The natural complexes of the Earth are very diverse. These are hot and icy deserts, evergreen forests, endless steppes, bizarre mountains. This diversity is the unique beauty of our planet.

You already know how natural complexes, “continents”, “oceans” were formed. But the nature of each continent, like each ocean, is not the same. Various natural zones are formed on their territory.

Theme: Nature of the Earth

Lesson: Natural areas of the Earth

Why are natural areas formed,

On the patterns of placement of natural zones,

Features of the natural zones of the continents.

So, the annual amount of precipitation of 200 mm in the cold subarctic zone is excessive moisture, which leads to the formation of swamps (see Fig. 1).

And in hot tropical zones - sharply insufficient: deserts are formed (see Fig. 2).

Due to differences in the amount of solar heat and moisture, natural zones are formed within geographic zones.

In the placement of natural zones on the earth's surface, a clear pattern is visible, which can be clearly seen on the map of natural zones. They stretch in a latitudinal direction, replacing each other from north to south.

Due to the heterogeneity of the relief of the earth's surface and moistening conditions in different parts of the continents, natural zones do not form continuous bands parallel to the equator. More often they are replaced in the direction from the coasts of the oceans to the interior of the continents. In the mountains, natural zones replace each other from the foot to the peaks. This is where altitudinal zonality comes into play.

Natural zones are also formed in the World Ocean: from the equator to the poles, the properties of surface waters, the composition of vegetation and wildlife change.

Rice. 3. Natural areas of the world ()

In the same natural areas on different continents, flora and fauna have similar features.

However, the characteristics of the distribution of plants and animals, in addition to climate, are also influenced by other factors: the geological history of the continents, relief, and people.

The unification and separation of the continents, the change in their relief and climate in the geological past have led to the fact that in similar natural conditions, but on different continents, different species of animals and plants live.

So, for example, antelopes, buffaloes, zebras, African ostriches are characteristic of the African savannas, and several species of deer and a flightless rhea bird similar to an ostrich are common in the South American savannahs.

On each continent there are endemics - both plants and animals, peculiar only to this continent. For example, kangaroos are found only in Australia, and polar bears are found only in the Arctic deserts.

Geofocus

The sun heats the spherical surface of the Earth differently: the areas above which it stands high receive the most heat.

Above the poles, the Sun's rays only glide over the Earth. The climate depends on this: hot at the equator, harsh and cold at the poles. The main features of the distribution of vegetation and fauna are also connected with this.

Moist evergreen forests are located in narrow bands and patches along the equator. "Green Hell" - this is what many travelers of past centuries called these places, who had to be here. High multi-tiered forests stand like a solid wall, under the dense crowns of which darkness constantly reigns, monstrous humidity, constant high temperature, there is no change of seasons, downpours regularly fall in an almost continuous stream of water. The forests of the equator are also called permanently rainy. The traveler Alexander Humboldt called them "hylaea" (from the Greek hyle - forest). Most likely, this is what the humid forests of the Carboniferous period looked like with giant ferns and horsetails.

The rainforests of South America are called "selva" (see Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Selva

Savannahs are a sea of ​​grasses with occasional islands of trees with umbrella crowns (see Fig. 5). Vast expanses of these amazing natural communities are found in Africa, although there are savannahs in South America, Australia, and India. A distinctive feature of the savannas is the alternation of dry and wet seasons, which take about half a year, replacing each other. The fact is that for the subtropical and tropical latitudes, where the savannahs are located, the change of two different air masses is characteristic - humid equatorial and dry tropical. Monsoon winds, bringing seasonal rains, significantly affect the climate of the savannahs. Since these landscapes are located between the very humid natural zones of the equatorial forests and the very dry zones of the deserts, they are constantly influenced by both. But moisture is not present in the savannas long enough for multi-tiered forests to grow there, and dry "winter periods" of 2-3 months do not allow the savannah to turn into a harsh desert.

The natural zone of the taiga is located in the north of Eurasia and North America (see Fig. 6). On the North American continent, it stretches from west to east for more than 5 thousand km, and in Eurasia, originating in the Scandinavian Peninsula, it spread to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The Eurasian taiga is the largest continuous forest zone on Earth. It occupies more than 60% of the territory of the Russian Federation. The taiga contains huge reserves of wood and supplies a large amount of oxygen to the atmosphere. In the north, the taiga smoothly turns into the forest-tundra, gradually the taiga forests are replaced by light forests, and then by individual groups of trees. The furthest taiga forests enter the forest-tundra along river valleys, which are most protected from strong northern winds. In the south, the taiga also smoothly turns into coniferous-deciduous and broad-leaved forests. For many centuries, humans have interfered with natural landscapes in these areas, so now they are a complex natural and anthropogenic complex.

Under the influence of human activity, the geographical envelope is changing. Swamps are being drained, deserts are being irrigated, forests are disappearing, and so on. Thus, the appearance of natural areas is changing.

Homework

Read § 9. Answer the questions:

What determines the moisture content of an area? How do different moisture conditions affect natural complexes?

Are there natural areas in the ocean?

Bibliography

MainI

1. Geography. Earth and people. Grade 7: Textbook for general education. uch. / A.P. Kuznetsov, L.E. Savelyeva, V.P. Dronov, "Spheres" series. - M.: Education, 2011.

2. Geography. Earth and people. Grade 7: atlas, series "Spheres".

Additional

1. N.A. Maksimov. Behind the pages of a geography textbook. - M.: Enlightenment.

Literature for preparing for the GIA and the Unified State Examination

1. Tests. Geography. Grades 6-10: Teaching aid / A. A. Letyagin. - M .: LLC "Agency" KRPA "Olimp": Astrel, AST, 2007. - 284 p.

2. Study guide for geography. Tests and practical tasks in geography / I. A. Rodionova. - M.: Moscow Lyceum, 1996. - 48 p.

3. Geography. Answers on questions. Oral exam, theory and practice / V. P. Bondarev. - M.: Publishing house "Exam", 2009. - 160 p.

4. Thematic tests to prepare for the final certification and the exam. Geography. - M.: Balass, ed. House of RAO, 2011. - 160 p.

1. Russian Geographical Society ().

3. Study guide for geography ().

4. Geographical directory ().

5. Geological and geographical formation ().

What determines the formation of natural zones? What natural areas stand out on our planet? You can answer these and some other questions by reading this article.

Natural zoning: the formation of natural zones on the territory

The so-called our planet is the largest natural complex. It is very heterogeneous, both in the vertical section (which is expressed in vertical zonality) and in the horizontal (latitudinal), which is expressed in the presence of various natural zones on Earth. The formation of natural zones depends on several factors. And in this article we will talk about the latitudinal heterogeneity of the geographic envelope.

This is a component of the geographical shell, which is distinguished by a certain set of natural components with its own characteristics. These components include the following:

• climatic conditions;
• the nature of the relief;
• hydrological network of the territory;
• soil structure;
• organic world.

It should be noted that the formation of natural zones depends on the first component. However, natural areas receive their names, as a rule, according to the nature of their vegetation. After all, flora is the brightest component of any landscape. In other words, vegetation acts as a kind of indicator that reflects the deep (those that are hidden from our eyes) processes of the formation of a natural complex.

It should be noted that the natural zone is the highest step in the hierarchy of the physical and geographical zoning of the planet.

Factors of natural zoning

We list all the factors in the formation of natural zones on Earth. So, the formation of natural zones depends on the following factors:

1. Climatic features of the territory (this group of factors should include the temperature regime, the nature of moisture, as well as the properties of the air masses that dominate the territory).
2. The general nature of the relief (this criterion, as a rule, affects only the configuration, the boundaries of a particular natural zone).

The formation of natural zones can also be influenced by proximity to the ocean, or the presence of powerful ocean currents off the coast. However, all these factors are secondary. The main root cause of natural zonality is that different parts (belts) of our planet receive unequal amounts of solar heat and moisture.

Natural areas of the world

What natural zones are distinguished today by geographers on the body of our planet? Let's list them from the poles - to the equator:

• Arctic (and Antarctic) deserts.
• Tundra and forest tundra.
• Taiga.
• Broadleaved forest zone.
• Forest-steppe.
• Steppe (or prairie).
• Semi-desert and desert zone.
• Savannah zone.
• Tropical rainforest zone.
• Humid zone (hylaea).
• The zone of rain (monsoon) forests.

If we look at the map of the natural zonality of the planet, we will see that all natural zones are located on it in the form of sublatitudinal belts. That is, these zones, as a rule, extend from west to east. Sometimes this sublatitudinal direction can be violated. The reason for this, as we have already said, is the features of the relief of a particular territory.

It is also worth noting that there are simply no clear boundaries between natural areas (as shown on the map). So, almost each of the zones smoothly "flows" into the neighboring one. At the same time, border "zones" can very often form at the junction. For example, such are semi-desert or forest-steppe zones.

Conclusion

So, we found out that the formation of natural zones depends on many factors. The main ones are the ratio of heat and moisture in a particular area, the properties of the prevailing air masses, the nature of the relief, and so on. The set of these factors is the same for any territory: mainland, country or small area.

Geographers distinguish over a dozen large natural zones on the surface of our planet, which are elongated in the form of belts and replace each other from the equator to the polar latitudes.

Main questions: What determines the distribution of natural zones across the territory? What are the main features of the climate of the arctic, subarctic, temperate, subtropical zones?

General patterns of natural zonality. In the composition of all geographical zones of the mainland, not one, but several natural zones stand out. In the north, the latitudinal zonality of natural zones is clearly manifested, which is due to the evenness of the relief and a uniform increase in the incoming heat. In the central part of the mainland, the change in climatic conditions in the belts occurs in two directions - from north to south and from the ocean margins to the interior of the mainland. Therefore, natural zones have a location close to meridional.

Natural zone of the arctic deserts formed on the islands of the Arctic Ocean. Cold and high precipitation contribute to the development of glaciation. In summer, in depressions and cracks appear mosses, lichens, cold-resistant herbs and shrubs. arctic soils contain almost no nutrients. The poverty of the animal world is associated with harsh conditions. The life of its representatives is connected with the sea. On the islands are formed bird markets. They live in the waters of the seas seals, walruses, bowhead whales. Entering coastal areas from the mainland polar bears, wolves, polar foxes. In Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago lives muskox, or musk ox.

Natural zone of tundra and forest-tundra occupies the north of the mainland. The short summer quickly gives way to a snowy cold winter. Permafrost is widespread. Tundra in the north moss and lichen. Rare herbs appear in summer ( sedge, cotton grass) and polar flowers - forget-me-nots, polar poppies, dandelions. South of the tundra becomes shrubby: meet dwarf birch and willow, wild rosemary, blueberry, bilberry. Under the conditions of summer waterlogging during thawing, permafrost is formed tundra-gley soil. herds reindeer are the object of hunting of the Eskimos and Indians. Meet polar hare, lemmings. Small animals are prey polar bear, polar wolf, arctic fox. common white partridge, predatory snowy owl, in the summer waterfowl arrive - geese, ducks, waders. Trees appear in the south along the river valleys: black and white spruce.

Taiga natural zone extends south of the forest-tundra. The vegetation is represented by dark coniferous forests from black and white firs and balsam fir. Grow in dry places pines: white(Weymouth), Banks(stone) and red (fig. 39.1). In the taiga zone are typical podzolic and gray forest soils, in the lowlands - peat-marsh.

The coniferous forests of the mountainous Pacific coast are called "rain forests", they grow in conditions of high rainfall (Fig. 40.1). stands out in the forest stand Douglas fir (Fig. 41.1)- one of the world's giants, the diameter of its trunk reaches 1.5 -2 m, and the height is 100 m. Typical North American coniferous species: thuja, Sitka spruce, yellow pine. Mountains form under the forests brown forest soil.

The animal world is diverse (Fig. 42.1-45.1): many large ungulates: wapiti deer, American Moose, meet in the mountains bighorn goat and bighorn ram. typical brown and black american bear, puma(or cougar) gray and red squirrel, chipmunk, predators - marten, wolf, Canadian lynx, ermine, wolverine, fox, in the rivers - beavers, otters a and musky rat a (muskrat). Variety of forest birds crossbills, warblers etc. In rain forests are common hummingbird.

mixed forests occupy the vicinity of the Great Lakes and part of the Appalachians. It is warmer here in winter, deciduous trees appear among the conifers. : elm, beech, linden, oak, birch, maples: sugar, red(fig. 46.1) , silver. Leaf litter allows the formation sod-podzolic soils. The Appalachian coastline is dominated by broad-leaved forests with exceptional species richness. Diverse oaks, chestnuts, beeches, grow tree hickory, deciduous magnolia, yellow poplar, black walnut, tulip tree

Falling leaves give a lot of organic matter and contribute to the formation of fertile brown forest x soils used for arable land. Previously, the animal world of forests was distinguished by unique richness. Its representatives are Virginian deer, gray fox, lynx, baribal black bear, tree porcupine, American mink, weasel, badger, raccoon (Fig. 50.1). endemic flying squirrels, skunks, the only marsupials in North America opossums (Fig. 51.1).

1. What is natural zoning? What is its cause? Why can natural zones change in different directions? What factors determine the patterns of change in natural zones in North America? 3. List the geographical zones in which the territory of North America is located.

Remember:

Question: What is a natural complex?

Answer: A natural complex is a relatively homogeneous area of ​​the earth's surface, the unity of which is due to its geographical location, the general history of development and modern natural processes of the same type. All components of nature interact within the natural complex: the earth's crust with its inherent structure in a given place, the atmosphere with its properties (the climate characteristic of this place), water, and the organic world. As a result, each natural complex is a new integral formation with certain features that distinguish it from others. Natural complexes within the land are commonly called natural territorial complexes (NTCs). On the territory of Africa, large natural complexes - the Sahara, the East African Highlands, the Congo Basin (Equatorial Africa), etc. Formed in the ocean and other water bodies (in a lake, river) - natural aquatic (PAC); natural-anthropogenic landscapes (NAL) are created by human economic activity on a natural basis.

Question: What do the terms "latitudinal zonality" and "altitude zonality" mean?

Answer: Altitudinal zonality is a regular change of natural complexes in the mountains, associated with a change in climatic conditions along the height. The number of altitudinal belts depends on the height of the mountains and their position relative to the equator. The change of altitudinal belts and the order of their placement are similar to the change of natural zones on the plains, although they have some features associated with the nature of the mountains, as well as the existence of altitudinal belts that have no analogues in the plains.

Question: According to the appearance of what natural component, natural areas are named?

Answer: A natural zone (geographical zone) is a land area (part of a geographical zone) with certain conditions of temperature and moisture (the ratio of heat and moisture). It is distinguished by the relative homogeneity of flora and fauna and soils, the regime of precipitation and runoff, and the features of exogenous processes. The change of natural zones on land obeys the laws of latitudinal (geographical) zonality, as a result of which natural zones on the plains regularly replace each other either in the latitudinal direction (from the poles to the equator) or from the oceans deep into the continents. Most zones are named after the predominant type of vegetation (for example, tundra zone, coniferous forest zone, savanna zone, etc.).

My geographical research:

Question: Which continent has the largest set of natural areas and which has the smallest?

Answer: The Eurasia mainland has the largest set of natural zones.

The mainland Antarctica has the smallest set of natural zones.

Question: Which continents are close to each other in terms of the set of natural zones?

Answer: In terms of the set of natural zones, the continents of Eurasia and North America are close to each other.

Question: On what continents is the location of natural zones close to latitudinal?

Answer: There are not so many areas in which natural zones have an exactly latitudinal strike, and that they occupy very limited areas on the surface of the Earth. In Eurasia, such areas include the eastern part of the Russian Plain and the West Siberian Plain. On the Ural Range separating them, latitudinal zonality is disturbed by vertical zonality. Within North America, the areas in which natural zones have a strictly latitudinal position are even smaller than in Eurasia: latitudinal zonality is expressed with sufficient distinctness only between 80 and 95 ° W. e. In equatorial Africa, areas with zones elongated strictly from west to east are significant, they occupy the western (most) part of the mainland, and do not extend to the east beyond 25 ° E. e. In the southern part of the mainland, the areas of zones elongated in longitude extend almost to the tropic. In South America and Australia, there are no areas with a clearly expressed latitudinal zonality; only the boundaries of zones are found that are close in strike in longitude (in the southern part of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, as well as in the central part of Australia). So, the location of natural zones in the form of strips elongated strictly from west to east is observed in the following conditions: 1) on the plains, 2) in areas of temperate continentality, remote from advection centers, where the conditions of heat and moisture are close to average latitudinal values, and 3) in areas where the amount of average annual precipitation varies from north to south.

Localities that meet such conditions have a limited distribution on the Earth's surface, and therefore latitudinal zonality in its pure form is relatively rare.

Question: On what continents do natural zones extend close to meridional?

Answer: Remoteness from the oceans and features of the general circulation of the atmosphere are the main reasons for the meridional change of natural zones, in Eurasia, where the land reaches its maximum size, the meridional change of natural zones can be traced especially well.

In the temperate zone, western transport brings moisture relatively uniformly to the western coasts. On the eastern coasts - monsoonal circulation (rainy and dry seasons). When moving inland, the forests of the western coast are replaced by steppes, semi-deserts and deserts. As we approach the east coast, forests reappear, but of a different type.

Questions and tasks:

Question: What determines the moistening of territories. How does moisture affect natural complexes?

Answer: Humidification of territories depends on the amount of precipitation, the ratio of heat and moisture. The warmer it is, the more moisture evaporates.

An equal amount of precipitation in different zones leads to different consequences: for example, 200 ml. precipitation in the cold subarctic zone is excessive (may lead to the formation of swamps), and in the tropical zone it is too insufficient (may lead to the formation of deserts).

Question: Why are the natural zones on the continents not consistently replaced from north to south everywhere?

Answer: The location of natural zones on the continents obeys the law of wide zoning, that is, they change from north to south with an increase in the amount of solar radiation. However, there are significant differences, due to the conditions of atmospheric circulation over the mainland, some natural zones replace each other from west to east (along the meridian), because the eastern and western edges of the mainland are the most humid, and the interior is much drier.

Question: Are there natural complexes in the ocean and why?

Answer: In the ocean there is a division into natural zones or zones, it is similar to the division according to the principle of latitudinal zonality of natural land zones, only without distinguishing types of climate.

That is, arctic, subarctic, northern and southern temperate, northern and southern subtropical, northern and southern tropical, northern and southern subequatorial, equatorial, subantarctic, antarctic.

In addition, large and smaller natural complexes are distinguished: the largest are oceans, smaller ones are seas, even smaller ones are bays, straits, the smallest are parts of bays, and so on.

In addition, the law of altitudinal zonality also operates in the ocean, as on land, which makes it possible to divide the natural complexes of the ocean into complexes of the littoral (coastal waters, shallow waters), pelagials (surface waters in the open sea), bathyals (medium-deep areas of the oceans) and abyssals (the deepest parts of the ocean).

A latitudinal natural strip of land or the World Ocean, which has uniform thermal conditions and atmospheric moisture, and, accordingly, relatively homogeneous elements of landscapes, is an integral part of the geographic belt of the Earth. Syn.:… … Geography Dictionary

natural area- — EN natural area An area in which natural processes predominate, fluctuations in numbers of organisms are allowed free play and human intervention is minimal. (Source: LANDY) EN sensitive natural area Terrestrial or aquatic area or other fragile natural setting with unique or highly valued environmental features. (Source: EPAGLO)… … Technical Translator's Handbook

Specially protected natural area- 025 Specially protected natural area (Figure A.24) Standardized graphic content: silhouette of a tree next to the silhouette of an animal. Purpose: indication of the location of a protected area designed to protect flora and fauna. Region… … Dictionary-reference book of terms of normative and technical documentation

Natural zone, regional landscape unit, meaning a significant area with a special type of climate, specific vegetation and soil cover and wildlife. The geographical zone is one of the highest levels of the latitudinal zonal physical ... ... Ecological dictionary

Natural area with arid climate; desert and semi-desert zone. Here agriculture is possible only with artificial irrigation. Ecological encyclopedic dictionary. Chisinau: Main edition of the Moldavian Soviet Encyclopedia. I.I. Grandpa. 1989... Ecological dictionary

Secondary intergradation zone, a natural zone within the range of a species in which secondary contact (meeting, gene exchange) of previously geographically isolated (divergent, allopatric) populations occurs. It is of decisive importance for... Ecological dictionary

A natural zone distinguished by the features of relief-forming processes. Ecological encyclopedic dictionary. Chisinau: Main edition of the Moldavian Soviet Encyclopedia. I.I. Grandpa. 1989... Ecological dictionary

antarctic desert zone- The natural zone, including Antarctica and nearby islands, has a harsh Antarctic climate and sparse polar vegetation ... Geography Dictionary

Books

• The Elusive World: The Ecological Consequences of Habitat Loss, Hansky I.
• The elusive world. Ecological Impacts of Habitat Loss, Ilkka Hanski. The book is devoted to the analysis of the ecological consequences of the loss and fragmentation of habitats that occur as a result of intensive economic activity of people and are of great importance for…