Biome comparison

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.