Chapter 5 Vocabulary Flashcards
Biome
A broad, regional type of ecosystem characterized by distinctive climate and soil conditions and a distinctive kind of biological community adapted to those conditions
Vertical Zonation
Terrestrial vegetation zones determined by altitude
Cloud Forests
High mountain forests where temperatures are uniformly cool and fog or mist keeps vegetation wet all the time
Tropical Rainforests
Forests in which rainfall is abundant–more than 200 cm (80 in) per year– and temperatures are warm to hot year-round
Tropical Seasonal Forests
Semievergreen or partly deciduous forest tending toward open woodlands and grassy savannas dotted with scattered, drought-resistant trees species; distinct wet and dry seasons, hot year-round
Grasslands
A biome dominated by grasses and associated herbaceous plants
Savannas
Open grasslands with sparse tree cover
Desert
A type of biome characterized by low moisture levels and infrequent and unpredictable precipitation. Daily and seasonal temperatures fluctuate widely
Chaparral
Thick, dense, thorny evergreen scrub found in Mediterranean climates
Deciduous
Trees and shrubs that shed their leaves at the end of the growing season
Coniferous
Needle-bearing trees that produce seeds in cones
Temperate Rainforest
The cool, dense, rainy forest of the norther Pacific coast; enshrouded in fog much of the time; dominated by large conifers
Boreal Forest
A broad band of mixed coniferous and deciduous trees that stretches across northern North America (and also Europe and Asia); its northernmost edge, the taiga, intergrades with the arctic tundra
Tundra
Treeless arctic or alpine biome characterized by cold, harsh winters, a short growing season, and potential for for frost any month of the year; vegetation includes low-growing perennial plants, mosses, and lichens
Benthic
The bottom of a sea or lake
Pelagic
Zones in the vertical water column of a water body
Coral Reefs
Prominent oceanic features composed of hard, limy skeletons produced by coral animals; usually formed along edges of shallow, submerged ocean banks or along shelves in warm, shallow, tropical seas
Coral Bleaching
Whitening of corals caused by expulsion of symbiotic algae– often resulting from high water temperatures, pollution, or disease
Mangroves
Trees from a number of genera that live in salt water
Estuary
A bay or drowned valley where a river empties into the sea
Salt Marshes
Shallow wetlands along coastlines that are flooded regularly or occasionally with sea water
Tide Pools
Depressions in a rocky shoreline that are flooded at high tide but cut off from the ocean at low tide
Barrier Islands
Low, narrow, sandy islands that form offshore from a coastline
Thermocline
In water, a distinctive temperature transition zone that separates an upper layer that is mixed by the wind (the epilimnion) and a colder, deep layer that is not mixed (the hypolimnion)
Wetlands
Ecosystems of several types in which rooted vegetation is surrounded by standing water during part of the year
Swamps
Wetland with trees, such as the extensive swamp forests of the southern United States
Marshes
Wetland without trees; in North America, this type of land is characterized by cattails and rushes
Bogs
An area of waterlogged soil that tends to be peaty; fed mainly by precipitation; low productivity; some bogs are acidic
Fens
An area of waterlogged soil that tends to be peaty; fed mainly by upwelling water; low productivity
