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RENR 8106 Wetlands Midterm > Terrestial Final > Flashcards

Terrestial Final Flashcards

1
Q

What is an ecosystem

A

A community made up of living organisms and nonliving components such as air, water, and mineral soils
Defined by the following:
Structure: species composition
function: water and carbon capture
processes: primary productivity and nutrient cycling

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2
Q

What is the PNW

A

is a geographic region in western North America
bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west
and (loosely) by the Cascade Mountain Range
on the east. ”

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3
Q

What are the PNW dry ecosystems?

A

Bunchgrass prairies, oak savannahs and woodlands, shrub steppe, and interior forests

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4
Q

What is ecological restoration

A

The process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed

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5
Q

What is restoration ecology

A

The science that provides the concepts, models and methodologies that guide ER

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6
Q

What is ecosystem degradation (what kind of change)

A

gradual , subtle and slow-acting changes that compromise ecosystem integrity

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7
Q

What is ecosystem damage

A

More acute and obvious ecosystem changes

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8
Q

What is ecosystem destruction

A

Nearly complete removal or loss of major ecosystem elements

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9
Q

What is ecosystem transformation

A

An ecossytem that has been completely and deliberately converted to different land use

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10
Q

Why restore an ecosystem?

A 
Mitigation 
Compensation 
Economic gain 
Safety 
Legal requirement 
Moral ethics
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11
Q

What is a reference ecosystem?

A

Curent approach for setting restoration goals is to use reference conditions

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12
Q

What is soil

A

Soils are the interference of air, minerals, water and life
Defined as naturally occurring, unconsolidated, mineral or organic material at the earth’s surface, that is capable of supporting plant growth

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13
Q

Components of soil

A

Air
Water
Mineral matter
Organic matter and biomass

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14
Q

Soil horizons (top to bottom)

A 
O (organic, LFH-litter, fermented, humic)
A (Topsoil)
B (Subsoil)
C (Substratum)
R (Bedrock)
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15
Q

Soil textures and classes

A

clay , silts and sands

Soil texture relates to the size distribution of particles

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16
Q

Soil minerals

A

Primary: prominent in sand and silt fractions
Secondary: minerals dominate the clay and sometimes silt fractions

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17
Q

What are soil aggregates

A

Granular aggregation of surface soils
Smaller aggregates are more stable than larger aggregates
Biological and abiotic processes involved in aggregate formation

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18
Q

What are macroaggregates

A

Roots and hyphae

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19
Q

What is bulk density

A

Weight of solids/volume of soil (solids + pores)= Mg/m3

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20
Q

Why do we care about pore size

A
  • macropores: allow water and air flow, roots;

* micropores: slow water movement, not available to plants

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21
Q

What are microaggregates

A

Root hairs, hyphae and polysaccharides

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22
Q

What is soil water and why do we care

A

Held within soil pores
AKA soil solution
Soil solids and organics constitute colloidal particles
Organic matter increases available water holding capacity in soil

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23
Q

What are soil colloids

A

Cations (remember, cats have paws (+)) are held by electrostatic attraction to the colloids negatively charged (e.g. clay)
Cation exchange happens when cations break away from the “swarm” and move out to the soil solution

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24
Q

Why do we care about Cation Exchange

A

Fundamental to nutrient cycling

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25
What factors influence soil formation
``` S=f(ClORPT) Cl=climate O=organisms R=relief P=Parent material T=Time ```
26
Why is soil compaction bad
Crushes macropores into smaller micropores increasing bulk density Decreases total pore space thus less water is retained Reduction in macropore size and numbers generally means less air pore space. The creation of more very fine micropores decrease the available water content.
27
What do you use to measure soil compaction
Penetrometer any device that is forced into the soil to measure resistance to vertical penetration
28
Why measure conductivity of soil
Gives an indirect measurement of the salt content | Pure water is a poor conductor of electricity due to a lack of salt content
29
What is anthropogenic soils
Have had one or more of their natural horizons removed, replaced or modified by human activities
30
What are disturbed layers called
Designated as D layers, anthropogenic in origin, physical manipulation of structure or addition and incorporation of natural or human-made materials
31
What is a bunch grass praire
Dominated by perennial grasses and forbs with little of no woody vegetation Maintained by low frequency fires
32
What is a savannah
Community of scattered trees, with the understory dominated by grasses and forbs
33
What is a woodland
Community of scattered trees, with the understory dominated by shrubs
34
What are oak associated plant communities
Shrub steppe: limited precipitation limits tree growth and development Chaparral: community dominated by thickets and dwarf evergreen oaks Oak woodland: understroy dominated by shrubs, canopy comprised of several oak species
35
First nations and managing prairies
High frequency and low intensity fires: Keep trees from establishing Reduce grass thatch and moss lichen cover Create suitable microsites
36
How are bunchgrass prairies and oak woodlands and savannahs linked
bunchgrass are early seral stage of savannah, wooland and mixed conifer. if successfion progressed, prairies would develop into oak savannahs, oak woodlands, and eventually douglas fir climax forest
37
Urban threats to bunchgrass prairies
Since they are low-lying and coastal, many areas are being turned into cities and towns
38
Hierarchical framework
``` Regional processes: Species pool Dispersal barriers Colonization order Geography and climate ``` Envrionmental conditions: Abiotic interactions Disturbance Habitat heterogeneity Biotic interactions: Competition Trophic interactions Mutalism
39
What are the regional processes to H framework
Species pool The composition and abundance of species in a local community is largely a function of the species diversity in the regional species pool Dispersal barriers Distance from reference site and the size of the recipient site for transplants Colonization order th e order in which species are added or lost impacts the community compostion Geography and climate Alterations due to climate change are important considerations
40
What are the environmental conditions to H framework
Abiotic interactions Sunlight, temperature, water availability and movement, soil texture and nutrient content Disturbance I.e fire very important to prairie ecoystem processes Habitat heterogeneity
41
What are the biotic interactions to H. framework
Trophic interactions Insects and herpetofauna will likely require a transplant Often indicator species of ecosystem health Birds benefit from restoring prarie vegetation structure competition mutalism
42
Role of wildfire in oak habitats
.
43
Threats to oak woodlands
Fire suppression Invasive species Overgrazing
44
Restoration of oak woodlnds and praries
Reduce fuel loading: conventional thinning and underburning Restore ecological conditions Thinning can be used e to restore former prairies
45
Why is restoring prairies ecosystems difficult
lack of reference ecosystem invasive species realistic plans long term effective restoration strategy
46
Native species advantages
Better for local climate Not likely to become a weed Less long term management Maintains local biodiversity
47
Native species disadvantages
Slow to germinate Difficult to source Expensive and inconsisitent suppliers
48
Non native advantages
Easy to establish Unifrom germination Disease resitant High productivity
49
Non native disadvantages
Form monocultures Can become invasive Will require more intial maintenance
50
Plant species selection based on..
end land use, site characteristics, reclamation or restoration requirements, cost, availability, timing etc
51
native species providence
The ability for a species to adapt in regards to a geographical area Important to restoration
52
ecovar
Plant variety developed from a collection, possess a high genetic diversity
53
cultivar
Plant variety developed from plant slection or genetic manipulation to exhibit certain characteristics
54
broadcast seeding
Drop seed by hand or with pulled equipment, less direct seed contact but better randomized dispersal
55
drill seeding
Requires a pre drilled hole for placement, results in row planting but ensures better soil seed contact
56
cover crops
Mixed plantings of annuals and perenials, provide shelter and shade, retain surface water (prevent infiltration) and compete with weeds
57
sculpted seeding
Match species based on preferred site conditions
58
transplanting
Movement of whole plants or parts of plants to a new location Best for species with poor growth rates, woody species
59
scalping
Physically remove plants with tools
60
container stock
<1 year old stock from a nursery
61
When to do bare root transplanting
For shrubs, trees and forbs without leaves, less expensive
62
sod pros and cons
Expensive and slow, best for erosion control
63
What is wilding
Moving native plant species from one area to another
64
common density and spacing for trees shrubs and forbs
Trees: 3m Shrubs and ferns: 0.5-1m Forbs: 0.5 m
65
What is an old growth
>250 years old High structural complexity High vertical foliage diversity Definitions based on age are irrelevant
66
Ecology def of old growth
180-220 years old with moderate to high, multi-layered and multi- species canopy closure due to large overstory trees; numerous large snags; accumulation of CWD and large logs on the ground.
67
Threats to old growth
Land conversion Timber harvest 80% of old growth has been logged Managing younger stands will not replace old growth
68
Old growth ecological functions
Carbon sequestration, cooling, water cleaning, nutrient cycling
69
How much of old growth is left
10%
70
How are young managed stands different to old growth
Structurally & compositionally different from OG and hence do not provide the same functions • Managing to maximize timber productivity leads to simple structure, high tree density, simple composition (e.g., Douglas-fir monoculture) • Road networks and skid trails disrupt drainage; roads can also lead to sedimentation, vulnerability to invasive weeds and enhance access for predators hence affecting migration, movement, animal populations, etc
71
How to restore old growth
Best approach is to recreate the structure and function of OG thinning, create snags
72
Features of old growth
Diverse range of sizes Variation in CWD Variation in shade tolerant conifers
73
What is silviculture
What is Silviculture? The art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, and quality of forest vegetation for a range of forest resource objectives. • NOT just managing stands and forests purely for timber. • Also used to manage forests for wildlife, water, recreation, aesthetics, or any combination of these or other forest uses.
74
What are ponderosa pine forests
Dry ecosystem, super open, limited shrubs fire is a part of this ecosystem Dry, Low elevation forests
75
Threat of climate change to p.p forests
More frequent fires Higher intensity Bad news bears.
76
How to restore p.p. forests
use nature as template, use h. framework thin douglas fir, promote natural forest successsion, fire, thinning
77
What are some aspects you would consider before planning restoration of a dry ecosystem in the PNW
``` Historic ecosystem Access Fire frequency Can you use fire? Risks of using fire as a tool Are there propagules/seeds? Do we need to reveg? Nearby Sources? Are there invasives on site? ```
78
What are some restoration tools/ techniques you may want to use for interior forests?
Prescribed Burns Thinning Leave it alone? Fine fuel management

RENR 8106 Wetlands Midterm (5 decks)

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