Abiotic Factors Flashcards
Ecological succession`
Predictable process of one community replacing another over a long period of time.
An example of ecological succession involving terrestrial plants?
—>time—>
Annual plants..perrenials/grasses..shrubs..softwood trees (pine)…hardwood trees
What type of aquatic plant often takes over a lake/pond when eutrification occurs? How does the water’s appearance change?
Algae takes over; the lake may have been blue/clear-looking before, but algae blooms create its color after eutrification.
What used to carry out material from bodies of water? Why does it not do that as often anymore?
Seasonal flooding. Human structures like dams slow or prevent flooding now.
Secondary succession
Usually after a big disaster (like Mt. St. Helens). It is the first signs of life/recolonization of an area by plants and animals.
What are some abiotic factors?
Water, wind, climate, soil, light, temperature, gases
What are terrestrial biomes?
Large groups of similar plants and animals.
Where are deserts mostly located?
30 degrees latitude N/S
Below 30 S?
There is not much in this area.
What kind of biome is the equator?
Tropical forests.
What kinds of biomes are far north? (Think Canada, North Pole)
Tundra and coniferous forests.
What are some other biomes?
Savanna, chaparral, temperate grassland
Weather vs. climate
Weather is day-to-day; climate is the prevailing average weather conditions.
What is climate largely determined by?
Latitude of the area.
Why does sunlight play a large role in weather and climate?
It affects moisture and temperature.
What are the climates of these areas:
1) Tundra
2) Tropical forest
1) Low rain, low temperature
2) Rainy and warm
What are two more factors that affect climate?
Solar radiation and latitude.
How does solar radiation affect the equator?
There is intense solar radiation mostly at the equator which increases air circulation and evaporation of water.
What is unique about the tropics?
They have the greatest input of radiation and the least seasonal variation.
What is an equinox?
It is when the sun directly faces the equator.
Global air circulation and precipitation
Descending dry air absorbs moisture at 30 degrees, clouds/precipitation at equator, dry air at 30 degrees.
Where is the greatest rainfall?
Equator
Where are the driest places?
Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn; they don’t have much rainfall.
Equator winds
Called “Easterlies.” They blow east to west.
Winds at 60 degrees North
Called “Westerlies.” They blow west to east. —>
What is an example of how the local geography, specifically the rain shadow effect, affects climate?
Mountains affect rainfall, even if latitude is the same.
The sea has wet air that blows to the mountains, but by the time the clouds are over the mountains, the precipitation is gone.
Seasonal effects on climate
When the northern hemisphere tips toward the sun: June solstice. When the southern hemisphere tips toward the sun: December solstice. Equinoxes: Equator faces sun directly.
Water cycle
Transpiration/evaporation, condensation, precipitation, surface runoff that either becomes ground water or part of a body of water.
Cohesion Adhesion Transpiration Theory
Water molecules stick to each other from the roots of plants all the way to the highest leaf and pull on each other in a long chain as long as there’s sunlight. Water vapor exits through pores in the leaves.
What can the Transpiration Theory allow large forests to do?
Make their own weather. Example: The Olympic Peninsula causes Seattle’s weather to be rainy.
Nitrogen fixation
Certain plants (legumes) take N2 gas from air and put into soil as usable nitrates/ammonia for plants to grow with the help of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the roots (mutualism)
Dentrification
When organisms containing nitrates die, decomposing dentrifying bacteria convert nitrates into N2 gas.
The nitrogen cycle
Nitrogen in air because of dentrifying bacteria, nitrogen-fixing bacteria in roots/soil convert it to ammonium, converted to nitrates by nitrifying bacteria, turned to gas by dentrifying bacteria.
Carbon cycle
Respiration of organisms, combustion, and fossil fuels put CO2 into air. Photosynthesis and decomposition of organisms put carbon into the ground, creating fossil fuels.
About how much of earth’s atmosphere is nitrogen?
78%.
Where does most of the nitrogen cycle take place?
Underground.
