Local Biomes in Nigeria

Introduction to Biomes

A biome is just a very large area on earth where plants and animals live together in a specific environment.

In simple terms, a biome is a giant community of living things covering a big piece of land.

The kind of plants and animals you see in a place depends on the weather there, especially how much rain falls and how hot or cold it is.

Therefore, regions of the world with similar climates tend to have similar biomes.

This means that if two places far apart have the same weather, they will likely have the same types of trees and animals.

Local Biomes in Nigeria

In Nigeria, we group our local biomes into two main types based on the vegetation.

1. Forest Zone

The forest zone is a place where you will see plenty of big trees growing closely together.

The forest zone is characterized by vegetation that mainly consists of trees.

In this area, the ground is covered more by trees than by grass.

This zone includes the following local biotic communities:

Mangrove swamp forest, which consists of both salt and freshwater swamps.

Tropical rain forest.

2. Savanna Zone

The savanna zone is a place where you see mostly grass and only a few scattered trees.

The savanna zone is primarily made up of grasses.

This area is much drier than the forest zone, so grass grows better than tall trees.

It is further sub-divided into several savanna belts or biotic communities, which include:

Southern guinea savanna.

Northern guinea savanna.

Sahel savanna.

Sudan savanna.

Factors affecting Biomes in Nigeria

The main things that decide where forests grow and where savannas grow in Nigeria are weather conditions.

The most important factors that influence the distribution of forests and savannas in Nigeria are climatic factors.

These weather factors decide why some states have thick bushes and others have dry grass.

These include:

Mean annual rainfall.

Length and severity of the dry season.

Minimum relative humidity during the driest months.