Biogeochem - Geoecology Flashcards
What are the driving factors that influence what vegetation is found where?
pH of the soil (influenced by the geology)
human impact
geology of the site
rainfall rate (leaching)
What is the CLORPT equation (what do they stand for)
Soil properties = f (climate, organisms, relief/topography, parent material, time
What is a physiological range?
Plants have an optimum range but can grown outside of this range until they reach a physiological stress.
- eg they might grow but not flower…
Examples of physiological ranges
too wet / too dry
too hot / too cold
How is the physiological range determined
It is usually determined in labs
Name an example of a plant that grown in the Alps and what properties does it have?
Saxifraga Bryoides
- can cope with light limtations
- each species has a certain temperature range in which it can survive
what is a zone of intolerance?
A region that is so far removed from an organism’s optimal range for an environmental variable that the organism cannot survive.
What does euryoecious mean / refer to?
A species with a wide ecological tolerance
What does stenoecious mean / refer to
species with a narrow ecological tolerance (can only live in a restricted range of environments)
What does eurytherm, euryphag, euryhaline and euryhydrous refer to?
species with a wide tolerance of
- temperature (eurytherm)
- nutrients (euryphag)
- salt (euryhaline)
- moisture (euryhygrous)
What does stenotherm and stenohaline refer to
Species with a narrow tolerance of
- temperature (stenotherm)
- salt (stenohaline)
What term would be used to describe a species with the highest potential as an indicator for wet or dry conditions?
Stenohygrous
What does an ecogram show?
The dryness vs the acidity
What does a dominant species mean in nature
It means it outcompete other species… NOT that is grows best
What region is it when Scotts Pine dominates?
It dominates in the extreme regions (usually opposites)
very dry and very acidic
very wet and very acidic
very wet and alkaline
Why can’t pine trees grow within its physiological preferred range?
Other trees dominate over it. It has the capability to grow. in its optimum region but other trees dominate over it as pine grows slower.
What are the 7 ecological indicator values/factors
Light (L)
Temperature (T)
Continentality (K)
Soil Moisture (F)
Soil Reaction (R)
Nutrient (N)
Salinity (S)
What is the scale for the 7 indicators?
(hint… 1 exception)
L, T, K, R, N, S all have a scale from 1-9 where 1 means low and 9 means high
F (soil moisture) has a scale from 1-12 where 1 is completely dry and 12 is permanently submerged
9 means very continental so lots of temperature swing… 1 means low continentality so very little temperature swing.
- lower continentality limits the environments in which it can grow
What soil pH is limestone
Alkaline
How does the geology influence/dictate where vegetation grows?
Different rock types (and therefore soils) can accommodate different vegetation
What are calcicoles?
Plant species which require / grow in high calcium levels in the soil
What are calcifuges?
Plant species which don’t require / grow in soils with high calcium levels
Which soil has a higher plant diversity… Calcium rich or calcium poor?
Calcium rich
Name a species that is a Calcicole
Horseshoe Vetch
what are soils with high calcium levels usually associated with?
High soil fertility levels (as theres usually other compounds present too)
How have species adapted to tolerate an excess of calcium?
Some plants have glands which excrete the excess calcium as calcium carbonate
What are the characteristics of a calcium poor soil
It is generally nutrient poor which means its been leached or is peaty
common in high rainfall areas
high acidity
Name some plants that grow on calcium poor soils
Bilberry, Heather, Bog Mosses
What are the 3 indicator species for acidic soils
Bracken
Bilberry
Ling
Name the indicator species of nitrogen rich soils
Nettles
Dock leaves
What do willow trees indicate?
moisture levels are relatiely high
Indicators species of high water tables at different pHs
pH > 6
- reed
- bulrush
- giant sedge
pH < 5.5
- cross leaved heather
- sphagnum
Dry soil plant adaptations (xerophytes)
- Grey-leaved plants
- reduced/small leaves plants (prickly)
- succulent or coriaceous (leathery) leaves
- storage roots
What does every plant species have?
(indicator wise… think optimums)
- Physiological optimum
- Ecological optimum
- A set of indicator values to describe its ideal habitat (describe the ecological optimum)
what does the term nitrophile refer to?
species that grow in high nitrogen conditions
what does xerophytes refer to
species that can grow in dry spoil conditions
What can influence plant species longitudinate and latitudinal distribution?
Climate
What is a variation species?
A species of interbred species from different locations
what characteristic shape goes ecological optimum look like
bell curve
What does geobotany investigate?
Spatial distribution of plant species and communities, how they change over time and the formation of species associations in specific habitats
What is the order of vegetation groupings in the environment
species, associations, communities to flora
what is phytosociology
the study of the characteristics, classification, relationships and distribution of plant communities p
What is the taxonomic classification system used for associations?
Zurich-Montpellier system
Whats the order in the Zurich-Montpellier taxonomic system
Class
Order
Alliance
Association
Sub association
Facies (species)
What does Quercus refer to and is it a calcicole or a calcifuge?
Oak forests
What does Fagus refer to and is it a calcicole or a calcifuge?
Beech forests
What does fidelity describe
how well a sepcies correlated to a particular grouping / association
What is Exclusive (fidelity level)
species with a perfect or near perfect fit into a group
What is Selective (fidelity level)
species found mostly in one grouping
What is Preferential (fidelity level)
species found in several groupings but dominantly in one)
What is indifferent (fidelity level)
species with no particular affinity for a group
