Ch.6 Key Terms Flashcards
biome
a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat.
climate
the usual condition of the temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, and other meteorological elements in an area of the Earth’s surface for a long time.
latitude
the angular distance of a place north or south of the earth’s equator, or of a celestial object north or south of the celestial equator, usually expressed in degrees and minutes.
altitude
a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or “up” direction, between a reference datum and a point or object.
tropical rain forest
a hot, moist biome found near Earth’s equator. The world’s largest tropical rainforests are in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
emergent layer
The top layer of a rainforest. receives bright sunlight and plenty of rain, and is also very windy. The tallest trees rise above every other plant to a height of 230ft
canopy
The canopy, which may be over 100 feet above the ground, is made up of the overlapping branches and leaves of rainforest trees.
epiphyte
any plant that grows upon another plant or object merely for physical support. found throughout rainforests, but exist in the greatest abundance in the so-called cloud forests which exist at the fog-laden elevation of 3,300-6,600 feet
understory
a layer of vegetation beneath the main canopy of a forest.
temperate rain forest
occur in oceanic moist regions around the world. oniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rainfall.
temperate deciduous forest
a biome that has many deciduous trees which drop their leaves in the fall. These forests are also known as broad-leaf forests because the trees have wide, flat leaves.
taiga
the sometimes swampy coniferous forest of high northern latitudes, especially that between the tundra and steppes of Siberia and North America.
savanna
a mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close.
temperate grassland
a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The predominant vegetation in this biome consists of grass and/or shrubs.
chaparral
a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico.
