APES Chapter 5 Vocab
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Created by:
cacondro on November 4, 2010
Classes:
Maggie L. Walker Governor's School
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36 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Biome | Broad types of biological communities that are put into a few general groups based on similar climate conditions, growth patterns, and vegetation types. |
| Deserts | Occur where precipitation is rare and unpredictable, often less than 30cm of rain annually. |
| Grasslands | Occur where there is enough rain to support abundant grass but not enough for forests. |
| Tundra | A treeless landscape that occurs at high altitudes and on mountaintops, has a growing season of only two or three months, and it may have frost any month of the year. Only small, hardy vegetation can survive. They have relatively low diversity. |
| Conifer Forests | Forests that contain a wide range of temperate, or midaltitude regions. Many grow where moisture is limited by sandy soil, so thin, waxy leaves prevent moisture loss. |
| Southern Pine Forests | Conifer forests that grow quickly and tolerate weather and nutrient-poor soil. |
| Boreal Forests | Norther conifer forest where trees are adapted to harsh winter conditions. (Between Latitudes of 45-60 degrees) |
| Taiga | Extreme, ragged edge of the boreal forest, where forest gradually gives way to tundra. |
| Temperate rainforests | Wet coastal forests that are often enshrouded in fog. In the understory, condensation in the canopy is a main source of precipitation. |
| deciduous | Trees that lose their leaves in the winter. |
| Broad-Leaved Deciduous Forests | Moist, temperate forest climates that have seasonal changes. Their climate allows these forests to be highly resilient. |
| Mediterranean | Often dry environments that support drought-adapted shrubs and trees as well as grass. They are highly variable, and generally have hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. |
| Chaparral | Areas with hot, dry winters and cool, moist summers. They have drought resistant plants, and have succession maintained by periodic fires. Spanish for thicket. |
| Thorn Scrub | The African version of the chaparral, although it tends to have more sparse, open shrubland and acacias or other thorny plants.. |
| African Sahel | The edge of the Sahara desert |
| Cloud Forests | Forests found high in the mountains where fog and mist keep vegetation constantly wet. |
| Torpical Rainforests | occur in areas with consistently high temperatures and high amounts of precipitation. Although the soil is generally thin and nutrient-deficient, the continuously decomposing matter at the ground level provides high levels of nutrients, and the lush trees create communities at several levels from the ground level to the top of the canopy. |
| Tropical seasonal forests | Semievergreen or partly deciduous forests tending toward open woodlands and grassy savannas dotted with scattered, drought-resistant tree species. |
| Savannas | Grasslands with occasional trees. |
| Phytoplankton | Photosynthetic organisms such as algae, coral, or other tiny, free-floating photosynthetic plants that support the marine food web. |
| Marine Snow | The term for the organisms that die and sink towards the ocean floor, carrying nutrients through the different strata. |
| Benthic | Occur on the bottom of the ocean |
| Pelagic Zones | The water columns in the sea |
| Coral Reefs | consist of colonies of minute, colonial animals that live symbiotically with photosynthetic algae. The calcium rich coral skeletons provide the reef's structure, and the algae provides the nutrients. |
| Mangrove Forests | forests that grow in the water, and they usually occur in shallow calm water by the coastline. |
| Estuaries | bays where rivers empty into the sea, mixing fresh and salt water. Nutrients and sediments are brought downstream by the river and so this area is used by many oceanic species as a place to raise/hatch their young. |
| Barrier Islands | Long, narrow, sandy islands that form parallel to the coastline. The protect the brackish water ecosystems and other parts of the shoreline from the full power of the ocean. |
| Littoral Zone | Zone of water that is near to the shore. |
| Thermoclime | The area between layers of water columns where you can feel a temperature change. |
| Wetlands | Shallow ecosystems in which the land surface is saturated or submerged at least part of the year. |
| Swamps | Wetlands with trees. |
| Marshes | Wetlands withOUT trees. |
| Bogs | Areas of saturated ground, where the ground is usally composed of peat |
| Peat | Accumulated layers of undecayed vegetation. |
| Fens | Bogs that are fed mainly by groundwater. |
| HIPPO | The main threats posed to biodiversity: Habitat destruction, Invasive Species, Pollution, Population Growth (Human), and overharvesting. |
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