Biome comparison

banner link to coniferous forest link to deciduous forest link to tallgrass apsen parkland link to prairie grassland

Downloadable Handout (120 kb This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.)

The table below shows samples of conditions within Minnesota’s biomes.

Biome

Average Annual Rainfall*

Average Annual Temp.**

Vegetation Examples

Animal Examples

Average Growing Season

Tall Aspen Parkland Biome

20"-22"

35° - 44° F

  • Aspen
  • Heart-Leaved
    Willow
  • Wiregrass Sedge
  • Small White Lady’s
    Slipper
  • Little Bluestem
  • Sharp-Tailed Grouse
  • Sandhill Crane
  • American Bittern
  • Canadian Toad
  • American Elk

90 - 130 days

Coniferous Forest Biome

18"-20"

36° - 41° F

  • Black Spruce
  • Northern White Cedar
  • Balsam Fir
  • Red Pine
  • Fly Honeysuckle
  • Wood Frog
  • Boreal Chickadee
  • Compton's Tortoise Shell Butterfly
  • Gray Wolf
  • Moose

90-100 days

Deciduous Forest Biome

16"-18"

39° - 45° F

  • Northern Red Oak
  • American Basswood
  • Sugar Maple
  • Prickly Gooseberry
  • Rue Anemone
  • Eastern Hognose Snake
  • Cerulean Warbler
  • Eastern Pipistrelle Bat
  • Gray Fox
  • Opossum

100-130 days

Prairie Grassland Biome

14"-16"

37° - 45° F

  • Big Bluestem
  • Blazing Star
  • Purple Prairie Clover
  • Prairie Dropseed
  • Leadplant
  • Great Plains Toad
  • Greater Prairie Chicken
  • Upland Sandpiper
  • Pocket Gopher
  • Badger

130-180 days

*Minnesota rainfall maps:
showing county boundaries
showing biome boundaries

**Minnesota temperature maps:
showing county boundaries
showing biome boundaries

For a fun way to learn about Minnesota’s biomes, plants, and animals, check out the Junior Park Naturalist Program at a state park near you.