The Climate When visiting a new location, a naturalist would always note the weather patterns. These patterns produce the climate of a region, and they strongly affect the natural history of an area. The accompanying plot shows the average precipitation and temperature for London, England. Such a plot, called a climatogram, is a compact way of presenting information about a climate. Darwin did not make climatograms, but they are used in this activity to help you understand the climates Darwin visited.
Available moisture is usually an important limiting factor for organisms.
The available moisture depends on the precipitation patterns and temperature extremes. Notice in the London climatogram that the temperature varies throughout the year, but that the distribution of precipitation is nearly uniform. Also, notice that the average temperature never dips below freezing nor does it get really hot in the summer. London and Kansas have similar yearly precipitations, but more moisture is available for plant communities in London because the temperature there is more moderate.