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Arid And Semi Arid > Soils And Vegetation > Flashcards

Soils And Vegetation Flashcards

1
Q

BIOME DEFINITION

A
  • relates to living organisms, both plants & animals, that can exist in the environment
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2
Q

BIOMASS DEFINITION

A
  • total amount of living matter in a give area

- moisture availability + temp influence rate of production of organic matter

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3
Q

IS BIOMASS LOW/HIGH IN DESERTS

A
  • biomass productivity is low

- due to potential evapotranspiration rates exceeding precipitation

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4
Q

WHAT TREES LOSE THEIR LEAVES IN WINTER

A
  • deciduous trees
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5
Q

WHAT IS THE RANGE + AV.RANGE OF BIOMASS IN DESERTS

A
  • range: 0-250 g/m2/year

- av.range: 40 g/m2/year

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6
Q

WHAT IS THE RANGE + AV.RANGE OF BIOMASS IN THE ARTIC + ALPINE TUNDRA

A
  • range: 10-400 g/m2/year

- av.range: 140 g/m2/year

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7
Q

WHAT IS THE RANGE + AV.RANGE OF BIOMASS IN A CONIFEROUS FOREST

A
  • range: 400-2000 g/m2/year

- av.range: 800 g/m2/year

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8
Q

WHAT IS THE RANGE + AV.RANGE OF BIOMASS IN A DECIDUOUS FOREST

A
  • range: 600-2500 g/m2/year

- av.range: 1240 g/m2/year

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9
Q

WHAT IS THE RANGE + AV.RANGE OF BIOMASS IN GRASSLAND

A
  • range: 200-1500 g/m2/year

- av.range: 600 g/m2/year

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10
Q

WHAT IS THE RANGE + AV.RANGE OF BIOMASS IN A TROPICAL FOREST

A
  • range: 1000-3500 g/m2/year

- av.range: 2200 g/m2/year

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11
Q

ECOSYSTEM DEFINITION

A
  • consists of a community of living organisms + its physical environment
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12
Q

WHAT IS THE NON-LIVING COMPONENT OF AN ECOSYSTEM

A
  • referred to as abiotic
  • characteristics include:
    • air
    • water
    • soils
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13
Q

WHAT IS THE LIVING COMPONENT OF AN ECOSYSTEM

A
  • referred to as biotic
  • characteristics include:
    • animals
    • plants
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14
Q

WHAT DOES EACH BIOMASS PYRAMID TIER REPRESENT

A
  • the total dry weight of all species

- in g/m2

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15
Q

WHAT IS A BIOMASS PYRAMID

A
  • represents trends in food consumption
  • lowest level is primary producers. They have biggest total biomass
  • highest level is consumers. Have lowest total biomas
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16
Q

EXAMPLES OF PRIMARY CONSUMERS

A
  • giraffe
  • guinea fowl
  • both found in Namibia
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17
Q

WHAT IS ON THE 1ST TROPHIC LEVEL

A
  • primary producers
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18
Q

WHAT IS ON THE 2ND TROPHIC LEVEL

A
  • primary consumers
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19
Q

WHAT IS ON THE 3RD TROPHIC LEVEL

A
  • secondary consumers
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20
Q

WHAT IS ON THE 4TH TROPHIC LEVEL

A
  • tertiary consumers
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21
Q

WHAT ARE PRIMARY PRODUCERS

A
  • on 1st trophic level
  • plants are them
  • make food through photosynthesis
  • are limited by amount of water
  • includes shrubs, cactus, wildflowers + grasses
  • produce less than 200 kilocals/m2/year
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22
Q

HOW MANY KILOCALS DO PRIMARY PRODUCERS PRODUCE

A
  • less than 200 kilocals/m2/year
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23
Q

WHAT PLANTS ARE CATEGORISED UNDER PRIMARY PRODUCERS

A
  • shrubs
  • cactus
  • wildflowers
  • grasses
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24
Q

WHAT ARE PRIMARY CONSUMERS

A
  • on 2nd trophic level
  • are herbivores
  • small + little to eat
  • many are insects/reptiles that are cold blooded
  • are food for predators
  • include ants, bees, beetles,rats,mice,chuckwalla
  • provide 20 kilocals/m2/year for predators
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25
Q

HOW MANY KILOCALS DO PRIMARY CONSUMERS PRODUCE

A
  • 20 kilocals/m2/year
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26
Q

WHAT ANIMALS ARE CATEGORISED UNDER PRIMARY CONSUMERS

A
  • bees
  • beetles
  • ants
  • rats
  • mice
  • tortoise
  • chuckwalla
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27
Q

WHAT ARE SECONDARY CONSUMERS

A
  • on 3rd trophic level
  • small carnivores are found here
  • predators are the secondary consumers
  • include cold-blooded animals such as snakes,lizards+ tarantulas
  • produce 2kilocals/m2/year or less
  • in harsher desert environment they are the top predators
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28
Q

HOW MANY KILOCALS DO SECONDARY CONSUMERS PRODUCE

A
  • produce 2 kilocals/m2/year
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29
Q

WHAT ANIMALS ARE CATEGORISED UNDER SECONDARY CONSUMERS

A
  • snakes
  • lizards
  • tarantulas
30
Q

WHAT ARE TERTIARY CONSUMERS

A
  • on 4th trophic level
  • larger carnivores are found here
  • are carnivores that eat other carnivores
  • include some reptiles + birds
  • this tier may be missed out in a desert
  • produce less than 0.2 kilocals /m2/year
31
Q

HOW MANY KILOCALS DO TERTIARY CONSUMERS PRODUCE

A
  • less than 0.2 kilocals/m2/year
32
Q

WHAT ANIMALS ARE CATEGORISED UNDER TERTIARY CONSUMERS

A
  • some reptiles

- some birds

33
Q

WHAT LAYER OF THE PYRAMID CONTAINS THE MOST AMOUNT OF BIOMASS

A
  • bottom layer

- as you go up the pyramid each layer has less + less biomass

34
Q

7 EXAMPLES OF PLANTS IN SONORA DESERT

A
  1. AGAVE
    - agave parviflora
  2. PALM
    - California fan Palm
  3. CACTUS
    - saguaro
    - cholla
    - fishhook
  4. LEGUME
    - velvet mesquite
    - desert ironwood
  5. SHRUBS
    - bur sage
    - creosote bush
    - fairy duster
  6. OTHER FLOWERING PLANTS
    - evening primrose
    - ocotillo
  7. TREES
    - palo verde
    - desert willow
    - elephant tree
35
Q

TYPES OF SPECIES IN SONORAN DESERT

A
  • 60 mammal species
  • 350 bird species
  • 20 amphibian species
  • over 100 reptile species
  • 30 native fish species
  • over 1000 native bee species
  • over 2000 native plant species
36
Q

WHERE IS THE SONORAN DESERT

A
  • SW USA
37
Q

LARGE ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY

A
  • deserts may have this
  • it’s the variety of landscapes found together in any region
  • the way in which their biotic communities interact with the physical environment
38
Q

WHY ARE ARID + SEMI-ARID ECOSYSTEMS FRAGILE

A
  • due to:
    • limited biodiversity
    • unreliable rainfall
    • vulnerability to erosion by wind + water
39
Q

WHAT MAKES AN ECOSYSTEM LESS FRAGILE

A
  • a more diverse ecosystem

- protecting larger areas is more effective than having small reserves to protect a single species

40
Q

ENERGY FLOWS + NUTRIENT CYCLING IN ARID AREAS

A
  • are limited
  • nutrients are dissolved from rocks via chemical weathering + extracted from soil by plants
  • rainfall is limited + stored in soil + little is stored in the biomass + in the litter
  • after rainstorms seeds germinate extracting nutrients from the soil
  • return of nutrients is slow due to slow decomposition
  • there’s little bacterial decay. Dead organic matter may be removed by wind/surface run-off
41
Q

NUTRIENT CYCLE IN A DESERT

A
  • v.slow progress
  • soil is the main store
  • slow rate of nutrient transfer between stores
  • doesn’t have much litter because plants don’t produce any
  • doesn’t have much biomass
42
Q

NUTRIENT CYCLE IN A TEMPERATE FOREST

A
  • litter(pine needles) is the main store

- slow rate of transfer between stores

43
Q

NUTRIENT CYCLE IN A TROPICAL RAINFOREST

A
  • has quickest cycle
  • biomass is the main store
  • lots of growth
  • fast rate of transfer between stores
  • not much soil + litter
44
Q

VEGETATION DISTRIBUTION IN A HOT ARID DESERT

A
  • v.sparse

- net primary production is 3g/m2/year

45
Q

PLANTS IN A HOT ARID DESERT

A
  • tamarisks
  • spikey grass
  • dwarf scrub
  • prostrate plants
46
Q

VEGETATION INVOLVEMENT IN A HOT ARID AREA WITH RAINFALL

A
  • most vegetation exists in a dormant state

- after years without rain, it may grow for a few days after a rare rainstorm

47
Q

PLANT SPECIES IN A HOT ARID AREA

A
  • number of plant species is limited
48
Q

TROPHIC LEVELS PRESENT IN A HOT ARID AREA

A
  • trophic levels 1-3
49
Q

LOCATIONS OF HOT ARID AREAS

A
  • central parts of Sahara, Namib, Atacama + central Australian deserts
50
Q

VEGETATION DISTRIBUTION IN A SEMI-ARID AREA

A
  • denser

- net primary production is 250g/m2/year

51
Q

PLANTS IN A SEMI-ARID AREA

A
  • deciduous acacia tree

- scrub, thorny succulents

52
Q

VEGETATION INVOLVEMENT IN A SEMI-ARID AREA WITH RAINFALL

A
  • occasional rainstorms produce short lived burst of plant growth when shrubs + herbaceous plants blossom
53
Q

PLANT SPECIES IN A SEMI-ARID DESERT

A
  • could be over 2000 plant species
54
Q

TROPHIC LEVELS IN A SEMI-ARID AREA

A
  • all 4 trophic levels
55
Q

LOCATIONS OF SEMI-ARID AREAS

A
  • Sonora desert

- Kalahari

56
Q

WHAT 3 THINGS DO PLANTS + ANIMALS NEED TO ADAPT TO IN THE DESERT

A
  • extreme temp
  • drought
  • soil characteristics
57
Q

EXTREME TEMP

A
  • plants + animals need to adapt to this
    some hot deserts have v.high diurnal temp ranges that exceed 30 degrees
  • animals bury themselves under sand to stay cool
58
Q

DROUGHT

A
  • plants + animals need to adapt to this
  • physical drought: balance between precipitation + potential evapotranspiration
  • physiological drought: when plants suffer excess concentration of salt in soil + water is drawn out of roots by osmosis
59
Q

SOIL CHARACTERISTICS

A
  • plants + animals need to adapt to this
  • lack of rainfall in arid + semi- arid desert means soils are potentially v.fertile
  • soils form pedocals where calcium hasn’t been leached
  • in semi-arid: potassium + sodium can be leached. Concentration of calcium in soil is known as calcification
  • in more arid areas: mobile ions of potassium + sodium only enter solution
  • intense evaporation at surface leads to capillary rise of soil moisture + minerals. This process is salinisation + soils left behind are solonchaks
60
Q

WHY ARE MANY DESERT SOILS GREY

A
  • they contain salts surface in solution after rain + deposited at surface as water evaporates
61
Q

HOW ARE PLANTS ADAPTED

A
  • are designed for survival with minimum amount of water

- include mechanisms to reduce transpiration loss, mechanisms to collect more water + mechanisms to store water

62
Q

5 MECHANISMS TO REDUCE TRANSPIRATION LOSS

A
  1. Plants have small leaves
  2. Plants have few leaves
  3. Plants are deciduous
  4. Some have no leaves but have spines. These protect them from animals
  5. Cacti have fine hairs on their stems. Provide shade
63
Q

2 MECHANISMS TO COLLECT MORE WATER

A
  1. Sparse desert vegetation. Plants are widely spaced as they have to compete for water. Have shallow + widespread to catch water after rain before it evaporates
  2. Other plants have roots up to 10m deep (tap roots) to reach down to he water table. Common in low-lying valley floors. Eg. Joshua tree, a Yucca species. Only grows in Mojave desert, USA
64
Q

3 MECHANISMS TO STORE WATER + USE IT EFFECTIVELY

A
  1. Succulents such as aloes store water after rain in fleshy stems. Can survive during long periods
  2. Low-growing plants need less moisture for growth
  3. Some grass springs to life after rain such as grass in sands of Namib desert. Some seeds are dormant for years then flower + fruit v.fast after rain
65
Q

LOCATION OF ALOE FLOWERS

A
  • in Namib desert, Namibia
66
Q

HOW DOES THE SAGUARO CACTUS ADAPT

A
  • stores 8,000 litres of water
  • cacti seeds can lie dormant for several years until it rains
  • thick waxy skin reflects some of Sun’s heat + reduces loss of moisture
  • spikes instead of leaves reduce loss of moisture + stop animals from eating the plant
  • have long shallow roots to soak up as much water as poss after rain
67
Q

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS

A
  • many will hide in burrows or behind rocks + vegetation during hot daylight hours
  • will only emerge at night
68
Q

EPHEMERAL PLANTS

A
  • plants with v.short life cycles
  • typically 6-8 weeks
  • can take advantage of v.short wet seasons in order to pollinate
69
Q

ROLE OF CHUCKWALLA

A
  • when there’s a predator nearby they scurry under a rock crevice + inflate loose folds of skin along its body
70
Q

ROLE OF GILA MONSTER

A
  • spends most of its life underground
71
Q

SOILS IN DESERTS

A
  • either rocky/sandy + v.porous so water passes quickly into them after rain
  • sandy soils are mobile, so plants can be easily covered + are loose
  • tumble weeds can survive being uprooted

Arid And Semi Arid (4 decks)

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