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Various sci-fi movies often have single-biome planets (such as Tatooine, for example). Obviously a desert planet is possible (witness: Mars), but what about a more complex ecosystem, such as a rainforest? Is the biodiversity inherent in such a biome possible without other biomes to, for example, move heat around the planet or act as carbon dioxide sinks as Earth's oceans do? An answer to this question mentions

Mars is a freezing desert planet, Titan is a hydrocarbon snow "planet", Venus is a crushing, superheated, acidic hellscape planet, Io is a volcano "planet", and there are a number of airless dust 'planets' like Mercury, the Moon, and a number of the larger asteroids and moons.

but, again, all of these are simple 'biomes', and I'm wondering if a planet can support a much more complex single one.

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    $\begingroup$ Well, very obviously, if the planet has life-as-we-know it then the one single biome must be an oceanic biome. (Because without an ocean the planet doesn't have a water cycle, and without water it doesn't have life-as-we-know-it.) So if you want a rain forest then the planet must have at least two biomes: one on land, the rain forest; and one in the ocean. Then of course, the land will have rivers. So a minimum of three biomes. And the rivers have to be quite different when they are small creeks and when they are large. And the ocean will be different near the shore and far out at sea... $\endgroup$
    – AlexP
    Jan 13, 2022 at 19:03
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    $\begingroup$ +1 @AlexP if you would have put that as an answer.. $\endgroup$
    – Goodies
    Jan 13, 2022 at 19:29
  • $\begingroup$ @AlexP Maybe semantics, but what you mention in your comment sounds, to me, more like a subcategory of a biome, or maybe a specific type of habitat, rather than what I would consider a 'biome' (and apparently how the OP uses that word as well). I don't know enough about large scale planetary weather to try and answer this one, but my guess would be that the most plausible would be a very smooth wetland 'biome' planet. Plenty of water on the ground, but in lots of small quantities, as well as atmospheric. Low elevations and negligible elevation changes. cloud cover for greenhouse heating, etc $\endgroup$
    – Harthag
    Jan 13, 2022 at 20:00
  • $\begingroup$ Related, possible duplicate of worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/40/… $\endgroup$
    – KerrAvon2055
    Jan 13, 2022 at 21:53

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Single biome planets are fiction

A single biome planet is impossible to come by. It is very difficult to get an equal temperature, which is already a big problem. But also consider size. If your landmass is big, it'll already create different climates from just how the heat and water moves. It certainly isn't impossible to have (near) identical biomes between sea areas and progressively inwards, but planet wide this is so far a stretch it is already impossible.

Then you have height differences brought on by geological processes. There is no feasible way to stop this. Height difference makes air and heat wholly different, quickly making different biomes.

Light is another. A biome at the equator expects plenty of light. Even if there is no planetary tilt and the poles get equal light, it simply isn't the same amount per m² that the equator gets.

Even if you use heavy terraforming to contol all processes, so water and biology is equal everywhere it won't be stable, causing the collapse of parts of the biome and rise to others.

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It would be possible to have a single biome in a completely homogenized atmosphere. That is globally the environment is within a small fraction of a standard pressure temperature(STP) for that planet. With relatively little topography and no plate tectonics would ensure localized conditions are minimized. Large amounts of moderating water would ensure the STP is more uniform.

Something like Venus, but cool enough to have liquid water.

But that would imply low biological diversity. Large mono-cultures that would be vulnerable to various diseases. This would also mean a much longer time before complex life present. Complex biomes like earth's rain forests are not compatible with this. To get diverse biome you need diverse environments and mixing of biomes.

Since the universe is vast the existence single-biome planets that have not much higher then basic eukaryotes as life is plausible.

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Have an ocean planet with one not so big equatorial continent, and make sure that all of this continent gets properly wet. This way you may end up with a single (apart from the ocean) rainforest biome, although it may be a stretch to call this planet a "rainforest planet".

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You'd need a lot of light and a lot of water..

Rain forests thrive on sunlight, water and CO2. Maybe this would work with three suns (to cover the polar regions too) no oceans, but a very damp atmosphere ? that is: a water vapor + CO2 greenhouse, lifting the planet's temperature drastically. No oceans, but the water will be everywhere, there is rain, mountains, there are large rivers.. and moderate sunshine 24/7, everywhere on your planet. Also in this case, it would be very difficult to avoid different biomes. There could be regions covered by swamps.. does that count as rain forest too..

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A Frozen Surface with Deep Sea Vents

It has been hypothesized that an ice covered moon or planet could have a subsurface ocean beneath the global ice sheet, and that life could be based around deep sea volcanic vents. If there was no other source of energy for life in the ocean save for these deep sea vents, there’s only a single biome on this planet.

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