Definitions

Question 1

ecological niche

Answer 1

the geographic range, habitat, and functional role that a species can or does occupy/fulfill in an ecosystem

Question 2

layer

Answer 2

subdivisions of vegetation based on plant heightand structural complexity

Question 3

ecotone

Answer 3

area where 2 plant communities integrade, can be narrow or wide

Question 4

plant association

Answer 4

all climax (PNC) stands in which the dominants of corresponding layers are essentially the same

Question 5

ecological site

Answer 5

A distinctive kind of land with specific characteristics that differs from other kinds of land in its ability to produce a distinctive kind and amount of vegetation

Question 6

discrete unit (Clementsian) view

Answer 6

clusters of species associate with one another; based on the following ideas: 1. “whole” is greater than the sum of the parts 2. species are interdependent 3. plant community is viewed as an “organism” 4. plant communities repeat themselves across the landscape

Question 7

continuum (Gleasonian) view

Answer 7

species occur in a continuous and random fashion across the landscape; based on the following ideas: 1. species do not interrelate and depend upon one another 2. assemblages of plant species are exactly the same. 3. communities are not larger than the sum of their parts

Question 8

biome

Answer 8

a grouping of terrestrial ecosystems on a given continent that are similar in vegetative structure and physiognomy (broadest classification)

Question 9

retrogressive succession

Answer 9

selective removal of plant species leading toward simpler, less diverse communities

Question 10

life history patterns

Answer 10

relate to the cumulative growth, reproduction, and longevity characteristics of a species

Question 11

allelopathy

Answer 11

a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms

Question 12

progressive succession

Answer 12

succession where the developing plant community becomes complex and contains more species and biomass over time; highly predictable, culminates in a stable climax

Question 13

offsite colonizer

Answer 13

a plant species that establishes in early succession from seed dispersed onto the disturbed site

Question 14

ecosystem

Answer 14

a community along with the environmental and physical forces acting upon it

Question 15

feedback

Answer 15

refers to one component of an ecosystem modifying another component that is acting on it, or perhaps modifying its own behavior

Question 16

inhibition

Answer 16

a plant community that does not progress to a more advanced successional stage due to an invasive species or by allelopathy

Question 17

habitat

Answer 17

where a species lives in a community

Question 18

gap succession

Answer 18

succession that occurs in small forest openings following a disturbance

Question 19

phenology

Answer 19

the seasonal rhythm of plant growth and development

Question 20

circadian rhythm

Answer 20

the daily rhythm of plant growth and development