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BIO232 Plant Ecology > L6 Synecology > Flashcards

L6 Synecology Flashcards

1
Q

What effect does sepentine soil have on the boundaries between plant communities

A

Creates more abrupt boundaries and lack of ecotones

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2
Q

What does serpentine soil contain lots of

A

Heavy metals

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3
Q

What are ecotones

A

Transitional areas - the gradual blending of two communities

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4
Q

What effect do humans have on the boundaries between vegetation

A

Humans also cause abrupt boundaries

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5
Q

Plants are only a subset of the community, what other subsets are there

A

Herbivory
Disease
Pollinators
Mycorrhizal associations

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6
Q

Define plant community

A

The collection of plant species growing together in a particular location that show a definite assocation or affinity with each other

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7
Q

How many recognised plant communities are there in the UK

A

286

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8
Q

How are oundaries of plant communities defined

A

Based on changes in abundance of dominant or common species

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9
Q

When sampling a plant comunity, which areas should be avouded

A

The edges / near the boundaries

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10
Q

What is a stand in terms of sampling

A

Local area treated as a unit for the purpose of describing begetation

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11
Q

What are the 2 questions that arise in sampling the plant community

A

How large should the area be?
Where (precisely) should the sample be?

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12
Q

What are 2 ways quadrats could be assigned a location

A

Subjective - positioning in ‘typical vegetation’
Objective - positioning by randomisation

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13
Q

What was Clements view of the plant community

A

Superorganismic, holistic view of ocmmunity structure

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14
Q

What was Clements view of the plant community

A

Superorganismic, holistic view of ocmmunity structure

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15
Q

What was Gleasons view on the plant community

A

Individualistic, reductionist

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16
Q

What are the 2 main differences in Clemets and Gleasons arguments

A

The importance ascribed to biotic versus abiotic factors
The predictable versus unpredicatble pprocesses

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17
Q

Who of Gleason and Clements is more likely correct
Where is the modern view

A

Gleason more likely correct
Modern view is somewhere in the middle

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18
Q

Where did Clements study

A

North America

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19
Q

What is the climax community in the UK

A

Temperate woodland

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20
Q

What did Clements believe was responsible for the nature of the climax community

A

Climate

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21
Q

Clemets believed that the life history of a community was…

A

A definite and predictable process

22
Q

What did Clemets believe was the singular factoe determining community structure

A

Only species interactions

23
Q

How did Clements break up commuities in North America
How many climax communities did he recongise
What were they
What were they divided into
What were these further divided into

A

Recognised 3 climax communities
Grassland, scrub and forest
Subdivided into formations
Further subdivided into associations

24
Q

What is the modern name given to what Clements identified as ‘associations’

A

= communities

25
Q

What 3 things did Gleason believed formed the individualistic community

A

The result of interactions between individual species and the environment (biotic and abiotic)
In combination with change historical events

26
Q

What 2 things did Gleason believe were responsible for determining community structure

A

Biotic and abiotic interactions

27
Q

What did Gleason believe happened at boundaries between communities
Do all species experience the same boundaries

A

Different species have different boundaries at different places along an environmental gradient
Changes are gradual, not abrupt transitions

28
Q

What 4 things did Gleason think could affect heterogeneity of community structure

A

Accidents of seed dispersal
Minor variations in environment
Different abundances of parent plants
Brevity of periods (length of time) between disturbances

29
Q

What did Clements believe occured between two plant communities

A

An abrupt boundary

30
Q

What did Whittaker belive the pattern was
When was this
What was his theory called

A

Mosaic climate pattern
1956
Community-unit theory

31
Q

What kind of gradients did Whittaker belived played a role in establighing forest communities

A

Elevational gradients

32
Q

What did Whittaker believe about the transition zones between communities

A

They were gradual changes, not abrupt transitions

33
Q

What is succession

A

The non-seasonal, directional and continuous pattern of colonisation and extinction on a site by species populations

34
Q

Where does primry succession occur and is it influenced

A

Occurs on exposed landforms
Uninfluenced by a previous plant community

35
Q

Who came up with the idea of succession

A

Clements

36
Q

What did Clements believe was the end stage of succession

A

Dynamic equilibrium

37
Q

How many stages did Clements believe there was to succession

A

6

38
Q

Did frequency, strength and complexity of interactions decrease or increase throughout succession

A

Increase

39
Q

Define seres

A

The series of recognisable communities before a climax was achieved

40
Q

Did Clements believe you could predict the climax community
What would determine the climax community

A

Yes they are predictable and determined by climate

41
Q

When does secondary succession occur

A

When vegetation of an area is removed but soil and seeds or spores remain and a sequence od speciew regenerates

42
Q

Is primary succession faster or slower than secomndary succession

A

Primary is slower

43
Q

What parts of Clements theory did Gleason disagree with

A

The determinism and directedness

44
Q

How did Gleason believe communities were established

A

Random elements of seed immigration and seedling establishment

45
Q

What did Gleasin believe established the end point of succession in an area

A

Initial conditions and disturbance histories

46
Q

Why did Gleason disagree with the consept of an equillibrium community

A

Communities exhibit transient dynamics
Communities often change and we cannot tell if we are at the end of succession

47
Q

What did Gleason believe could cause succession

A

Distrubance
Gaps = large like landslides or local like one tree being struck by lightning
Wind
Water
Earthquakes and volcanoes
Colonisation rates

48
Q

What did Clements (1916) believe about the end point of succession

A

Monoclimax theory = in a given climatic refion, a single climax will dominate

49
Q

What did Tansley (1935) believe about the end point of succession

A

Polyclimax theory = local climax governed by a combination of factors e.g. Climate, soil conditions, topography, fire

50
Q

What did Whittaker (1953) believe about the end of succession

A

Climax pattern hypothesis = continuity of climaxes along environmental gradients

BIO232 Plant Ecology (15 decks)

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