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Ecology > Terrestrial and Wetland environments > Flashcards

Terrestrial and Wetland environments Flashcards

1
Q

How many major biomes exist?

A

8

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2
Q

Major biomes are based on the abundance of 3 major plant types:

A
  • trees
  • shrubs
  • grasses
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3
Q

Who plotted the biomes across annual temperature and rainfall and found a distinct pattern?

A

Robert Whittaker

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4
Q

What other factors can determine biomes?

A
  • topography
  • soil type
  • disturbance
  • fire
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5
Q

Biomes are generally a result of _____ and _____ patterns.

A

temperature and rainfall

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6
Q

What are major determinants of temperature and rainfall?

A

latitude, elevatioin, and solar exposure

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7
Q

Terrestrial ecosystems reflect adaptations of the _______ plant life forms.

A

dominant

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8
Q

Grasses

A

allocate less carbon to support structures; can maintain high % of photosynthetic structures

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9
Q

Shrubs

A

allocate lower % of biomass to stems

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10
Q

Trees

A

allocate highest % of biomass to support structures

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11
Q

What determines the abundance of plants on our planet?

A

availability of water and solar energy

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12
Q

_____ _____ characterize the equatorial zones.

A

tropical rainforests

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13
Q

Tropical Rainforests

A
  • temperatures remain warm and constant
  • rainfall occurs almost daily
  • trees dominate but grasses and shrubs exist
  • high diversity of plant and animal life
  • covers only 6% of Earth’s surface
  • highest rate of primary productivity
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14
Q

Tropical Savannas

A
  • characterized by codominance of grasses and woody plants
  • region typically has alternating wet and dry seasons
  • primary productivity and decomposition is tightly linked with precipitatio-african savanna is dominated by a large and diverse population of ungulates
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15
Q

_______ are partially responsible for maintaining the African savanna

A

elephants

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16
Q

Temperate Grasslands

A
  • occupy regions where rainfall is 25-80 cm annually
  • once very widespread, only a fraction still exists
  • tall-grass prairie is the single most endangered ecosystem today (1% remains)
  • coevolved with high abundance of grazing species
17
Q

Today: controlled ______ function to limit the spread of trees

A

burns

18
Q

Deserts

A
  • 15% of earth’s land surface
  • less than 25 cm rainfall
  • largely a result of dry descending air masses
  • hot and cold deserts
  • strucuturally simple: scattered shrubs, ephemeral plants, stark topography
19
Q

Shrublands

A
  • plant communities where shrubs are dominant or codominant with other plants
  • difficult to classify
  • 65% of precipitation occurs in winter months
  • summer temp can get high with little rainfall
  • trees may take on shrub-like characters to survive
20
Q

Temperate Forests

A
  • dominanted by broadleaf, deciduous trees
  • year round precipitation but seasonal temperatures
  • impacted heavily by human activity
  • large majority of forests today are “secondary forests” that have regrown from original forest remains
21
Q

Deciduous

A

drops leaves annually

22
Q

Conifer Forests (Boreal)

A
  • dominated by evergreen trees
  • low temperatures limit the growing season to only a few months per year
  • permafrost is typically maintained by cold temperatures and tree cover
  • permafrost strongly influences ground-cover species
  • many species are fire tolerant
23
Q

Tundra

A
  • characterized by low temperatures and low precipitation
  • short growing season and permafrost limit plants
  • dominant vegetation is cotton grass and sedge
  • plants are photosynthetically active 2-3 months per year
24
Q

The ____ ____ is covered and uncovered daily.

A

intertidal zone

25
Q

Salt marshes

A
  • an area of coastal grassland that is regularly flooded by sea water
  • resides in the upper intertidal zone
  • dominated by dense salt-tolerant plants (herbs and grasses)
  • all plants in this ecosystem are terrestrial in origin so they are not impervious to saltwater damage
26
Q

Mangroves

A
  • function similarly to salt marshes
  • replace salt marshes in tropical regions
  • covers 60-75% of tropical coasts
  • have specialized glands for expelling excess salt
27
Q

Salt marshes and wetlands __________ and buffer against floods.

A

protect our coasts; coastal ecosystems absorb a huge amount of kinetic energy

Ecology (11 decks)

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