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Ecosystems > Ecosystems In The British Isle > Flashcards

Ecosystems In The British Isle Flashcards

1
Q

What does the composition of vegetation depend on

A
  • interaction between all components that make up the environment
  • include natural factors like climate relief and soil
  • also includes human influence through clearance fires and livestock grazing
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2
Q

What is species diversity

A

When plant populations become more complex over time

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3
Q

What is a succession

A

The change in in a plant community through time

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4
Q

How does an ecosystem reach climatic climax and what is it

A
  • if allowed to continue undid turned succession will reach climatic climax
  • where plant species live in perfect balance with the current environmental conditions
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5
Q

What can affect an ecosystem from reaching their climatic climax

A

Drainage
Geology
Relief

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6
Q

What happens at the

Beginning of a succession

A
  • plants will invade where the conditions are suitable and die off when the succession leads to unfavourable local conditions
  • change in dominant plant species with time
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7
Q

What are the two basic types of succession

A
  • primary and secondary
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8
Q

What happens in a primary succession

A
  • occurs on the surface that have had no previous vegetation by the gradual colonisation of a lifeless abiotic surface
  • includes lava flows, bare rock and sand dunes
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9
Q

What are the two main types of primary succession and where do they form

A
  • xeroseres (formed on dry land) lithoseres on bare rock

- hydroseres (formed in water)

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10
Q

What are the entire sequence of stages known as

A

Sere
Stages are sera
Stages

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11
Q

What is secondary succession

A
  • follows the destruction of modification of an existing plant community.
  • can occur naturally - after a landslide or a fire caused by lightning
  • can also occur unnaturally- human activity such as deforestation to provide farmland
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12
Q

Development of a succession

A
  • processes are invasion, colonisation, competition, domination and decline
  • as a succession develops it passes through a series of stages called seres
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13
Q

Development of a succession

What happens In Stage one and what is it called

A
  • colonisation
  • begin to colonise for available space light and water
  • as they die they modify the environment
  • develop the soil
  • roots help to break up and weather the surface and so aid soil formation
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14
Q

Development of a succession

What happens at stage two and what is it called

A
  • establishment
  • soil develops further
  • species diversity increases
  • other plants colonise their
  • better conditions for plant growth
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15
Q

Development of succession

What is stage 3 and what happens

A
  • competition
  • larger plants begging to establish themselves
  • use us a lot of the available resources
  • some of the earlier colonisers begin to die out
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16
Q

Development of succession

Stage 4 what is it and what happens

A
  • stablilzation
  • fewer new species colonise
  • complex food webs begin to develop
  • stage is dominated by taller plants/ trees
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17
Q

Development of succession

What is stage 5 and what happens

A
  • climatic climax
  • slow growing trees begin to grow
  • it when vegetation has reached its climax
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18
Q

Give one example of a succession

A

Lithosere

Raised beach

  • Begins on newly exposed rock surface
  • which may have been created by a volcanic eruption
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19
Q

Seral stage one for a lithosere

A
  • colonisation
  • pioneers begin to colonise beginning with lichens
  • they adapt to the harsh climate
  • as they die they add dead organic matter to weathered Rock
  • creates a simple soil
  • then allows other plants to grow there
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20
Q

Seral stage two for a lithosere

A
  • establishment
  • soil develops further
  • ferns and small herbaceous plants and grasses begin to grow
  • species diversity increases
  • die back, bacteria convert their remains into humus
  • helps recycle nutrients and improve soil fertility
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21
Q

Seral stage three of a lithosere

A
  • competition
  • larger plants begin to establish themselves
  • shrubs and small trees
  • use up a lot of available space and water
  • some of the earlier colonisers begin to die out
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22
Q

Seral stage four of a lithosere

A
  • stablilzation
  • fewer new species colonise
  • complex food web develops
  • dominated by larger pioneer trees
  • fast growing such as willow and birch
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23
Q

What is stage five in a lithosere

A
  • seral climax
  • slow growing trees begin to develop
  • ask and oak
  • initially in the shade of shrubs so only appear in later stages
  • dominants on the climax community
  • temperate deciduous woodlands
24
Q

What is a biome

A
  • a global scale ecosystem and its naturally occurring organic community of plants and animals in the climatic climax stages of succession
25
Q

What are the three main components of an ecosystem

A
  • climate
  • vegetation
  • soils
  • all closely linked in equilibrium
26
Q

What is an example of high-energy biomes

A
  • tropical rainforest

- temperate deciduous woodlands

27
Q

Give the characteristics of a high-energy biome

A
  • shows similarities in climate, soil, plants and animal life
  • has own distinctive vegetation
28
Q

Examples of a low-energy biome

A
  • tundra

- dessert

29
Q

Characteristics of a low-energy biome

A
  • high latitudes
  • vegetation is scant
  • net primary productivity is low
30
Q

What happens to a biome in its natural state

A
  • dynamic equilibrium with its environment
  • vegetation exists in perfect balance with the climate and soils
  • any change would alter the balance
31
Q

Describe plant succession in the uk

A
  • reached climatic climax around 8000 years ago

- 5000 years ago the effects of forest clearing by the bronze aged people created a plagioclimax

32
Q

Describe the temperature deciduous woodland as a high energy biome

A
  • high productivity
  • mid-latitudes
  • adequate Moisture
  • not found in the interiors of continents where patterns are more clear
33
Q

What was the most common species found in the British isle

A
  • the dominant one is the oak in the lowlands

- although as was common in some areas

34
Q

Describe the climate in the temperate deciduous woodland

A
  • four distinctive seasons
  • average winter is 2-7
  • average summers 13-17
  • total precipitation is 500-2000 mm a year
  • westerly winds are predominate
  • moist air
  • low pressure weather systems dominate
35
Q

Describe the vegetation in a temperate deciduous woodland

A
  • seasonal colour change- autumn leaf fall
  • broadleaf deciduous woodlands (oak and ash) shed their leaves in Autumn before the cold winters
  • soil temperatures fall so tree roots can only absorb a small amount of water- growth is stopped
  • heat loss reduces transpiration
36
Q

Describe the soil in a temperate deciduous woodland

A
  • brown earth, 1.5m deep which is deep and well drained
  • leaf litter, accumulates during autumn, quickly decomposed during the following year, supports large amount of fauna
  • well mixed by earthworms and other soil organisms
  • layers are not clear
  • mild leaching occurs during autumn and winter
  • makes soil slightly acidic p= ideal for plant growth
37
Q

What are the four layers in a oak woodland

A
  • tall tree canopy
  • shrub layer
  • field layer
  • ground layer
38
Q

What is the tall tree layer and what trees are there

A
  • oak, and ash
  • shed there leaves in winter
    A reduce transpiration be chase water is les available
  • light is prevented from reaching lower levels
  • reduces number of species
39
Q

What is in the shrub layer

A
  • small trees such as hazel and rowan
40
Q

What is in the field layer

A
  • woodland flowers such as bluebells and primroses
41
Q

What is in the ground layer

A
  • mosses and tree seedlings

- leaf layer

42
Q

What might effect the layering of a woodland

A
  • soil type
  • age
  • climate
  • landform
43
Q

What has happened to our woodlands

A
  • human activity- deforestation
  • been coppiced to provide wood for charcoal burning
  • can’t recognise ancient woodlands from a oak forest since the last ice age
  • trying to compromise for the growing population so we destroy the woodland for agriculture, industrial and residential purposes
44
Q

What are upland British forests

A
  • afforestation programs

- composed of conifers because they mature in only 30 years compared to 200 years

45
Q

How and when we’re British ancient forests cleared

A
  • cleared by felling
  • new growth grazed by livestock and wild animals until the tree dies
  • began in 4000BC
  • occurred slowly until the Iron Age
46
Q

What happened in 500BC

A
  • over half of Britain’s woodland had been cleared

- remaining woodlands being managed and used for timber and wood for fuel

47
Q

What happened in 1086

A
  • small area of wildwood remained within the Forest of Dean
  • all others had been owned or managed by individuals or communities
  • everyone was heavily wood dependent
48
Q

What happened during the 13th century

A
  • woodland plantations were introduced

- trees were cut at ground level

49
Q

What happened during the 18th century

A
  • extensive woodland clearance by wealthy landowners

- replaced this by open space landscape parkland

50
Q

What happened during the 19th century

A
  • practice of coppicing died out

- industrial revolution lead to timber and wood being replaced as major resources and fuel

51
Q

What happened during the First World War

A
  • national change
  • Britishs sources of imported wood pulp were lost
  • lead to creation of forestry commission in 1919
  • most conifer plants were in areas of moorland and heatherland
  • some ancient woodlands were part of the afforestation
52
Q

What happened in the post war period

A
  • the most ancient woodland was lost

- over 1/3 of remaining were cleared in less than 25 years

53
Q

What would happen if the trend (deforestation) continued

A
  • there would be no native woodland
  • very little has been lost since 1975
  • threats are now challenged by conservation groups
54
Q

Example and description of a plagioclimax

A
  • Heather Moorland
  • people interfere with plant succession and stop a plant community from reaching climatic climax
  • human activity can do this
  • reduces the total number of species and the biodiversity
  • so a plagioclimax develops where there are breaks in succession
55
Q

What is a secondary succession

A
  • one that restarts on the land that has been previously vegetated
  • can occur after a natural event (volcanic eruption) or after human interference
56
Q

Description of how the Heather moorland came about

A
  • many of the uplands in Britain were once covered by deciduous woodland
  • Heather would have featured a small part
  • gradually the forests were removed
  • hardy plants like Heather dominated the upland
  • sheep grazing became the form which prevented the regeneration of the forest which once was
57
Q

How is the heather moorland managed

A
  • managed by burning to encourage new Heather shoots
  • bringing eliminates the less fire resistant plants just leaving the Heather
  • it is burnt every 15 years
  • if the burning did not continue then the Heather moorland would deteriorate
  • eventually allowing trees to grow back and overtake

Ecosystems (5 decks)

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