Biome

A biome /ˈbaɪoʊm/ is a formation of plants and animals that have common characteristics due to similar climates and can be found over a range of continents. Spanning continents, Biomes are distinct biological communities that have formed in response to a shared physical climate. Biomes are distinct from habitats, because any biome can comprise a variety of habitats.

A biome contrasts with a microbiome. A microbiome is also a mix of organisms that coexist in a defined space, but on a much smaller scale. For example, the human microbiome is the collection of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that are present on a human.

The term was suggested in 1916 by Clements, originally as a synonym for biotic community of Möbius (1877). Later, it gained its current definition, based on earlier concepts of phytophysiognomy, formation and vegetation (used in opposition to flora), with the inclusion of the animal element and the exclusion of the taxonomic element of species composition. In 1935, Tansley would add the climatic and soil aspects to the idea, calling it ecosystem. The International Biological Program (1964–74) projects would popularize the concept of biome.

However, in some contexts, the term biome is used in a different manner. In German literature, particularly in the Walter terminology, the term is used similarly as biotope (a concrete geographycal unit), while the biome definition used in this article is used as a international, non-regional, terminology - irrespectively of the continent in which an area is present, it takes the same biome name - and corresponds to his "zonobiome", "orobiome" and "pedobiome" (biomes determinated by climate zone, altitude or soil).

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