Biome

A BIOME IS A classification of large areas of plant formations. The world’s vegetation communities can be described in many ways depending on scale and controlling factors. The early plant geographers, notably F. E. Clements and V. E. Shelford, working in the UNITED KINGDOM and the UNITED STATES in the early 20th century, defined and classified the major plant formations with their associated fauna as biomes. Within each biome, there is a uniform life form of vegetation, for example, FORESTS and GRASSLANDS in which trees and grasses predominate respectively. All biomes are extensive and characterize large areas of the Earth’s surface.

Further subdivisions are possible; for example forests can be divided into coniferous, temperate, and tropical, and grasslands may be temperate or tropical. These subdivisions are usually linked with the prevailing climate because the annual temperature and precipitation regimes are important determinants of vegetation life form and species composition, which, in turn, influence animal communities. Thus, in traditional terms biomes are climatic climax communities, that is, they comprise plant and animal communities that have developed an equilibrium with their environment which facilitates definition as a unit.

There are rarely sharp boundaries between biomes but rather a gradation in a transition zone, similar to an ecotone, or boundary between ECOSYSTEMS, which can also be synonymous with biomes at the global scale. The major biomes recognized on the Earth’s land surface include the following:

1) TUNDRA: High latitudes, no trees, dwarf shrubs, herbs, grasses.

2) Forests: Taiga (coniferous forest) in high latitudes, evergreen tree species predominate; temperate forest: temperate latitudes/high latitude maritime, broadleaf species; temperate RAINFOREST: same as temperate forests above, especially Southern Hemisphere island locations, evergreen and broadleaf species; tropical forest: tropical latitudes with high rainfall, varied composition with evergreen and broadleaf species.

3) Savanna: Various types depending on tree/grass distribution, tropical latitudes with seasonal rainfall, grasslands to open forests.

4) Mediterranean-type: Sometimes described as chaparral, various types in areas of hot, dry summers

and warm, wet winters, between temperate and tropical latitudes; mixed woodland, grassland, shrubs.

5) Grasslands: Various types, mid-latitude continental interior with a wide annual temperature range, grass species predominate.

6) DESERT: Highly variable, depending on precipitation volume and distribution, low latitudes with low rainfall, few trees and shrubs, ephemeral herbs and grasses, includes succulents.

Aquatic environments can also be classified into biomes, notably wetlands, freshwater environments, and marine ecosystems. The first two categories can be further subdivided depending on characteristics such as climate, acidity, alkalinity, and salinity. Marine ecosystems can be subdivided into two units: the LITTORAL or shoreline zone and the oceanic or open water zone. Examples of littoral ecosystems include mangrove swamps and salt marshes. The oceanic zone also varies roughly on a latitudinal basis reflecting water temperature and, hence, the prevailing climate.

An alternative classification can be applied to the vertical distribution of marine organisms, namely, the illuminated or photic zone near the surface, where light allows photosynthesis to take place; the nectonic zone, in which fish and aquatic mammals live; and the ocean floor, which may be rock, sand, or mud, where bottom- dwelling organisms (benthos) live.

The distribution and composition of biomes are not constant in geological time. Throughout the 5,000

million years of Earth history, changes in climate and earth movements have altered the configuration of the continents and the oceans. Evolution has given rise to new life forms. The most geologically recent alterations to the world’s biomes occurred during the last 3 million years, the last Ice Age, when a series of cold periods (glacial stages) separated by warm (interglacial stages) began.

As temperatures waxed and waned, the world’s biomes changed in extent and in composition. The biomes described above came into existence between 10,000 and 5,000 years ago during the current interglacial stage. The present biomes have also been substantially modified by human activity for which there is no precedent in earlier geological periods. The biomes contain a wealth of natural resources that have sustained humankind and allowed the species to proliferate, but at a cost. Agriculture, mining, logging, pollution, urban spread, tourism, and water extraction are all contributing to ecosystem loss and species extinction. This alteration is also impairing the capacity of the biomes to provide essential services such as the circulation of elements and compounds between the atmosphere, vegetation, and soils, as in the carbon and nitrogen cycles. This is related to the regulation of climate as vegetation, especially trees, provide a huge store of carbon. But as deforestation occurs, increasing volumes of carbon enter the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and so exacerbate the problem of global warming caused by fossil-fuel consumption.

Bight of Benin

A “BIGHT” REFERS TO a bend or curve, most often a crescent shape, that forms an open bay in a coastline. The Bight of Benin is a roughly 500-mi- (800-km-) long bend in the West African coast, stretching from near the mouth of the Volta River (Cape Saint Paul) in GHANA eastward across the coastlines of TOGO and BENIN to the DELTA of the Niger River in NIGERIA. The Bight of Benin received its name from the centuries-old kingdom of Benin located in southern Nigeria. The nation of BENIN (formerly Dahomey) consequently received its name from the coastline in 1975.

The Bight of Benin is a region rich in culture and history. Prior to European colonization, major African kingdoms existed in the area, including the Asante (1750 to late 1800s) in what is now Ghana, Fon (1700s) and Dahomey kingdoms (1800s) in what is now Togo and Benin, and the Yoruba (1000s to 1800s) and Benin (1200s to 1897) kingdoms in what is now Nigeria.

Portuguese explorers, reaching the area in 1485, found the city of Benin to be as well organized as cities in Europe. Between 1500 and 1800, the Benin kingdom expanded power, largely through trade with the Portuguese. The tropical climate brought hardship to Europeans from disease and trying conditions. An old rhyme stated, “Beware, beware the Bight of Benin, for few come out though many go in.”

Also known as the Slave Coast, the region was an important area of slave trading from the 1500s to the 1800s. Some pre-European slavery was practiced, largely as prisoner labor resulting from wars among kingdoms. Slavery expanded with European contact, with mostly males sent abroad and females staying within Africa. The Dahomey kingdom became a major source of transatlantic slave trade to BRAZIL, the Caribbean, and the UNITED STATES. The kingdom was the origin of an estimated 14.5 percent of U.S. slaves. The cities of Abomey and Ouidah became international cultural and trading centers.

Many slaves spoke the Gbe language and practiced the religion of Vodun (a predecessor of Haitian voodoo). As many as 10,000 to 15,000 slaves were exported per year. By the early to mid-1700s, so many local slaves were exported that prices rose and other African regions to the west and south were exploited. King Duezo of Dahomey brought independence from the Yoruba in the early 1800s. Abolition of slavery in Brazil in 1880 brought liberated slaves back from Brazil. Many were skilled tradesmen who formed an upper class in Porto Novo and Lagos, bringing some Portuguese architecture that had been popular in colonial Brazil.

Palm oil then became the major regional export until petroleum oil was discovered in the Niger River delta in the 1950s. Cotton and cocoa are also major exports. The coastal population today includes the nations of Ghana (former British colony, 20 million), Togo (former German and French colony, 5 million), Benin (former French colony, 7 million), and Nigeria (former British colony, 130 million).

The Bight of Benin has a long dry season from November to the end of March, driven by northerly Harmattan winds. It has a first rainy season from April to July, a short dry period in August, and a second rainy season in September and October. Rainfall can exceed 10 in (25 cm) in June and 50 in (127 cm) annually. Average temperatures range from lows of 75 degrees F (23 degrees C) to highs of 85 degrees F (28 degrees C) in the wet season and 90 degrees F (32 degrees C) in the dry season.

Major ports include Lomé (Togo), Cotonou (Benin), and Lagos (Nigeria). Ouidah was the only port in Benin until 1908. Ouidah today features a voodoo museum, the Sacred Forest, and Route of the Slaves, a short road with landmarks, statues, and villages along the route slaves took to the ships. North of Cotonou is Ganvié, a town of bamboo huts built on stilts for protection. Religious custom prevented Fon and Dahomey warriors from crossing into water. Much of the Bight of Benin coastline has white sand beaches, clear water, tidal flats, and coastal lagoons, accompanied by strong tides and currents.

Bhutan

BHUTAN IS A LANDLOCKED country located in the eastern part of the HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS, bordered by INDIA in the south, east, and west and by TIBET in the north. At its lowest east-west corridor, Bhutan stretches around 186 mi (300 km), and it measures approximately 105 mi (170 km) at its north-south direction.

There are three main ethnic groups in Bhutan. The Ngalungs or Ngalops (often called Drukpas) live in the northwestern part of the country. They speak Dzonkha and are called Drukpas as they follow the Drukpa Kargyupa school of Tibetan Buddhism. The second ethnic group is called Sharchops and they inhabit the eastern and central region and practice Nyingmapa, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism. The Sharchops speak Tsangla, Kheng, Kurteop, Sharchopkha, and Brokpa dialects. The third major ethnic group is called Lhotshampas and they live in the southern foothills of Bhutan and speak primarily a Nepali language.

Bhutan is ruled by a hereditary monarch who governs the country with the support of a national assembly and the council of ministers. Bhutan does not have any written constitution. In 2001, the Bhutanese king commissioned the drafting of a constitution, which is to become effective in 2005. The royal government of Bhutan is guided by the aid and advice of the government of India in regard to its external relations. India is responsible for defense and foreign relations as per Article 2 of the Indo-Bhutan treaty.

Bhutan is primarily an agricultural country. The traditional form of agriculture is the main subsistence occupation for the majority of Bhutanese people, who involve themselves with agriculture, livestock, and related activities. The hydroelectricity power sector provides the single biggest revenue to Bhutan. India has been the prime market for Bhutan’s finished products and imports. Bhutan imports from India necessary household items such as rice, vegetables, poultry, fish, wheat, and salt. Bhutan also imports other items such as petroleum products, automobiles, steel, sugar, medicines, and textile goods.

Bhutan has been identified as one of the 10 biodiversity hot spots in the world and as one of the 221 global bird areas. Its ecosystems harbor some of the most endangered species of the Himalayas, with an estimated 770 species of birds and over 50 species of rhododendron. They are enriched by a rich a wildlife with animals such as the snow leopard, golden langur, blue sheep, water buffalo, tiger, and elephant.

Bermuda

BERMUDA IS A UNITED KINGDOM overseas territory located 700 miles southeast of NEW YORK CITY in the  North ATLANTIC OCEAN. With an area of 36.2 square mi (53.3 square km), the island colony has a population of 64,482 (2003). Bermuda is a primary tourism destination for East Coast Americans, and its capital, Hamilton, serves as a harbor for numerous cruise ships.

In 1506, a Spanish sea captain, Juan de Bermúdez, came upon uninhabited islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and named them Bermuda. Although Bermúdez did not claim the land for SPAIN, the islands did become an important landmark for seafarers crossing the ocean from Spain to the New World. In 1609, an English admiral, Sir George Somers, was sailing from England to the new British settlement, Jamestown, VIRGINIA, in the New World. He landed in Bermuda and built replacement ships. Two men were left behind and claimed the land for Britain.

The British Jamestown Company soon became interested in the islands and three years later brought over 60 settlers to organize a settlement. Tobacco, cedar, whaling, and salt were vital to the early Bermudan economy. As the years passed, cedar forests were cleared for areas of land capable of cultivating potatoes, cabbages, onions, and tobacco.

Slaves were transported to the islands in 1616, and in 1684, Bermuda became a British colony. During the American Revolution, the Bermudan citizens remained loyal to the British, and in the War of 1812, the British navy used Bermuda as a base. The Royal Naval Dockyard on the western end of the island proved vital in maintaining British superiority in the North Atlantic. In 1834, slavery was abolished and around 5,000 slaves were freed. During the Civil War, Bermuda became a center for southern blockade-runner ships, which would attempt to break the Union naval blockade.

In 1874, the government of Bermuda and the Quebec Steamship Company agreed on a contract that created steamship service between NEW YORK CITY and Bermuda. Bermuda was becoming a popular vacation destination for many people, including the famous American author Mark Twain, and the tourism industry expanded. In 1937, Darell’s Island Marine Airport was opened and air travel began to and from Bermuda. Six years earlier, a railroad was built in the territory. When World War II began, the strategic location of the islands proved vital. Part of the lend-lease agreement between Britain and the United States resulted in a portion of Bermuda being handed over to the American military. After World War II, women were allowed to vote and black voters were given greater freedom. A constitution was signed in 1968, which allowed for full self-government but left security and diplomatic affairs to the British.

The territory was affected by race riots throughout the 1970s, but in the 1980s, the construction industry prospered. Construction resulted in an incredible expansion and employment grew 34 percent. However, the economy faltered in the 1990s and many Bermudans called for full independence from Britain. In 1995, after only 58 percent of the electorate voted, a referendum failed to gain enough votes for independence. That same year, the naval bases occupied by the American military since World War II were handed back to the Bermudan government.

Benin

BENIN IS LOCATED in West Africa and is bordered to the west by TOGO, to the north by NIGER and BURKINA FASO and to the east by NIGERIA. It stretches 435 mi (700 km) from the NIGER RIVER to the Gulf of Guinea. Behind the southern coastal zone, there are a series of interconnected lagoons and lakes. Behind this coastal region is found an area of fertile clay soils that is generally flat, crossed by the wide marsh, through which flows the Ouémé River. Northwest Benin is a region of forested mountains (the Atacora, highest point 2,150 ft or 655 m), from which the Mekrou and Pendjari rivers flow northeast to the Niger River (which is part of the country’s northern border). The northeast is a highland region containing little fertile soil and covered mostly with savanna.

There are 42 ethnic groups in Benin, but its population is divided into four main ethnolinguistic groups: the Fon (in the south), the Yoruba (in the southeast near Nigeria), the Voltaic (in central and north Benin) and the Fulani (in the north). The country’s official language is French. Almost three-quarters of the population follows traditional religious beliefs. Voodoo originated in Benin almost 350 years ago but was officially recognized only in 1996. About 15 percent of the Benin population is Muslim (mostly living in the north) and an equal number is Christian.

Benin’s population is concentrated in the south and in rural areas. Most of the people engage in subsistence farming, with the main crops being cotton, corn, sorghum, cassava, beans, rice, peanuts, and palm oil. There is also an extensive freshwater fishing industry and a smaller sea fishing industry. Benin produces few manufactured goods, of which the largest are either processed agricultural goods (foods and beverages) or basic consumer items (textiles, footwear, ginned cotton).

In 2002 the contribution of the agricultural sector to gross domestic product was 38 percent, while that of the industry was 15 percent and that of the service sector 47 percent. Petroleum was discovered offshore of Porto-Novo in 1968, and in the 1990s was Benin’s largest export. The other mineral resources found in the country (such as titanium, low-quality iron ore, ilmenite, and chromite) have not yet been extensively exploited.

Apart from crude oil, the main exports are cotton, palm oil products, coffee and cocoa beans. The economy has been growing an average of 5 percent annually in the period 1991 to 2004, but rapid population growth has offset much of this increase. In 2001, 37 percent of the population was earning an income below the poverty line.

Benguela Current

THE BENGUELA CURRENT is one of the world’s four major eastern boundary currents. It flows northward off the coast of southwestern Africa along the western coasts of SOUTH AFRICA, NAMIBIA, and southern ANGOLA. The Benguela Current, along with the South Equatorial Current, and the northern part of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current make up the South Atlantic subtropical gyre. The Benguela Current draws icy-cold waters from the Southern Ocean and carries them northward along the coast of Africa. Because of these cold waters, rain clouds do not develop over the southwest coast of Africa, contributing to the parched climate of the KALAHARI and Namib deserts.

The Benguela Current is one of those regions off the west coasts of the continents where there is an upwelling of cool, nutrient-rich water due to the coastal edge of the continental shelf, the prevailing winds, and the Earth’s rotation. Because of these nutrient-rich waters, there is a huge abundance of marine life of all kinds. This has resulted in a large and plentiful fishing industry off Africa’s southwest coast. In direct contrast to this, there are areas of the Benguela Current off the coast of Namibia and along the Walvis Ridge in which there are no fish to be found. This is due to a buildup of harmful algae blooms and high hydrogen sulfide gas levels in the water that are toxic to marine life. This phenomenon is known as “red tide” and is usually confined to localized inshore areas, such as off the west coast of FLORIDA. But because of changes in wind direction, it can occur offshore in the Benguela Current.

About 93 to 124 mi (150 to 200 km) off the coast of South Africa, the Benguela Current begins with an upwelling of ocean currents. It spans from this area around 35 degrees south northward to between 14 degrees and 17 degrees south, where it meets the Angolan Current. At this northern boundary, the change is more dramatic, with cold and warm water meeting to form a thermal front along the coast. The Benguela Current covers around 57,915 square mi (150,000 square km) when using the continental shelf as the offshore boundary line.

The continental shelf near the Benguela is from 40 to 80 mi (64 to 128 km) wide. From the shelf, the ocean bottom slopes steeply away into the abyssal depths of the Cape and Angola basins, each about 16,400 ft (5,000 m) deep. These BASINs are separated by the Walvis Ridge, which starts just off the coast at about 20 degrees south and stretches to the west, linking up with the central Atlantic Ridge. The Walvis Ridge rises to above 2,460 ft (750 m) in many places along its track. This area is exposed to persistent alongshore winds associated with a high-pressure weather system.

The surface temperatures of the Benguela Current are about 14 degrees F (8 degrees C) colder than average for coastlines in these latitudes. The coldest waters of the current run right along the coast of Africa, with very little seasonal variation except in the extreme south near Cape Town, South Africa, where the water is colder in the summer than it is in the winter. Surface temperatures average about 50 to 59 degrees F (10 to 15 degrees C) near the coast and reach up to 77 degrees F (25 degrees C) on the surface, out along the continental shelf.

Benelux

BENELUX IS THE name of the customs union created in 1956, named for the initial syllables of its three member states: BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS, and LUXEMBOURG. The name originally applied to the economic pact between the three countries, the Benelux Economic Union, but is now also used to refer to the three countries as a geopolitical entity. The goal of the customs union was to help rebuild the economies of the Low Countries after the devastation of World War II through the promotion of free movement of workers, capital, services, and goods between all three member states. The Benelux commission, with its headquarters based in Brussels, set about removing all barriers to free trade such as border tariffs and work permits.

The idea of a unified Low Countries is not new to the 20th century. In the Middle Ages, the entire region formed a collective economic unit under the Valois Dukes of Burgundy and their successors after 1477, the Hapsburgs. The 17 provinces of the Low Countries, plus the Duchy of Luxembourg, subsequently formed an essential part of the empire of Hapsburg Spain, the processing plant for boatloads of silver arriving each year from the New World.

Major cities like Ghent, Bruges, and Antwerp created industries and banking empires that rivaled northern Italy for the lead in the technological and economic revolution of the Renaissance. The breakup began with the revolt of the Dutch in the late 16th century. Their golden age in the 17th century was had mostly at the expense of their southern neighbors, who continued to be ruled by SPAIN, and then AUSTRIA until the 1790s.

The three states were united once again at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, under the single rule of the Dutch, but this union lasted only 15 years, and the Belgians revolted against Dutch rule in 1830. A truncated Luxembourg remained attached to the Netherlands, however, until 1890, when it too became completely independent. Each maintained a strict policy of neutrality toward their larger neighbors.

The devastation of the two world wars, however, convinced the three states that going it alone would never secure the prosperity of all three countries. They had few raw materials, but abundant skilled labor, and easy access to the sea and major shipping lanes: Rotterdam and Antwerp are the largest and most active ports in Europe. Relatively small populations and highly productive industries meant all three were dependent on trade and international cooperation, stability, and peace. The impetus for their cooperation was the importance of getting coal and steel from the hills of southern Belgium and Luxembourg, to the factories and ports of the Belgian and Dutch coasts as smoothly and efficiently as possible. A plan for the Benelux Economic Union was therefore formed by the governments of these countries before World War II was even over.

From their exile in LONDON, England (all three countries were under Nazi occupation), representatives of the three governments laid down the basic plan for the union in 1944, but it was not put into place until the formal signature of the Union Treaty at the Hague in 1958, by which time a larger group, inspired by the same principles, had also been created, the ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community), formed in 1952 by the three Benelux nations, plus West Germany, FRANCE, and ITALY.

This led to the formation of the European Economic Community in 1957, which evolved into the EUROPEAN UNION (EU) in 1993. The Benelux Customs Union served as a model for the creation of the EU, and many of its treaties and laws are simply extensions of Benelux policies. The Benelux nations were also founding nations of the NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO) in 1949, giving up their neutrality for stronger alliances with their larger neighbors. Relations between the Benelux countries led to increased laxity in border crossings, eventually developing into the Schengen agreement of 1985, signed in the small town of Schengen, Luxembourg. This agreement removed most travel barriers for its original signatory nations, the Benelux countries, France, West Germany, Spain, and PORTUGAL, and now including additional EU members. One of the primary goals of the Benelux union was to pursue the development of Europe, and it continues to take common initiatives to stimulate integration.

Although the economic necessity for the union has mostly dissipated (coal and steel are no longer the power they were), the partnership is still useful, allowing these small states to coordinate their points of view so as to have the same weight as the larger, more populous nations of the EU.