Life on Land Flashcards
What are the four soil horizons and their components?
O Horizon: organic layer composed of freshly fallen organic material
A Horizon: Mixture of minerals, clay, silt, and sand
B Horizon: Clay, humus, and other materials leached from A horizon - often contains plant roots
C Horizon: weather parent/origin materials with low nutrient availability
Why are soil types, temperature, and rainfall important?
Influence the type, quantity, and diversity of vegetation. Can also predict land use.
Define a biome.
Areas sharing similar climate, topographic and soil conditions, and roughly comparable plant communities.
List the main characteristics of a tundra.
Arctic tundras have short growing seasons, support few animals in short summer/spring seasons, and have low precipitation
Using a graph, how do you know that an environment is in water stress?
If the water line crosses or falls below the temperature line.
List the main characteristics of a hot desert.
Hot deserts have root systems based on rainfall. The biotic organisms consist of drought deciduous shrubs, grass, and cacti with stem succulence.
List the main characteristics of shrubland.
This is a mediterranean style biome consisting of a dry area where fires are typical, contains evergreen shrubs and small trees. The summer is the dry months and the winter is the wet months.
Characteristics of leaves found in shrublands.
Small leaves, thickened cuticles, glandular hairs, and sunken stomata
List the main characteristics of grasslands.
Very nutrient rich, lose topsoil quickly, losing water due to modern farming techniques, and dominated by cattle and herbaceous plants.
List characteristics of temperate forests.
Long growing season with lots of rainfall, and majority are second growth meaning they are less than 100 y/o.
List characteristics of tropical rainforests.
Located in tropics, incredibly diverse with lots of rain and consistent temperatures.
List characteristics of tropical seasonal forests.
Drier than rainforests, contain drought deciduous trees, and not as diverse as rainforests but have better soil for farming. They also have steady temperatures with distinct dry seasons.
