Natural Ecosystems Flashcards
Reptiles & amphibians are present in Tundra Biome (T/F)
False. Absent
Most animals in tundra biome have short life span (T/F)
False. Long life
Podzols are very poor because?
- The weathering of rocks proceeds slowly in cold climates.
- The litter derived from conifer leaves decomposes very slowly. It is not rich in nutrients (humus content
is low, and the soils are mostly acidic due to the slow decomposition of organic matter). - Conifers do not shed their leaves frequently
Egs of evergreen coniferous trees in Taiga
spruce, fir, and pine
Trees in temperate deciduous biome
oak, elm, ash, birch, beech, and poplar
Vegetation in temperate rainforest biome
Large coniferous trees dominate the habitat, including Douglas fir, Western red cedar, Mountain hemlock, Western hemlock, Sitka spruce and Lodgepole pine. In addition to the trees, mosses and lichens are
very common, often growing as epiphytes
They are, in short xerophytic (drought tolerant). Trees with small broad leaves are widely spaced and never very tall. Regions with adequate rainfall are inhabited by low, broad-leafed evergreen trees (mostly evergreen oaks). Fire is an important hazardous factor in this ecosystem, and the adaptation of the plants enables them to regenerate quickly after being burnt. Which ecosystem?
Temperate Deciduous Biome (Mediterranean)
Important trees in tropical deciduous biome
Teak, neem, bamboos, sal, shisham, sandalwood, khair, mulberry
Cattle farmers and authorities
usually light fires to stimulate the growth of fresh, nutritious grass for their animals. Others are used to
control the numbers of parasitic ticks or manage the growth of thorny scrub. Which ecosystem?
Savanna
Fires is Savannah are carbon neutral. (T/F)
True
Vegetation in tropical rainforest biome.
High temperatures and abundant rainfall support luxuriant evergreen rainforests. The vegetation comprises many evergreen trees, e.g. mahogany, ebony, dyewoods, etc. In brackish waters, mangrove forests thrive. All plants, including epiphytes, struggle upwards for sunlight resulting in a peculiar layer arrangement (canopy).
Carbon sink capacity of Amazon forests
5% of current emissions
Forest fires are essential for which Ecosystems
1.taiga (extremely fire-prone in the dry season),
2.African savannahs, the South Asian monsoon forests,
3.Californian coniferous forests (extremely fire-prone in the dry season),
4.Australian eucalyptus forests and the Mediterranean region (extremely fire-prone in the dry season)
Neuston?
These organisms live at the air-water interface, e.g. floating plants
Periphyton?
These are organisms that remain attached to stems and leaves of rooted plants or substances
emerging above the bottom mud, such as sessile algae.
Plankton?
Microscopic floating organisms such as algae (plant-like protists), diatoms, protozoans, larval forms, etc., are called plankton. This group includes microscopic plants like algae (phytoplankton –primary producers or autotrophs) and animals like crustaceans and protozoans (zooplankton – heterotrophs). The locomotory power of the planktons is limited so that their distribution is controlled, essentially, by currents in the aquatic ecosystems
Nekton?
This group contains powerful swimmers that can overcome water currents.
Benthos?
The benthic organisms are those found living at the bottom of the water mass.
Photic zone?
Photic (euphotic) zone is the portion that extends from the water surface down to where the light level is 1% of that at the surface. Photosynthetic activity is confined to the photic zone.
winterkill?
An ice layer on the top of a water body can effectively cut off the light. Photosynthesis stops, but respiration continues in such a water body. If the water body is shallow, the dissolved oxygen gets depleted, and the fish die. This condition is known as winterkill.,
Ecosystem services classification
- Cultural: tourism, recreation, etc.
- Provisioning: food, drinking water, genetic resources, medicinal herbs, energy from biomass, etc.
- Economic: crops, raw materials, etc.
- Regulating: carbon sequestration, decomposition, detoxification, healthy biodiversity, climate stabilisation,
reducing the risk of extreme weather events, etc. - Ecological: nutrient cycling, breakdown of pollutants, flood protection, generation and renewal of soils etc.)
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) was hosted by ___________ & done by environmentalist ____________
UNEP, Pavan Sukhdev
The Tyler Prize is an annual award administered by the ___________
University of Southern California
environmental goods as part of the national accounts (monetary value of ecological services) was accepted in?
In 2010, the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity held in Nagoya.
