Unit 5: Plants Flashcards
Inuit Diet
Traditional diet in Canada’s far north. High meat intake due to Arctic conditions. Country food: Raw meat as a significant dietary component.
!Kung Diet
Located in the Kalahari Desert. Primarily foraged vegetable matter. Reliance on mongongo nuts for nutrition.
Impact of Agriculture
Freed time for art, technology, culture. Villages produced surplus food for trade. Agriculture as the foundation of economies.
Definition: Cultivation
It involves preparing for its growth and tending to it as it grows.
Economic and Medicinal Importance of Plants
Production of useful compounds (rubber, dyes, spices). Plant-based pharmaceuticals (aspirin). Cost-efficiency of plant cultivation.
Definition: Succession
Change in species structure of an ecological community
Definition: Primary succession
The ecological process that occurs in an environment where no soil or living organisms previously existed. Includes pioneer species like lichens and mosses
In the context of succession, what is a “pioneer species”?
The first species to colonize previously disrupted or damaged ecosystems.
Definition: Secondary Succession
Occurs in areas with existing soil and was previously occupied by living organisms.
Which of the following best describes the main difference between primary and secondary succession?
Primary succession occurs on newly exposed surfaces, while secondary succession occurs in areas where a community previously existed.
What is the process called when a community of plants and animals is established in an area where no life previously existed?
Primary Succession
Ecological Succession: Early Stage (1st year)
Weedy, short-lived plants like crabgrass dominate. Their seeds were likely already present in the soil.
Ecological Succession: Middle Stage (2-5 years)
Perennial plants like goldenrod and tall grasses take over, outcompeting the earlier colonists.
Ecological Succession: Late Stage (several years)
Shrubs and small trees like dogwood and sumac invade, often dispersed by birds and mammals. These shade out the goldenrods and grasses.
Ecological Succession: Climax Stage (150+ years)
Shade-tolerant trees like sugar maple replace the pines. This is the final, stable community for this environment, unless disturbed.
