::::::::Regarding which word to use, I think "considerable" is all right. I think your version of the sentence is more concise, but I've been thinking that "biome" is not really an aspect of climate, and since the first sentence of an article should indicate the topic to be covered in the article, perhaps it shouldn't be mentioned there. The way it is now, "climate" and "biome" are given equal weight. The affect of climate on the biome can be touched upon later in the article, though.