People and Environments Module 3 - Environments

Savanna

Lower latitude;Savannas are unique among biomes in that they are the only one defined but the coexistence of two vegetation forms, trees and grasses.

Discuss how terra preta exemplifies both "natural" and human-induced environmental change.

Terra Preta exemplifies both "natural" by it being in itself a soil and it exemplifies human-induced environmental change as we wouldn't have such high fertility soils if the indigenous peoples were not there working the land and adding organic substances to the soil

Competition

- the mutually detrimental interaction between individuals in which individuals compete over a limited resource. Ex. A botanical garden where many different species are co-existing where they wouldn't naturally all occur. If the garden isn't maintained competition between the varying specials will occur.

What are the three main ways organisms interact?

1. Competition 2. Predation 3. Mutualism

12. Name the four factors determining global patterns of climate (temperature, precipitation, and air movement or wind).

1. Latitiude 2. Land/water differences 3. Elevation 4. Urban Heat Islands

What are the five factors that mainly affect global vegetation distributions?

1. Temperature 2. Precipitation 3. Soil Type 4. Disturbance 5. Elevation

What is a keystone species?

A keystone species are species that play a critical role in maintaining entire ecosystems.

What is the urban heat island effect and what causes it?

A: The urban heat island effect is the idea that urban areas are much warmer than surrounding non-urban areas due to the immense amount of blacktop and buildings that absorb a relatively high percentage of solar radiation.

What causes air and ocean water to flow?

Air and ocean water flows due to the uneven heating of the Earth's surface.

What is albedo?

Albedo is a measure of the reflecting power of a surface, otherwise known as the amount of solar radiation that is reflected.

Predation

Any specific interaction in which on species benefits and another suffers. Ex. The relationship between that of the lion, predator and the zebra, prey.

Climate

Climate is defined as the average condition of the weather over a long period of time.

Why do coasts have milder climates compared to continental interiors?

Coasts will have milder climates compared to continental interiors because of the differential heating properties of land and water along with the land and sea breezes and their effects. The ocean heats later than the land, and the land will cool before the ocean thus explaining why in winter the continental land may be cooler but the coast is warmer because it's closer to the ocean that is still warm and hasn't cooled yet.

Limiting Factor

Factors that restrict the success of particular individuals in a larger biological population; ex.Temperature, polar bears can survive in colder temperatures and arctic environments but would die from over heating in more tropical climates

What factors are most influential of ecosystem patterns at the global and regional scales?

Global climate patterns, elevation differences and distance to water bodies all play important roles in ecosystem patterns at the global and regional scale.

Tundra

High latitude; composed of treeless plains and are located north of the boreal forests in latitude and at high elevations in mountainous regions. Dwarf shrubs, dwarf trees that can survive here, permafrost, thin soils, fast winds, not large trees, low precipitation, low temperatures.

Boreal Forest/Taiga

High latitude; predominantly made of evergreen trees(always have their leaves, pine needles), coniferous forests

Mutualism

Interspecific interaction between at least two species in which each species benefits the other. Ex. The relationship between plants and animal pollinators such as flowers and the honey bee.

5. Why does it get colder with higher elevation?

It gets colder with higher elevation because the density and pressure of the air decreases with increased elevation.

Why is it more realistic to speak of multiple stable states instead of single climax communities?

It is more realistic because climax communities also change.

Rain Shadow Effect

It is what is created when an air mass passes over a mountain beginning to ascend and as it does, it warms and dries and precipitation halts.

Orographic Effect

It is when an air mass is forced to rise over a mountain and if the mountain is high enough the air will cool, reach its dew point and condense.

Why does land heat up or lose heat more rapidly than water?

Land heats and cools more rapidly than water due to the different values of specific heat of the two substances. Water is transparent and the heat can be distributed over a greater volume whereas land is opaque and the heat is concentrated near the surface.

What is low and high (air) pressure and what causes differences in pressure?

Low air pressure is air with a higher temperature that tend to be rising air masses thus losing pressure and high pressure air masses that are colder in temperature thus descending and causing pressure to increase. The difference between the two is due to the warming of air near the surface due to solar radiation.

Tropical Rain Forest

Lower latitude; Tropical rainforest is characterized by continuous forest cover, creating a closed canopy with a shaded understory. High diversity of vegetation, close canopy of trees, most of the tress keep their leaves for most of the year, many trees underneath not that much

Desert/Semi-Desert

Lower latitude; very little lifeforms, plenty of sunlight, very little water amounts, low amounts of organisms living here, very adaptable species to low precipitation (Xerophyte) - plants that have adapted to the dry

Temperate Grasslands/Prairie/Steppe

Mid-latitude; Temperature zone, climate and grasses and herbs dominate the this biome, most of biomass hides beneath the surface

Mediterranean/Macchio

Mid-latitude; areas surrounding Mediterranean Sea and in the warm temperate ares on the west coast of continents, summers are hot and dry and winters are mild, and the typical vegetation is scrublands and wooded grasslands with occasional valley forests.

Temperate and Deciduous Forest

Mid-latitude; known for their range of seasonal leaf-losing vegetation and relatively milder climates. Found on all continents except Africa and Antartica.

Specialist

Organism that has very particular niche requirements; ex. spotted owl found only in the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest

Generalist

Organisms that exist under a wide range of conditions; ex. the dandelion as it is found on every continent (except possibly Antartica) and many different environments

Biome

Plant and animal communities with distinct characteristics that cover large geographical areas.

Explain how precipitation happens.

Precipitation begins with when air masses rise and collect increasing amounts of water. Then as these masses reach the dew point at which the air is saturated, they begin to cool and condense forming clouds and when the particles become too heavy they begin to fall back to the Earth's surface as precipitation.

Range of Tolerance

Range where an organism performs best between limits of certain environmental factors; ex. Humans, there are parts of the world that even with technology, humans don't live because conditions are too harsh such as deep in the desert and Antartica. Humans can still die from overheating or from freezing to death.

Describe and give examples of scale dependency in ecosystem analysis.

Scale dependency is what geographers use to refer to the different factors that become important for explaining patterns at different scales, meaning that certain variables or factors appear to have a greater effect on vegetation formations depending upon the scale of analysis. Examples are topography, hydrology, and soil structure.

What are seasons and what causes them?

Seasons are different time periods when the weather and temperature will change, they are known as autumn, winter, spring and summer. They are formed due to the fact that solar energy falls perpendicularly on different regions of the Earth during different periods because of the Earth's 23.5 degree tilt.

Why does solar radiation intensity vary according to location?

Solar radiation intensity varies according to location due to the tilt of the Earth's axis and the angle of incidence.

Community

The assembly of all organisms living in a prescribed area.

What are the two most influential factors affecting individual organisms and species distributions?

The two most influential factors affecting individual organisms and species distributions are limiting factors and species interactions.

Describe how orographic and rain shadow effects affect regional climates.

These affect regional climates in that the ecosystems within a few miles can vary greatly and that the natural resources in any given area are structured due to this relationship translating to different human lifestyles and livelihoods.

Weather

Weather is defined as the day-to-day change state of the atmosphere.