: wet all year.
- Tropical + wet all year = tropical rainforest.
Answer: Tropical rainforest.
Consequences of modification
Explain two consequences of clearing tropical rainforest for cattle grazing.
- Environmental: loss of habitat and biodiversity, and release of stored carbon.
- Soil: rainforest soils are often thin and lose fertility quickly once the forest is removed.
Answer: Biodiversity loss and carbon release; rapid soil degradation.
Practice check
Have a go, then check your answers. Each answer comes with an explanation.
Answer guide for parents
What is the main factor determining where biomes occur?
Climate — Temperature and rainfall shape biomes.
Which biome covers much of northern Australia?
Savanna — Northern Australia is largely tropical savanna.
Which biome has the highest biodiversity?
Tropical rainforest — Tropical rainforests are the most biodiverse land biome.
What is an anthrome?
A biome significantly altered by humans — Anthromes are human-shaped biomes such as farmland and cities.
Which is a consequence of deforestation?
Loss of habitat — Clearing forests destroys habitat.
A cold, treeless biome with permafrost is called ____.
tundra — Tundra is found in the Arctic and high mountains.
Another name for the boreal forest is the ____.
taiga — Taiga is the boreal coniferous forest.
A tropical grassland with scattered trees is called a ____.
savanna — Savannas have wet and dry seasons.
Watch out for
- Many think deserts are always hot. Antarctica and the Gobi are cold deserts; deserts are defined by low precipitation.
- Biome boundaries on maps look sharp, but in reality biomes merge gradually.
Tips for parents
- Compare climate graphs of two places your family has visited or has connections with.
- Watch a nature documentary and identify the biome shown.
- Discuss food labels: where in the world, and in which biome, was this grown?
Go further
- Create an annotated world biome map with climate graphs for one location in each.
- Investigate how one biome in Australia has been changed by agriculture.
- Research an Indigenous-led land management project in a biome outside Australia.