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Tree-Sparrow — Biomes of Periboea [Outdated]

#alien #astrobiology #biome #evolution #exobiology #exoplanet #extraterrestrial #life #map #planet #scifi #space #speculative #periboea
Published: 2020-04-23 04:43:47 +0000 UTC; Views: 4735; Favourites: 34; Downloads: 9
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Description Here is a basic map regarding all the surface biomes of my speculative exoplanet Periboea. Biomes on the exoplanet's surface have huge impacts on the terrain and climate of the atmosphere. For example, temperatures may be regulated based on the albedo of the landscape, which will be darkened by vegetation.

Labelled Biomes:

Spire Forest: Spire forests are the most biodiverse of all biomes on Periboea's surface. They are technically rainforests, however unlike other similar biomes the dominant form of ground cover is not autotrophic. Instead, enormous organisms known as spires grow up to 410 metres tall. Spires are sponge-like filter-feeding organisms of the kingdom Monsviva. They resemble large tapering tubes of very lightweight, porous material. About half way up the spire a large, circular outgrowth is present known as the base plate. From this plate the rainforest ecosystem grows, elevated above the ground by up to 200 metres. Photosynthetic nebulasperms and chemosynthetic sulfuraeans exhibit mutualistic symbioses with the spires, exchanging nutrients for water and better access to light.

Beneath this aloft ecosystem is a tangle of branch and root-like supports grown by the spire organisms. from these, sulfuraeans grow, producing a dark chemosynthetic understory that could be considered its own separate ecosystem. Conditions here are very wet, with rain collecting in pools constructed by large, saprobiontic, fungus-like organisms, and hyphae spanning between branches to catch and digest falling creatures from above.

At the bottom of the spires, water pools into shallow anaerobic lakes and swamps that sit between the enormous support roots of the spires. Here decomposition fuels the food web.

I may go into more detail about the biology of spires in future. They feed using a complex system utilising endothermic chemical reactions to generate air currents.

Photosynthetic Rainforest: Where conditions are not wet or consistently warm enough for spires to grow, photosynthetic rainforests develop. Smaller members of kingdom Monsviva may be present still. In these environments, the nebulasperms are the dominant form of ground cover, and trees may grow up to 100 metres or more in height. 

Chemosynthetic Rainforest: In regions of high wind and lower precipitation, the sulfuraeans dominate, building up their own unique ecosystems. One example of this is the chemosynthetic rainforest. Strong winds provide a constant influx of new atmospheric sulfur allowing continual growth and the ability for sulfuraeans to trump their photosynthetic competitors. 

In most chemosynthesis-dominated terrestrial ecosystems, sulfuraeans grow equally in three dimensions, as atmospheric sulfur is not a unidirectional energy source. However in the chemosynthetic rainforest, the uptake of sulfur is so extreme that a concentration gradient develops towards the ground. Thus, species which require higher concentrations of atmospheric sulfur to grow must grow taller in order to acquire enough energy to survive. These form a canopy layer, beneath which further species of sulfuraeans grow, including many epiphytes and moss-like species known as meshweeds. At the ground layer, chemosynthetic microorganisms and small ground-covering sulfuraeans take up the last remnants of sulfur.

The dominant trees in chemosynthetic rainforests are members of a group of sulfuraeans called lung trees or gill trees. These organisms use a tidal system of expanding air sacs, (called ampullae) to acquire their sulfur. In doing so slow, shallow 'breathing' sounds are produced. These sounds fill the environment in every direction, and thus you will hear a constant, subtle humming if you stand in a chemosynthetic rainforest.

Photosynthetic Woodland: Where vegetation grows freely, but conditions are not wet enough to permit rainforests, photosynthetic woodlands develop. These are similar to woodlands and forests on Earth.

Chemosynthetic Woodland: Chemosynthetic woodlands are the sulfuraean equivalent. Unlike chemosynthetic rainforests, chemosynthetic woodlands are not dense enough to generate a considerable concentration gradient of sulfur from the canopy to the ground. As such, sulfuraeans grow outwards in all directions, filling in their three dimensional environment in a tangle of branches and chemosynthetic organs. Large creatures simply cannot traverse these habitats.

Savanna: Savannas are too dry to permit woodland, but trees may still grow here. Rains are seasonal. These environments tend to also be astonishingly flat, with little deviation in elevation. There are several sub-categories of savanna depending on the dominant form of ground cover. These include chemosynthetic, photosynthetic, and mixed environments.

Arid Scrubland: These environments are too dry to permit the growth of most forms of  vegetation. They border true deserts, and few creatures inhabit these regions. Rains are rare.

Desert: True deserts may consist of barren rocks or dunes. Rains almost never circulate this far inland. They are devoid of all but the hardiest of life forms.

Salt Desert: Where seas once existed, salt deserts are present. These form through the evaporation of the briny seas or lakes, whereby the salt content precipitates out over time. Like salt pans on Earth, these salt deserts are very flat. Almost no life survives here.

Continental Crust Ice Caps: Most of the land inhabited by life on Periboea is sitting atop thin, basaltic crust. Regions of granite-rich crust however do exist. These are elevated by many kilometres above the surrounding landscapes, and are freezing cold, being covered in thick ice caps. These regions may have immensely strong winds, and very few if any organisms can survive these conditions.

Polar Photosynthetic Woodland: In high latitudes on Periboea, rainfall is lower and light is less intense. These factors have large impacts on nebulasperms, which require more intense light to grow than plants do on Earth, and so those which grow at higher latitudes have evolved many novel adaptations to survive. Trees grow more slowly and in seasonal intervals, with fewer leaves and smaller canopies. These habitats are filled with epiphytic sulfuraeans, and are more sparsely-covered than more tropical forests.

Polar Chemosynthetic Woodland: Similarly, the lower rainfall at high latitudes results in differences in the kinds of sulfuraeans which can grow. 

Polar Prairie: The polar equivalent of the more tropical savanna biome. There are photosynthetic, chemosynthetic, and mixed variants, along with a type of prairie dominated by a group of sulfuraeans known as meshweeds.

Open Ocean: Open water, beneath which a menagerie of different aquatic habitats can be found.

Biomes Not Shown on Map:

Wetlands: In some regions, rainfall is so extreme that soils become entirely anoxic. Here, nebulasperms and sulfuraeans struggle to grow, and wetland ecosystems develop.

Chemical Wetlands: The chemosynthetic equivalent of wetland biomes.

Hydrothermal Vents: Similar to those on Earth, hydrothermal vents can be found in the depths of Periboea's seas, supporting their own chemosynthetic ecosystems.

Emergent Hydrothermal Vents: Where hydrothermal systems reach the surface, large chimneys build up out of the water and mud volcanoes broil. These are unique coastal ecosystems with many endemic forms of life.

Reefs: Where marine fauna bioaccumulate mineral skeletons, reef systems may develop.

Alga Forests: Photosynthetic marine forests similar to the kelp forests found in temperate waters on Earth.

Chemical Vertical: Similarly-built algal communities built up from chemosynthetic sulfuraeans. 
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Comments: 12

NeilKynes [2023-01-04 06:12:26 +0000 UTC]

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Tree-Sparrow In reply to NeilKynes [2023-01-04 18:53:11 +0000 UTC]

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NeilKynes In reply to Tree-Sparrow [2023-01-04 20:55:33 +0000 UTC]

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Tree-Sparrow In reply to NeilKynes [2023-01-04 21:33:02 +0000 UTC]

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NeilKynes In reply to Tree-Sparrow [2023-01-05 07:16:02 +0000 UTC]

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Tree-Sparrow In reply to NeilKynes [2023-01-06 02:16:06 +0000 UTC]

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NeilKynes In reply to Tree-Sparrow [2023-01-06 05:26:01 +0000 UTC]

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Tree-Sparrow In reply to Tree-Sparrow [2023-01-04 18:53:29 +0000 UTC]

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