Minecraft wiki entry for Biome, associated text: The term biome is analogous to its scientific usage: in real life, a biome is climatically and geographically defined by distinctive communities of plants, animals and soil organisms supported by similar climatic conditions. They are often referred to as ecosystems.[3][4]
Most biomes in the Overworld are based on real world counterparts. Dark forests or swamps parallel real world biomes except for the addition of giant mushrooms, which don't exist in reality. Biomes in the nether and the end don't exist either.
It is possible for biomes to be a single block in size.[5]