RNG 351

Photosynthesis equation

6CO^2 + 6H2O ----> C^6H^12O^6 + 6O^2 Carbon Water Light Sugar Oxygen dioxide

Clay

<0.002mm

piedmont

is an area of active erosion

Biome

largest terrestrial ecosystem

climate

long term weather patterns of temperature and precipitation

aggregates

mass or cluster of soil particles such as a dirt clod.

weather

short term variation in temp and precipitation

Mollisols

soils of grasslands ecosystems

Florida

summer peak in precip, wet all year ( 45-70 inches)

Factors that affect soil structure

~Kind of clay • Amount of organic matter • Freezing and thawing • Wetting and drying • Action of burrowing organisms • Growth of root systems of plants

geology

bedrock and surficial geology of each MLRA is described

Rhizome

below ground modified stem (asexual repro)

threshold

boundary in space and time between two states

soil structure

combination or arrangement of soil particles

Ecosystem

community of organisms and abiotic environment

Africa

contains the most grasslands

Orographic effect

cooling and condensing= rising warming and expanding = falling

Grasslands

cover about 31 - 43% of the earth's land surface.

structure

determines actual infiltration rates

soil texture

determines potential infiltration rates

plains

dry winters, wet summers moderate total precipitation ( 12-30 inches)

Eastern

even distribution of precip high total precip ( 35-65 inches)

Hopkins bio climate law

every 1,000 feet increase in altitude will result in essentially the phonological changes that would occur by traveling 69 miles north.

physiography

fennemans physiographic section, province, and major division.

Cold temperatures, flooding, dryness

grasslands are created by....

A.W. Kuchler

had a private collection of 2,000 to 3,000 vegetation maps both domestic and international

$40 billion

annual value of livestock feed from grass

Ardisols

are desert soils that have a subsurface horizon

entisols

are soils of recent origin.

inceptisols

are soils that exhibit minimal horizon development

(Relatively) static properties

are used to define soil series (and therefore ecological sites)

Dynamic properties

are used to define the relative condition of the soil

Silt

0.002 - 0.02mm

Sand

0.02 - 2.0mm

Grass leaves

have two distinct parts blades and sheaths carbon is fixed in the leaves carbon is stored in the roots

Why did grasslands form in the Cenozoic era

A) cooling and drying B) Periodic drought C) Fires D) Grazing E) Plant evolution F) Animal evolution

Stolon

Above ground modified stem

ecological resilience

Amount of change required to transform a system from being maintained by one set of mutually reinforcing processes to a different set of processes.

Synecology

Branch of ecology dealing with the relations between natural communities and their environments

Autecology

Branch of ecology dealing with the study of the individual organism or species

Autogenic succession

Change in plant community composition that is caused by the community itself

retrogression

Changes away from the climax, may be caused by fire, overgrazing, drought, volcano, etc.

Hadley Cell effect

Creates bands of moist or dry zones around the globe. Atmospheric circulation patterns between the equator and 30° latitude.

Allogenic succession

Forces other than the community cause succession such as climatic change, grazing, fire, flood, farming, etc.

Big blue stem

Grows in large clumps 3 to 6 feet tall. Extremely leafy, leaves dark green with purplish colors as it matures. Highly productive can produce greater than 5,000.

gravels, cobbles, stones, boulders

Larger than 2.0 mm are.....

Ecological site information

NRCS, USDA plant database

primary succession

Natural plant succession on previously unvegetated areas leading to a clima

Factors of soil formation

S (soil properties) CL(regional climate) O(potential biota) R(topography) P(parent material) T(time)

Pioneer species

Starts with the arrival of living things such as lichens that do not need soil to survive

secondary succession

Succession on land which previously has been occupied by more highly developed vegetation destroyed by some unusual circumstances, such as fire

climate vegetation

The end point of succession, the vegetation that will maintain itself on a particular site

succession

The orderly change of plant communities over time.

Ecological site descriptions provide

a common framework for communication of resource info among disciplines agencies and organizations. Information describing the interactions among soils vegetation and land management. A foundation to asses the condition of current resources and mentors change. A framework to asses management opportunities and predict the outcome of management decisions. A framework for transferring experience and knowledge.

Ecological site

a distinctive kind of land based on recurring soil, landform, geological, and climate characteristics that differs from other kinds of land in its ability to produce distinctive kinds and amounts of vegetation and in its ability to respond similarly to management actions and natural disturbance

State

a recognizable, resistant and resilient complex of two ecosystem components, the soil base and the vegetation structure

4 to 20 years

accepted mean fire interval

Tall grass prairie

occurs in the eastern great plains of the US it is nearly all privately owned. Excellent farmland. Largest remaining blocks of rangelands are Flint Hills, Kansas Sand Hills, Nebraska Osage Hills, Oklahoma Only 5% of remaining of what originally existed

relative humidity

percent of the max quantity of moisture that the air can hold.

6CO^2 + 12 H20 = C^6 H^12 0^6 + 6H20

photosynthesis equation

Mycorrhiza

root system that expands exponentially

grass stems

round hollow, and swollen at the nodes

Geomorphology

science of landforms with an emphasis on their origin, evolution form, and distribution across the physical landscape.

Autotroph

self feeder

Precipitation

the most important single factor determining the type and productivity of vegetation in an area.

transition

the trajectory of a change

Sand (largest) Silt (medium) Clay (smallest)

three sizes of soil (textures)

C3, C4, CAM

three types whereby CO^2 is converted into organic compounds.

Australia and Mongolia

two countries more than one million acres of grasslands

Association

two or more soils that occur in a repetitive and predictable pattern.

Complex

two or more soils that usually do not occur in a predictable pattern at a map able scale

southwest

two peaks in precip one summer one winter (4-20 inches)

great basin

wet winter and spring dry summer low precip ( 4-16 inches)

Pacific

wet winters, dry summers, moderate to high precip ( 15-50 inches)

Decision support system

where I am and how to get where I want to be