unit 1 Flashcards
Tundra
Cold, dryshort growing season often when poles are tilted towards the sunhas a layer of permafrost under the soil, preventing deep rootsupper levels thaw and make pools that are good for insects
Boreal Forest/Taiga
Cold, ???Constrained by temperature and decomposition ratehas mostly coniferous trees (ex spruce, trees with needles)
Temperate Rainforest
mild temperatures, high precipitationoften coastal which regulates temperatures & provides watermostly trees with needles, slow decomposition, low ferns12 month growing season
Temperate Seasonal Forest
Warm summers, cold winters & high precip.mostly deciduous/broadleaf tresswarm summers, fast decomposition and falling leaves makes soil fertile and has higher NPP/plant growthoften used for agriculture
Woodland/Shrubland
hot/dry summers, mild/rainy winters12 month growing season but rapid precipitation/temp changes constrains plantsoften has wildfire/droughts, thus plants regrow quickly/ sprout seeds after high temperaturessoil is low in nutrients, but is used for deep rooted plants/animal grazing
Temperate Grassland/Cold Desert
hot summers cold winters, very drywildfires are extremely common, thus plants favor deep roots and fewer treesmore rain means higher grass, less rain means lowerwith little enough rain the grassland becomes a cold desertlong growing season and fast decomposition, rich soilgood for agriculture
Tropical Rainforest
warm and wetthese conditions make decomposition extremely fast but due to lush vegetation the nutrients in soil are soaked up quicklylots of biodiversity and 3 layers of vegetationtall trees, short trees, epiphytes, and vines all around
Tropical Seasonal Forest/savanna
warm temperatures, distinct wet and dry seasonsdeciduous trees, drop leaves in dry winterslonger dry seasons for savannasfires and grazing discourage small plantswarm temp, high decomposition makes fertile soil but the soil is rarely used since few plantsused for agriculture and grazing
Desert
hot temperatures and extremely dry often have cacti and succulentsleaves are small, spines, or nonexistent to prevent water lossphotosynthesis occurs in the stem where the water is, so plants can keep doing it in dry seasonswhen rain falls, many plants grow reproduce and die within a few monthsothers stay alive but have growth spurts when it rains (perennial)
Streams & Rivers (Lotic Systems)What are their 3 zones?
- Source Zone: shallow, clear, fast flowing streams. High dissolved oxygen content, low NPP2. Transition Zone: Wider stream bed, warmer water, slower stream velocity, high turbidity. Lower DO, higher NPP3. Floodplain Zone: widest streambed, warmest water, highest turbidity. Lowest Do and highest NPP because lots of biomass
Ponds and Lakes (Lentic Systems)What are their 6 zones?
- Oligotrophic: deep, steep banks fed by ice and snow melt. low nutrients, low NPP2. Eutrophic: shallow with high turbidity. High nutrients, high NPP3. Littoral zone: lots of light, with biodiversity and rooted plants. High NPP4. Limnetic zone: light, but does not reach the bottom (free floating plants). Low nutrient levels, low NPP5. Profundal zone: low light, low nutrients, low NPP6. Benthic zone: no light with lots of nutrients but low NPP. mostly decomposers live here and is in the sediment
Inland Wetlands
Areas of land that are covered in water year round or seasonally. High productivity due to high nutrients and sunlight, LOTS of biodiversitycritically important because they recharge groundwater, prevent flooding, maintain biodiversity and so much more
Open OceanWhat are the 5 Zones?
Intertidal: lots of nutrients, high biodiversity, shallow waterCoastal: lots of nutrients with rooted plants and high productivity. Very similar to littoral zoneEuphotic (photic zone): lots of sun, low biodiversity. Similar to the limnetic zoneBathyal (disphotic zone): low light, low NPP and below the Euphotic zone. Similar to the profundal zoneAbyssal (aphotic zone): no light, little productivity. Similar to benthic zone
Salt Marshes and Estuaries
high nutrient levels +sunlight = high NPP. has brackish water and is one of the main habitats for mangroves which are very important
Intertidal Zones (ocean)
narrow bands on coastlines between high and low tide marks. Hard to survive because there is lots of water then no water at all. usually sandy and rocky, with intensely specialized species
Coral Reefs
occur in warm, shallow water. often start in low nutrient areas then increase the content, as well as biodiversity and NPP. (coral is a symbiote with polyps and algae)
Hydrologic Cycle
primary agent for dissolving and transporting chemical agents for living organisms. ocean contains the most water, after that is ice caps and glaciers. you kinda know the cycle already so not writing it out
Carbon Cycle
photosynthesis, respiration, exchange, sedimentation, burial, extraction, combustion
carbon cycle: Photosynthesis/respiration
producers take in CO2 from the atmosphere and store it. when they die or get eaten, the carbon is passed on
Carbon Cycle: Exchange, sedimentation and burial
the atmosphere and ocean exchange CO2 at an equal rate. in the ocean, algae take in the carbon and put it in the food web. the carbon also interacts with calcium in the water, precipitates out as calcium carbonate, and forms limestone. Over the years, lots of carbon has been amassed in this part of the cycle
Carbon Cycle: extraction and combustion
extracting fossil fuels formed by sedimentation, and burned turning the carbon into gaseous CO2 (this is mostly a human process)
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfurOften a limiting resource to plants, used for building proteins n stuff
Nitrogen Cycle: nitrogen fixation
Usually done by bacteria, but sometimes can occur with combustion like lightning. Turns N2 gas from the atmosphere into NH3 (ammonia) and that gets converted to NH4+ (ammonium)
Nitrogen Cycle: nitrification
Also done by special bacteria, converts NH4 into NO2- (nitrite) to NO3- (nitrate)
Nitrogen Cycle: assimilation
producers taking nitrogen in in one of its usable forms. When consumers feed on producers, the nitrogen is transferred to them
Nitrogen Cycle: mineralization
when organisms die, decomposers like fungi and bacteria break down the matter. They turn it into waste and inorganic compounds, one of which being ammonium which can then go through nitrification again
Nitrogen Cycle: denitrification
bacteria turn compounds like nitrate and turn it into gaseous N2O and then eventually N2, which is put into the atmosphere and the cycle restarts
Phosphorous cycle
is a limiting nutrient with no gaseous phase
Phosphorous Cycle: Assimilation and Mineralization
producers take in nitrogen, are eaten, organisms die, fungi and bacteria break it down into inorganic compounds again
Phosphorous Cycle: sedimentation, geological uplift and weathering
P is not very soluble, so it precipitates out of water as sediment. Geological uplift eventually brings the phosphorus to the surface and is weathered naturally. held in soil for organic use
Ca, Mg, K, S cycles
all important to plant growth; never in a gaseous phase and form positive ions. These ions are attracted to negative particles like the ones in clay, and become part of soil. Leaching of these nutrients constrains plant growth. Found in limestone and marble, so soil is often found above these rocks
Primary Productivity
The rate at which solar energy is converted into organic compounds through photosynthesis over a unit of time” depends on the amount of plant matter in a given area, and is a rate of change
GPP vs NPP
GPP = the total rate of photosynthesis in an areaNPP = the amount of energy stored AFTER taxes paid to respiration (GPP- respiration rate = NPP)
Competition
occurs when there is a shared limited resourceInterspecific competition: competition between different speciesIntraspecific competition: competition between different organisms of same species
