Physical Geography Final 101
Soil
A mixture of weathered rock particles and organic material with water and air
humus
A roughly equal mix of sand, silt, and clay is called
Ecosystem
A self-sustaining association of living plants and animals and their nonliving physical environment is termed a(n)
Climax community
A stable, self-sustaining assemblage of species that would exist until the next major disturbance is known as a
Soil profiles
A vertical section of soil is generally organized into distinct horizontal layers called
High organic content
Dark soils always indicate ___________
Mediterranean shrubland
Dry summers and winter precipitation maxima characterize which small biome is located in 5 disparate locations, typically on the west coast of continents between 30° and 40° latitude?
Secondary
If a forest fire destroyed the vegetation in an area, but left some vestiges of the previously functioning community and the soil intact, what type of succession would follow?
Consistence
In soil science, the term to describe the cohesion of soil particles is
Spring and summer
In which season(s) is net primary productivity highest in the midlatitude
Biomes
Large, stable communities of plants and animals whose boundaries are closely linked to climate and soils are called
1%
Of the total energy intercepted at Earth's surface and available for work, only about _________ is actually fixed by photosynthesis
the mixture and proportions of individual mineral particles
Soil texture refers to ________
ecotone
The boundary zone between adjacent biomes in which traits from both biomes may be found is called the
The Sun
The energy that powers the biosphere comes almost entirely from
Photosynthesis
The gaseous oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere was produced as a by-product of
C
The horizon identified as regolith (weathered bedrock and parent material) is the _______ horizon
A
The horizon that is commonly called topsoil is the ________ horizon
permeability
The maximum water available for plant use after water has drained from the large pore spaces is
Rangelands
The most extensive anthropogenic biome is
Net primary productivity
The net photosynthesis for an entire ecosystem is known as the
B
The organic rich horizon found at the top of the soil profile is the _____ horizon
competitive exclusion
The proposition that no two species can occupy the same ecological niche is known as
Ecology
The study of the interrelationships between organisms and their environment is called
Porosity
The term used to denote the part of a volume of soil that is filled with air, gases or water is
7% 50%
Tropical rain forests occupy approximately ________ of the world's land area, but represent about ________ of Earth's species
O, A, E, B, C
What is the correct sequence from the surface to the bedrock in a typical soil horizon?
ecological succession
When a community is disturbed to the point that most or all of its species are eliminated, a process called ________ occurs in which the area undergoes a series of changes in species composition as newer communities replace older ones.
Level or nearly level ground
Where would one likely find the deepest soil development?
deserts
Which biome occupies more than one-third of the Earth's land area and is characterized by xerophytic vegetation, low precipitation, and high potential evapotranspiration?
Arctic and alpine tundra
Which biome occurs at high elevations above the tree line, even at lower latitudes?
Mineral Nutrients
Which of the following is NOT an example of a biotic component of an ecosystem? Plants, herbivores, carnivores, decomposers, or mineral nutrients
Atmospheric nitrogen is accessible directly to most organisms.
Which of the following is not correct regarding nitrogen?
Human actvity
Which of the following is not one of the five primary soil-forming factors? Human activity, biological activity, parent material, climate, topography
Resilience
________ is the ability of an ecosystem to recover from disturbance.
Soil structure
___________ refers to the size and shape of the aggregates of particles of soil.
