5-2.1

Climate differences example why one area of the earth’s land, another a grassland, and another a forests and why there are different types of deserts, grasslands, and forests caused by global air circulation.
氣候差異舉例為什麼地球土地的一個區域，別的草原和的別的森林，並且為什麼有全球性空氣環流造成的沙漠、草原和森林的不同的類型。
Figure 5-8 shows how scientists have divided the world into several major biomes─large terrestrial regions characterized by similar climate, soil, plants, and animals, regardless of where they are found in the world.
圖5-8顯示科學家怎麼劃分世界相似的氣候、土壤、植物和動物的幾個主要生物群系，不管他們在世界上尋找。
The variety of terrestial biomes and aquatic systems is one of the four components of the earth’s biodiversity─a vital part of the earth’s natural capital.
地球生物群系和水生系統是地球的生物多樣性的四個組分之一是地球的自然資本的重要部分。
By comparing Figure 5-8 with Figure 5-2 and Figure 1 on pp. S12-S13 in Supplement 4, you can see how the world’s major biomes vary with climate.
經由比較圖5-8和圖5-2和在S12~S13的第四補充的圖1，你可以看到世界的主要生物群系是如何因氣候而改變
Figure 3-6 shows how major biomes in the United States are related to its different climates.
圖3-6顯示在美國的主要生物群系怎麼與它不同的氣候有關聯。
On maps such as the one in Figure 5-8, biomes are shown with sharp boundaries, each being covered with one general type of vegetation.
如圖5-8上的地圖，生物群系有著明顯的分界，每一區覆蓋著一種普遍的植被。
In reality, biomes are not uniform.
事實上，生物群系不是一致的。
They consist of a mosaic of patches, each with somewhat different biological communities but with similarities typical of the biome.
它們是由拼湊的馬賽克構成，每一種都是不同的生物社區但是類似於特點性的生物群系。
These patches occur mostly because the resources that plants and animals need are not uniformly distributed and because human activities remove and alter the natural vegetation in many areas.
這些拼湊的原因主要是因為植物和動物需要的資源沒有平均分配是因為人類在許多地區的活動剷除和修改了自然植被。
Figure 5-9 shows how climate and vegetation vary with latitude and elevation.
圖5-9顯示氣候和植被怎麼隨緯度和海拔變化。
If you climb a tall mountain from its base to its summit, you can observe changes in plant life similar to those you would encounter in traveling from the equator to one of the earth’s poles.
如果你爬一座高山從他的底部爬到山峰，你可以發現植物的生長改變就像是你從赤道旅行到地球的極點所遇見的一樣。
For example, if you hike up a tall mountain in Ecuador, your trek can begin in a tropical rain forest and end on a glacier at the summit.
舉例來說，假如你在厄瓜多爾攀爬一座高山，你的艱苦跋涉可能開始於熱帶雨林和結束於峰頂的冰河。
Differences in climate, mostly from average annual precipitation and temperature, lead to the formation of tropical (hot), temperate (moderate), and polar (cold) deserts, grasslands, and forests.
氣候上的區別，主要是因每年的平均降雨量和溫度，導致形成熱帶(熱)、溫帶(溫和)和寒帶(冷)的沙漠、草原和森林。