ch.6 key terms

Question 1

biome

Answer 1

A biome is a community of plants and animals that have common characteristics for the environment they exist in.

Question 2

climate

Answer 2

is defined as the long term patterns of temperature, humidity, wind, etc

Question 3

latitude

Answer 3

distance north or south of the equator, measured on a meridian.

Question 4

altitude

Answer 4

Space extended upward; height; the perpendicular elevation of an object above its foundation

Question 5

savanna

Answer 5

is a mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close.

Question 6

temperate grassland

Answer 6

are areas with low annual precipitation, fluctuating seasonal temperatures, and few trees.

Question 7

chaparral

Answer 7

a plant community of drought-adapted shrubs, usually found in rocky and rapidly drained shallow soils

Question 8

desert

Answer 8

are the Earth’s driest environments

Question 9

tundra

Answer 9

is the global biome that consists of the treeless regions in the north

Question 10

permafrost

Answer 10

is soil, rock or sediment that is frozen for more than two consecutive years. In areas not overlain by ice, it exists beneath a layer of soil, rock or sediment

Question 11

tropical rain forest

Answer 11

near the equator that receive over 100 inches of rain a year and maintain high average temperatures

Question 12

emergent layer

Answer 12

consists of the tallest trees in the rainforest and they can grow up to 60 metres.

Question 13

canopy

Answer 13

In forest ecology, canopy also refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns and including other biological organisms

Question 14

epiphyte

Answer 14

also called air plant, any plant that grows upon another plant or object merely for physical support

Question 15

understory

Answer 15

is the underlying layer of vegetation in a forest or wooded area, especially the trees and shrubs growing between the forest canopy and the forest floor.

Question 16

temperate rain forest

Answer 16

e coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rainfall. .

Question 17

temperate deciduous forest

Answer 17

are a variety of temperate forest ‘dominated’ by trees that lose their leaves each year.

Question 18

taiga

Answer 18

also called boreal forest, biome (major life zone) of vegetation composed primarily of cone-bearing needle-leaved or scale-leaved evergreen trees