Humans establish their terrestrial harvest systems, such as forestry, ranching, and farming, within the boundaries of natural biomes (Figure 7.4). That means the same factors that influence primary production in nature—namely, climate, nutrients, and biodiversity—will also play a role in these systems. With careful stewardship, all the biomes can sustain production of resources useful to humans.

The temperate forest biomes, with their moderate climates and fertile soils, can generally support intensive agriculture. This is particularly true for temperate deciduous forests, which have been cleared of oaks, maples, and other trees to make way for farms. For example, the highly productive rice farming of China and Japan is concentrated in the temperate forest biome. Some of the most fertile soils occur in temperate grasslands, which is why the prairie regions of North America and Eurasia have been centers of wheat and maize farming. Faming in prairie and Mediterranean regions often requires irrigation, which creates a challenge to sustainability (see Figure 6.13, page 167).

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Large grazing and browsing animals, such as elk, kangaroo, and musk ox, naturally exist on every continent, suggesting that ranching, the practice of raising domesticated livestock for meat, leather, wool, and other products is possible almost everywhere. Historically, migratory herding people inhabited the tundra, desert, and semi-desert biomes because those biomes have the lowest levels of primary production and are unsuitable for farming. The practice of irrigation has greatly increased the productivity potential of arid lands, allowing ranchers to settle in one place; however, it is not without environmental cost and controversy. Temperate grasslands, especially those receiving greater amounts of precipitation, are more fertile than deserts and, in their native state, may provide some of the most productive grazing habitats for livestock.

Tropical biomes generally sustain high levels of primary production (see Figure 7.1) and are home to valuable hardwoods such as mahogany and rosewood. However, because many tropical forests grow on old, highly oxidized soils from which abundant rains have washed most plant nutrients, reforestation can be a frustratingly slow process that makes sustainable harvesting more difficult (see Figure 7.6). In temperate coniferous forests, soils are generally less fertile than soils in deciduous forests because conifer needles are acidic. Taiga also has acidic soils and short growing seasons. Thus, these biomes are better suited to supporting forestry, the management of forests and woodlands for the harvest of timber or fuelwood, than agriculture.