A very wealthy friend of yours has decided to construct a massive indoor "biome garden," containing representative ecosystems from many parts of the world. Your friend is in the early planning stages of this venture and has hired you as an ecological consultant. Your task is to help solve the many problems associated with designing several independent greenhouse-style modules with appropriate environmental conditions for each of the biomes. The biome garden is to be developed in Asheville, North Carolina, where warm summers alternate with mild winters to create conditions naturally suitable for the temperate seasonal forest biome. The site chosen for development of the biome garden is a pine plantation that was established approximately 70 years ago. The soils are clayey, acidic, relatively infertile, and have low organic matter content. You are free to make any recommendations for environmental conditions in the greenhouse modules, regardless of the expense associated with implementing them. Also, you do not need to worry about how to implement these conditions; your friend's engineering team will address such details. Now, put your knowledge of biomes to work and answer questions 1-6.
1. Your friend wants to develop a greenhouse module representing the temperate seasonal forest biome. Discuss some of the important considerations involved in developing a greenhouse replicating the conditions found immediately outside the greenhouse.
2. Another temperate biome planned for the biome garden is the temperate grassland/desert biome. Your friend is particularly interested in developing temperate grassland. Discuss some of the considerations involved in establishing such grassland under greenhouse conditions.
3. How would you establish a greenhouse supporting a subtropical desert biome?
4. Your friend is quite interested in establishing a tropical rain forest greenhouse. What would be your recommendations?
5. How would you establish a greenhouse supporting a Tundra biome?
6. Would you attempt to incorporate animals into the greenhouse biomes? Explain your answer.