Biomes - 22 Terrestrial

Ferrel Cell

In the three-cell model, the circulation between 20°-30° and 40°-60°

Adiabatic Cooling

In which increasing elevation leads to a decrease in air pressure.

Figure 22.13 (Important)

The World's Biome Types - Continual Flow - One factor change, can change a biome.

Mountain Ranges

- Abiotic conditions vary - Vegetation changes from forest to tundra

Subsidence Zones have popularity been called the . . .

Horse Latitudes.

Tundra

- Bitterly Cold and too dry for trees - Permafrost - Lichens, mosses - Birds migrate, insects diapause.

Temperate Deciduous Forest

- Freezing common - Rich Soils - Common in U.S., Europe and China. - Deciduous hardwood trees - Lower diversity but high biomass - Reptiles uncommon - Some birds migrate

Tropical Rain Forest

- High Plant and Animal diversity. - Trees with buttress roots. - Sparse Ground Cover. - Large Mammals in common.

Hot Desert

- Hot <30cm rainfall annually - Succulents, shrubs - Many seed eaters - Reptiles common - Burrowing Mammals

Temperate Grassland Prairie

- Hot summers, cold winters - Fire - Rich Soil - Large Mammals Common

Tropical Grassland or Savanna

- Hot, low rainfall - Poor Soils - Occasional Thorny Trees - Fire - Many Large mammal species

Tropical Deciduous Forest

- Rainfall is seasonal. - Some thorny plants, acacia. - High Diversity.

Temperate Rain Forest

- Rainy, but cooler. - Large evergreen trees common. - Rich in animals.

Temperate Coniferous Forest or Taiga

- Very Cold - Coniferous Trees - Low diversity - Much snow - Cid Soil - Rare reptiles and amphibians - Mammals furred

Cold Desert

- Warm days, cold nights - Low plant and animal richness

Permafrost

A layer of permanently frozen soil below 0.5-1 m.

Subsidence Zones

Are areas of high pressure and are the sites of the world's hot deserts, because the subsiding air is relatively dry, having released all of its moisture over the equator.

Robert Whittaker (1970)

Classified biomes according to the physical factors of average annual precipitation and temperature.

Temperature, wind, water, and light are components of . . .

Climate

What does Sea Breeze bring?

Cooler, Moisture-laden air, and sometimes fog

Precipitation, Temperature, Soil Type

Factors that affect types of Plants that grow in an Area

When the sea is warmer than the land, what is the result?

Land Breeze

Swidden Agriculture

Number one cause of degradation in the ecosystem- Also known as shifting cultivation, refers to a technique of rotational farming in which land is cleared for cultivation (normally by fire) and then left to regenerate after a few years.

Reliable Trade Winds

Occurs when the equatorial flow is deflected by the Coriolis Force.

Rain Shadow

On the sheltered side of the mountain drier air descends and warms.

From the center of the subsidence zones, the surface flow splits into a

Pole branch and an Equatorial branch.

Figure 22.16 A Walter Climate Diagram

Summarize valuable information on variations in temperature and precipitation.

When the landmass is warmer than the ocean, what is created?

Sea Breeze

Substantial differences in temperature occur over the Earth, mainly due to variations in the incoming . . .

Solar Radiation.

Hadley and Polar Cells are

Strong

Polar Cell

The final circulation cell. At the poles, the air has cooled and descends, but it has little moisture left, explaining why many high-latitude regions are actually desert-like condition.

Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

The trade winds from both hemispheres meet near the equator. Known as the DOLDRUMS. The light winds and humid conditions provide the monotonous weather that may be the basis for the expression "in the doldrums."

Hadley Cell

The warm air rising near the equator forms towers of cumulus clouds that provide rainfall, which in turn maintains the lush vegetation of the tropical rain forests. As the upper flow in this cell moves toward the poles, it begins to subside, or fall back to Earth, at about 20-30° north and south of the equator.

In our list of 10 major terrestrial biomes most species, and most threatened species, occur in . . .

Tropical Rain Forests

As the solar equator moves seasonally, the band of rainfall associated with it drifts north or south of the equator, depending on the season.

True.

As with most biomes variations in abiotic factors favor different species.

True.

Hunting has diminished populations of grazers in most of the world's prairies

True.

In North America, climate change has increased mortality rates of all tree species in western mountain ranges.

True.

On March 21 and September 22, the spring and autumn equinoxes, all locations in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere have approximately equal amount of solar radiation.

True.

On mountains, biome type may change from tropical forest to tundra on the highest peaks.

True.

The intensity of solar radiation varies with latitude

True.

The specific heat capacity of the land is much lower than that of water allowing it to both warm more quickly and cool more quickly than the water. This creates sea breezes.

True.

The sun does not remain constantly over the equator but moves annually between 23.5 N and 23.5 S and back again, creating seasonal changes.

True.

Ferrell Cell is

Weak

Coriolis Force

When the effect of the Earth's rotation is account for, any surface flow is deflected toward the west. Hadley's one-cell circulation has been modified to account for this phenomenon.

Orographic Lifting

When warm, moist air encounters the windward side of a mountain (the side exposed to the wind), it flows upward, cools and releases precipitation in the form of rain or snow.

Amphibians (and Lykins) are

good indicator of how the ecosystem is going because their skin is extremely permeable.

Three Cell Model

provides a good understanding of global circulation, but is still over simplified.

Solar Equator

the area receiving the most solar energy varies seasonally and reaches 23.5 north on June 21 and 23.5 south on December 21.