A bioclimate is defined by climatic factors that influence the development and survival of living beings.
A bioclimate is a type of climate that can be differentiated from others according to the group of climatic factors that affect the development and survival of living organisms . The term, in any case, is not part of the dictionary prepared by the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ).
Before entering fully into clarifying the meaning of the term at hand, we can determine its etymological origin. In this case, it must be established that it has Greek origin since it is the result of the sum of two components of said language:
- The noun bios , which can be translated as “life” .
- The word klima , which is used to indicate both environmental conditions and the inclination of the sun.
What is bioclimate
Bioclimate is usually called the region whose territories have similar climatic characteristics, which in turn are different with respect to the characteristics exhibited by adjacent bioclimates. The climatic characteristics of the bioclimate have an influence on the life and distribution of the living beings that inhabit the area.
The formation of bioclimates is carried out according to the values of various indices and parameters. There are five major macroclimates (polar, boreal, temperate, Mediterranean and tropical), which in turn encompass the different types of bioclimates.
Among the bioclimates we can name the pluvial , the desert , the continental desert , the oceanic and the hyperoceanic . In each bioclimate it is possible to find particular biocenosis , since the permanence of living beings on the ground is linked to specific climatic conditions.
There are different types of bioclimate.
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The scientific specialty dedicated to the study of bioclimates and the reciprocal relationships between climate and living beings is called bioclimatology or phytoclimatology . The analysis of variables such as the level of precipitation and temperature, added to the collection of information on the organisms that inhabit a region, are the objects of study of bioclimatology, a science that is very important for the preservation of biodiversity.
In addition to everything stated above, we can highlight other data of interest from bioclimatology such as the following:
- In the beginning, what he did was relate plants and plant formations with temperature and precipitation and the climate. However, as time went by, he also analyzed, for example, the relationship with respect to biogenocenosis .
- In the development of the activity of this discipline, the existing meteorological stations play a fundamental role, which are responsible for providing the necessary information on humidity, pressure, wind, temperature...
- It allows you to obtain what are called climodiagrams , graphs where temperature, precipitation and the evolution of these factors are related.
- In the same way, we cannot ignore that bioclimatology works with what are called bioclimatic indices . These are evapotranspiration, continentality indices, rainfall indices, thermal indices and thermopluviometric indices.
In the same way, all this information leads us to establish that there are several bioclimatic zones on Earth. We are referring to the following: desert, jungle, temperate forest, temperate grassland, mountain, taiga, savanna, tundra and Mediterranean.