Lecture 5 Flashcards
What is the Soil
complex mixture of organic and nonliving inorganic material upon which most terrestrial life depends
- biodiversity hotspot
How do Soils form
Mechanical or Chemical Weathering
What is Mechanical Weathering
Breakdown of rock (parent material) into smaller particles by water, wind and plant growth (roots)
What is Chemical Weathering
breakdown of limestone (solution) and rock (hydrolysis) by acidic rainwater
What are layers of the soil
Organic (O), Surface (A), Subsoil (B), Substratum (C) then Bedrock/Parent material (R)
Organic Layer (O)
Plant litter (directly below layer)
Surface (A)
High organic content and root density
Subsoil (B)
- less organic content and root density, materials from A leached into B
- can have sublayers
Substratum (C)
almost no organic content, weathered parent material including sand, silt, clay and rock
Parent Material/Bedrock (R)
- weathered by frost, water, microbes, and DEEP roots
- roots don’t grow through bedrock
What do soil organisms do
- form soil structure
- regulate soil moisture (hyphae)
- vital in nutrient cycling
- decompose dead matter (plants & animals)
- gas exchange
What are the aquatic zones
Pelagic: entire water column
Benthic: on the bottom of aquatic environments
What is the Epipelagic ocean zone
surface - 200m depth
What is the Mesopelagic ocean zone
200 - 1000m depth
What is the Bathypelagic ocean zone
1000 - 4000m depth
What is the Abyssal ocean zone
4000 - 6000m depth
What is the Hadal Ocean zone
> 6000m depth
-think of Hades
What’s an example of Coastal upwelling
Phytoplankton blooms off the coasts (red tide)
What is Limnology
the study of inland aquatic systems
- ecology of running waters and still waters
Horizontal Parts of Running water systems
Wetted Channel, Active Channel (water moves through substrate), Riparian zone (groundwater; roots of trees)
Vertical parts of running water systems
Water Column, Benthic Zone, Hyporheic zone (surface water meets ground water), Phreatic zone (Ground water; under surface)
Horizontal parts of still water systems
Littoral zone (along lake edge)
Limnetic zone (open lake)
Vertical Parts of Still Water systems
Epilimnion: warm layer
Metalimnion: rapid decrease in temp
Hypolimnion: dark, cold, low O2 due to decomposition of organic matter
Types of Lakes
Eutrophic, Dystrophic (looks like teawater), Oligotrophic (really clear, blue lake)
- goes from highest to lowest productivity
