Glossary: Key terms Flashcards
What is land cover?
observed biophysical cover on the earths surface e.g vegetation
what is land use?
how people use areas of land
characterised by arrangement, activities and inputs ppl undertake in a land cover type to maintain or change it
what is cultivated and managed land cover?
removal of natural vegetation which is replaced by another type of vegetation by people e.g: land trees cleared and crops planted
what is natural + semi natural vegetation land cover?
made of both natural and semi natural vegetation e.g natural vegetation of coastal north QLD
what is cultivated aquatic or regularily flooded areas?
predominantly aquatic crops, purposefully planted, cultivated and harvested e.g wet rice cultivation in Asia
what is natural + semi natural aquatic land cover or regulary flooded vegetated areas?
strong interconnection between vegetation and water e.g mangroves, vegetation has adapted to water that is close to or on land
what is artificial surfaces, areas?
natural cover that covered an areas has been replaced with variety of constructed surfaces e.g buildings
what is bare areas?
areas with less than 4% vegetation cover e.g deserts
what is artificial water bodies/snow/ice?
dams from rivers form resovoirs of water or artificial bodies of it that serve urban, industrial or rural needs e.g Lake Nasser in Egypt
what is natural water bodies/snow/ice?
developed in response to particular characteristics of the earths natural environment e.g antartic and antartica
plant succession?
directional non seasonal cumulative change in the type of plant species that occupy a given area throughout time
Last glacial maximum
most recent period in earths history when the glaciers were at their thickest and sea levels were at their lowest roughly between 21-18k years ago
holocene climatic optimum
was a roughly warm period at the interval 9-5k years before the present with a thermal maximum around 8k years before present
cyrosphere
components of earths and oceans systems that are frozen
tundra
biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperature and short growing seasons
permfrost
permanently frozen layers on/under the earths surface
peri-glacial zones
cold climate frequency marginal to glacial enviroments
accumulation
annual snowfall and ice which does not fully melt during summer months build up overtime
terminus
where glaciers start to melt
ablation
process of melting ice on a glacier
equilibrium line
ablation is equal to accumulation
glacier mass balance
gain or loss of ice from glacial system
