Chapter 1

Question 1

The Earth can be divided into Spheres

Answer 1

4 spheres

1. Lithosphere
2. Biosphere
3. Hydrosphere
4. Atmosphere

Question 2

Biome

Answer 2

A collection of ecosystems sharing similar climatic conditions

Question 3

Tundra

Answer 3

♣ Located mainly in the circumpolar lands north of the Arctic circle
♣ Absence of trees
♣ Vegetation: grasses and other herbs, mosses, lichens and small woody plants
♣ Adapted to a short growing season
♣ Little precipitation, low nutrient content
♣ Shallow soils are deeply frozen (permafrost) for all or much of the year
♣ 20% of the Earth
♣ Hibernation/migration in the colder season, others (ex. Lemmings) live beneath the snow

Question 4

Coniferous forest (boreal forest or taiga)

Answer 4

♣ Very cold winters, summer longer summers than tundra
♣ Dominated by conifers such as pine, fir, spruce
♣ Tall, narrow pointy shape and needles mean that:
♣ Snow tends to slide of the branches
♣ Reduces the likelihood of snow breaking the branches
♣ Prone to periodic fires
♣ Burn-regeneration cycle is important characteristic
♣ Deer, bears, insects and vegetation has adapted to this
♣ Acid soils
♣ Typically pollinated by wind

Question 5

Temperate forest

Answer 5

♣ Typically, deciduous (shed leaves each year)
♣ Found almost exclusively in the northern hemisphere
♣ Characteristic of Northern Europe, Eastern China, Eastern and Midwest USA
♣ Small stands in the southern hemisphere (South America, New Zealand)
♣ Tall broadleaf trees
♣ Seasonal climate
♣ Water is always abundant during the growing season
♣ Less homogenous than tundra or boreal forests
♣ Amphibians are present, (almost totally absent from higher latitude biomes (boreal, tundra)
♣ Typically pollinated by wind

Question 6

Tropical rain forest

Answer 6

♣ Copious Rainfall
♣ Warm temperatures in al months of the year (constant)
♣ Trees are always green
♣ Typically, broad-leafed
♣ Most are pollinated by animals
♣ Vines and epiphytes (ferns/orchids) are characteristic
♣ Nutrients stored in biomass
♣ Soils contain little organic matter, low fertility
♣ Multi-layered canopy
♣ Vegetation is usually sparse at ground level due to low levels of light
♣ Most diverse biome
♣ Large number of species of both flora and fauna

Question 7

Tropical savanna

Answer 7

♣ African and South American tropics
♣ Known as cerrado in Brazil
♣ Trees are stunted and widely space
- Allows grass to grow between them
- Herds of grazing animals
♣ Grazing animals and large carnivores (lions and other big cats, jackals and hyenas)
♣ These mammals provide a food sources for large scavengers such as vultures
♣ The climate is warm all year
♣ Dry season several moths long where fires are a common feature
♣ The fires maintain the openness of the savanna ecosystem
♣ Important in mineral cycling

Question 8

Temperate grassland

Answer 8

♣ Located in Eurasia (commonly known as steppe), North America (prairie), and South America (pampa) and smaller expanses in South Africa (veldt)
♣ Similarities with savannas in terms of fauna and occurrence of fires
♣ Trees are absent in temperate grasslands
♣ Vegetation is dominated by herbaceous (not woody) plants, mostly grasses
♣ Climate is temperate, seasonal, dry
♣ Typical soils tend to be deep and rich in organic matter

Question 9

Desert

Answer 9

♣ Temperate grasslands have faded into the desert biome
♣ Hyper-arid
♣ Very little plant life
♣ Bare rock or sand dunes
♣ Some species of flora and fauna have adapted
♣ Diurnal temperatures are typicall high
♣ Some water is available by precipitations (rainfall or dew). Fog is important in some coastal deserts
♣ Sporadic, sometimes intense rain promotes rapid growth of annual plants and animals such as locusts, with otherwise lie dormant for several years as seeds or eggs

Question 10

Maquis (also known as chaparral)

Answer 10

♣ Hot and dry summers, cool and moist winters
♣ Meditteranean Basin (maquis), California (chaparral), Southern Australia (mallee), Chile (mattöral) and South Africa (fynbos).
♣ Low evergreen trees (forming woodland) and shrubs (forming scrub)
♣ Thick and small, hard leaves make them tolerant to stresses of climatic extremes
♣ Soil often low in nutrients
♣ Frequently exposed to fire during arid summer period
♣ Important to its regeneration and development
♣ Much has been degraded by people (cutting, grazing, fire)

Question 11

Name the Biomes

Answer 11

8 BIOMES

• Tundra
• Coniferous forest (boreal forest or taiga)
• Temperate forest
• Tropical rain forest
• Tropical savanna
• Temperate grassland (steppe, prairie, pampa, veldt)
• Desert
• Maquis (chaparral, mattöral, mallee, fynbos)

Question 12

Percentage of fresh water on Earth

Answer 12

%3

Question 13

Where is most of Earth’s water stored?

Answer 13

97% stored in liquid form in the oceans

Question 14

Which biomes show greater human impact?

Answer 14

biomes that are considered to be less harsh (for example temperate forests) see greater human impact and damage, whereas

Question 15

Factors determining productivity

Answer 15

• Nutrient availability
• Climate (warmer, wetter climates vs. cold, dry ones)
• Minor disturbances may promote diversity (fewer species can mean that other may dominate)

Question 16

Positive feedback

Answer 16

Feedback that amplifies or encourages responses in a system. system becomes unstable and change is promoted

• system becomes unstable + change is promoted

Question 17

Negative feedback

Answer 17

Feedback that tends to slow or dampen responses in a system: promotes self regulation in a system.

• system will remain stable and resist change