Additional Terms Flashcards
Mountain rain shadow effect
A rain shadow is a patch of land that has been forced to become a desert because mountain ranges blocked all plant-growing, rainy weather. On one side of the mountain, wet weather systems drop rain and snow.
Ericaceous Plants
a bed with acidic soil typically having a pH between 4.5 and 6
pH Scale
The range goes from 0 - 14, with 7 being neutral. pHs of less than 7 indicate acidity, whereas a pH of greater than 7 indicates a base.
pH Soil Types
Ultra acidic < 3.5 Extremely acidic 3.5–4.4 Very strongly acidic 4.5–5.0 Strongly acidic 5.1–5.5 Moderately acidic 5.6–6.0 Slightly acidic 6.1–6.5 Neutral 6.6–7.3 Slightly alkaline 7.4–7.8 Moderately alkaline 7.9–8.4 Strongly alkaline 8.5–9.0 Very strongly alkaline > 9.0
Boreal Forest
as forests growing in high-latitude environments where freezing temperatures occur for 6 to 8 months and in which trees are capable of reaching a minimum height of 5 m and a canopy cover of 10%.
Hemlock Hardwood Forest
vegetation composed primarily of broad-leaved trees that shed all their leaves during one season. Deciduous forest is found in three middle-latitude regions with a temperate climate characterized by a winter season and year-round precipitation: eastern North America, western Eurasia, and northeastern Asia. Deciduous forest also extends into more arid regions along stream banks and around bodies of water.
Tidal Estuaries
an arm of the sea where salty sea water meets fresh water running off the land.
Grasslands
re areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses
Savannas
is a mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close.
Anaerobic Conditions
occur when the uptake or disappearance of oxygen is greater than its production by photosynthesis or diffusion by physical transport from the surrounding environment. Oxygen is generally consumed by microbial respiration as a consequence of the availability of organic material.
Insolation
the amount of solar radiation reaching a given area.
Angle of Repose
or critical angle of repose, of a granular material is the steepest angle of descent or dip relative to the horizontal plane to which a material can be piled without slumping. At this angle, the material on the slope face is on the verge of sliding. The angle of repose can range from 0° to 90°.
Angle of Deflection
is the angle between the onward extension of the previous leg and the line ahead
Macroclimate
consists of patterns on the global, regional, and landscape level
Microclimate
consists of very fine patterns (climate of community of organisms under a fallen log)
are small regions within a general climate zone that have their own unique climatic conditions. Microclimates exist because of local varying features such as hills, mountains and bodies of water
Igneous Rock
diabase, diorite, gabbro, granite, pegmatite, and peridotite, basalt
Mass Wasting
also known as slope movement or mass movement, is the geomorphic process by which soil, sand, regolith, and rock move downslope typically as a solid, continuous or discontinuous mass, largely under the force of gravity, frequently with characteristics of a flow as in debris flows and mudflows.
Glaciation
The process, condition, or result of being covered by glaciers or ice sheets.
Fracturing
also called fracking, fracing, hydrofracking, fraccing, frac’ing, and hydrofracturing, is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid.
Sedimentation
the process of settling or being deposited as a sediment.
Siltation
is a process by which water becomes dirty as a result of fine mineral particles in the water. When sediment, or silt, is suspended in water, this is an example of siltation.
Tundra
a vast, flat, treeless Arctic region of Europe, Asia, and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen.
Desert
abandon (a person, cause, or organization) in a way considered disloyal or treacherous.
Humus
the organic component of soil, formed by the decomposition of leaves and other plant material by soil microorganisms.
Hydrophytes
a plant which grows only in or on water.
Mesophytes
a plant needing only a moderate amount of water.
Xerophytes
a plant which needs very little water.
Lithophytes
a plant that grows on bare rock or stone.
Topiary
the art or practice of clipping shrubs or trees into ornamental shapes.
Fastigiate
(of a tree or shrub) having the branches sloping upward more or less parallel to the main stem.
Espaller
is the horticultural and ancient agricultural practice of controlling woody plant growth for the production of fruit, by pruning and tying branches to a frame.
Angle of incidence
the angle which an incident line or ray makes with a perpendicular to the surface at the point of incidence.
Trough
a long, narrow open container for animals to eat or drink out of.
