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Definition

noun, plural: biomes

A major ecological community of organisms adapted to a particular climatic or environmental condition on a large geographic area in which they occur.

Supplement

Biomes may be classified into:

• Terrestrial biomes or land biomes - e.g. tundra, taiga, grasslands, savannas, deserts, tropical forests, etc.
• Freshwater biomes - e.g. large lakes, polar freshwaters, tropical coastal rivers, river deltas, etc.
• Marine biomes - e.g. continental shelf, tropical coral, kelp forest, benthic zone, pelagic zone, etc.

Word origin: bi: variant of bio-, esp. before a vowel + -ome: New Latin -ōma, -ōmat.

See also: ecosystem.