 BiomesClick for full-size image |  Biomes - Coastal OutlinesClick for full-size image |  Biomes - AT Colony LocationsClick for full-size image |
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 Biomes - PT Faction BordersClick for full-size image |
Pansarcid
Pansarcid Zones are a biome chiefly characterised by the dominance of organisms in the taxonomic kingdom Pansarcidae. These organisms are arranged in dense supersymbiotic colonies that can span hundreds of thousands of square kilometres in area. These biomes can be found in many climates, but predominate in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions with moderate to high humidity, and are almost always found in geologically active regions, where volcanic vents and fumaroles may be tapped for energy.
Jungle
Moist Tropical High-Density Vegetation Zones, otherwise known as Jungles, are a biome characterised by high to extremely high volumes and densities of pseudophyte phototroph vegetation, as well as a great diversity of organisms from other taxa. These biomes are found in areas of high yearly humidity and consistant year-round temperatures, equivalent to rainforests on Earth. As such, the vegetation found in Jungles can be divided up into distinct, height-based strata ranging from thick undergrowth to towering canopies.
Great-land
Warm Low-Density Vegetation Zones, known also as Greatlands, are a biome characterised by low to moderate pseudophyte densities akin to Terran grasslands, shrublands, and savannas. Megascopic pseudophyte species here are sparsely located, although some of the largest terrestrial species of zoomorphs are found inhabiting this biome. Greatlands are found in both tropical and low temperate latitudes with moderate average humidity, highly sporadic rainfall, and low to moderate seasonal variations in temperature.
Desert
Hot Desert, Arid, and Xeric Zones, shorthanded as Deserts, are a biome characterised by poor soils, high heat, and low to very low rates of precipitation. Pseudophyte densities are generally low, and all species inhabiting these regions have adapted to these hostile conditions. Deserts may be sandy or rocky in character, with the former present in great contiguous "seas" and the latter featuring many striking lithic structures weathered by natural processes. Such regions are not necessarily barren, though, and may play host to diverse xeric ecosystems.
Fogmire
Moist Wetland and Floodplain Zones, known variously as Fogmires or Toxic Swamps, are a biome characterised by moderate to high pseudophyte densities, close proximity to abundant water sources, and inundation. Some regions feature a prevalence of pseudophytes in the class Toxomichlaticae, known for producing a thick, persistent, biogenic mist of various poisonous and corrosive substances that few external organisms can survive, protecting the ecosystem from invasive species not evolved to resist the toxic fog.
Moon
Forest
Temperate Mid/High-Density Vegetation Zones, also called Moon Forests, are a biome characterised by moderate to high densities of pseudophyte vegetation and rich associated ecosystems, similar to but distinct from Jungles. Moon Forests feature extensive internal and regional diversity in biota, and are widespread across temperate latitudes with rainfall adequate to sustain them. They are most typically found in climates with moderate to high humidity, moderate to low temperature, and moderate to high seasonal variation thereof.
Volcanic
Volcanically-Influenced Zones, or simply Volcanic Zones, are a biome characterised by a very high presence of widespread volcanic activity, such as active volcanic craters, fissures, vents, springs, and fumaroles. While not all of a given volcanic biome will consist of hellish magmascapes, life here is adapted to frequent fires, volcanic ejecta plumes, acid rains, and fluctuant temperatures, making conditions here hostile despite high resource availability. Volcanic biomes are usually found at high altitudes anywhere in the world.
Thunder-Stone
Aigidodynamic Semiarid Zones, colloquially identified as Thunderstone, are a biome characterised by an exceptionally high frequency of supercell thunderstorms and precipitation virgae, leading to an unusual phenomenon of high ground-level aridity despite persistent cloud cover. Life in these biomes, though sparse, is nevertheless unique and rich in diversity. These biomes are found in arid, semiarid, and continental climates along steep elevation changes, where weather fronts frequently interface.
Tundra
Cold Low-Density Vegetation Zones, also named Tundra, are a biome characterised by, like their Tellurian equivalent, climates too cold to sustain a high density of pseudophyte vegetation. Much of the soil is locked in permafrost, and snow-ice cover, though not permanent, is frequent. Vegetation is low-lying and hardy, and zoomorphs inhabiting these biomes have evolved many adaptations useful both for the bitter winters and wide temperature swings from season to season. Tundra is found at high latitudes and altitudes across Novaluna.
Icemount
Polar and Montane Ice Cap Zones, known also as Icemounts, are a biome characterised by extremely low temperatures year-round, seldom or never exceeding 0 °C. As the harshest and least hospitable of all biomes found on Novaluna, life here is rare and exceptionally resilient. Macroscopic pseudophytes are all but absent, and most zoomorph life is restricted to coastal regions where liquid seawater is present. Such biomes are restricted to the poles and very high elevations, in association with glaciers and ice sheets.
Urban
Urban and Developed Zones, or rather just Cities, are a uniquely anthropogenic biome characterized by artificial substrates and structures, such as roads, buildings, and other forms of infrastructure. Urban environments are the only biomes in which life not native to Novaluna preponderates, primarily humans and the auxiliary organisms they brought with them when they settled Novaluna, such as microbiotae and plants for contained agriculture. Terrestrial life is closely confined to these areas to prevent any catastrophic species invasion.
Fresh-Water
Low-Salinity Aquatic Zones, most commonly found as Freshwater rivers and lakes, are a biome characterised by aquatic environs with low dissolved-salts concentrations. Numerous terrestrial organisms rely on these biomes as a source of potable water, while the vast diversity of species living within these biomes are adapted to the usually hypotonic conditions presented by them. Freshwater biomes are typically fed by rain or meltwater, and feature outflows to saline or oceanic environments that continually refresh them.
Saline
High-Salinity Aquatic Zones, broadly known as Saline areas, are a biome characterised by bodies of water, not biologically contiguous with typical marine ecosystems, with a saline content too high for freshwater. Typically this includes endorheic basin lakes with salinity levels ranging from brackish to briny, but also includes marine brine pools in oceanic benthic regions. Life inhabiting these areas are specialised to survive highly-to-extremely hypertonic conditions, and often do not interface with neighboring biomes of differing salinity.
Littoral
Shallow Photic Marine Zones, metonymised as Littorals, are a biome characterised by saline oceanic environments extending from shorelines to continental shelf drop-offs, encompassing intertidal zones, neritic zones, estuaries, ocean banks, and reefs. Here, natural light extends down to the benthic zone, supporting an exceptional variety of marine life, in turn part of an ecosystem that interacts in many important ways with adjacent ecosystems. In tropical regions, they are the most diverse aquatic biome found on Novaluna.
Pelagic
Deep Photic Marine Zones, also called Pelagics, are a biome characterised by their location far from any terrestrial landmass, where the water column may extend up to several kilometres below the surface. Pelagic biomes are located at the top of such water columns, including all of the photic marine layers as well as semi-photic and shallow aphotic layers, thus supporting many marine producer species. Pelagic biomes host a huge quantity and diversity of life, including some of the largest and most massive single organisms codified by science.
Abyssal
Deep Aphotic Marine Zones, collectively known as Abysses, are a biome characterised by their location deep below the ocean's surface, where no natural light reaches. Near-freezing temperatures and incredibly high pressures make this a challenging biome for life to survive in; nevertheless, many forms of life have been observed flourishing here nonetheless, subsisting either on organic detritus ("marine snow") falling from the Pelagic layers or on the many hydrothermal vents located on the Novalunar ocean floor.