grassland ecology Flashcards
what is the Sahel
transition zone between desert and savannah in North Africa
is the South African veld cooler than central
yes, this means the species found there are endemic as they cannot spread up into the centre
what is the temp and precipitation level of the asian steppe
cool and low to moderate precipitation
what temp and precipitation of the South American cerrado
similar temp to east Africa but with more precipitation
what is the temp and precipitation of the South American pampa? would you find woody vegetation there?
less rain and cooler than prairie- no woody vegetation present
what is the precipitation of the North American prairie? what size fauna would you expect to find there?
moderate rainfall and large fauna present
what is the temp and precipitation of Australian grasslands?
hot with little precipitation- large marsupials present
can grass reproduce both sexually and asexually?
yes
how is pollen distributed?
mostly by wind
is growth from base or is it apical
from the base
how many leaves initially push out of a seed
1, most plants initially have 2
when is grass most nutritious
when it is young- leaves most nutritious part
what is considered a defence mechanism of grass
it has a high silicate (GLASS) content- wears down teeth of consumer
what does a high chlorophyll content in grass mean for it its recovery time
it takes very short time to recover
where is the biomass concentrated? (abiotic)
underground
what is grazing succession
when ungulates take it in turns to graze there same patch of grassland. each species specialised to consume a certain part of the grass
what kind of environment do cold fires burn in
drier ones with sparse grass and lots of shady woody vegetation.
how does woody vegetation keep fires cooler
they can survive the fires and shade grassland so that grass growth is sparser
define bush encroachment
when overgrazing causes grass to die off, woody vegetation moves in and takes water and sunlight from grass
what types of animals can be used to control bush encroachment
mega browsers like rhinos and elephants can be used to clear bush and pride space for grass to return
how to pastoralist differ from agriculturists
they sow and harvest with consideration for natural weather cycles. their farming has little hot no effect on the natural environment.
can invasive species be indigenous
yes, when they become unnaturally overly prevalent they become invasive.
do wild herbivores tend to avoid or confront farm animals
they avoid them. parasites can be shared and native species have been shown to change their behaviour completely to avoid livestock.
