A Flashcards
Abiotic
Non living components of biosphere. Not including dead OM.
Actual ET
The measured water loss from a surface that is less than the potential ET when the water supply is limiting the rate of loss. P79
Advection
Transport of properties by fluid motions.
Aerenchyma
Hollow tissues in flood adapted plants that enable gas transport to roots.
Albedo
The proportion of incident light reflected by a surface. Fresh snow up to 90%. Vegetation and soil are darker and have much lower albedos.
Allelopathy
Mechanism where some plants inhibit growth of their competitors, involving the release of toxic substances into soil from roots or leaves of litter.
Allocthanous
Matter originating from outside of the ecosystem and imported into it. Important source of food for detritivores.
Alternative stable states
Ecosystem stability is related to both resistance and resilience. Sometimes for a given ecosystem there may be more than one stable state. The change from one to another is not gradual, results from a change in condition which takes the system across a threshold.
Amensalism
Interaction between two species. Some is at a disadvantage, the other has neutral effects.
Ammonification
Reaction where organisms break down amino acids and produce ammonia NH3
ANOVA
Statistical method which exploits the reduction in total variance to determine he significance of particular factors.
Angiosperms
True flowering plants such as water lily.
Anoxic
Condition where oxygen is very low and thus largely unavailable to organisms. Less than 2% of atmosphere.
Anthropocene
Most recent period of time on earth, defined by effects of humans. Began between 250y to 5000y ago.
Assimilation efficiency
The proportion of food consumed that can be assimilated.
