APES #2 Weather Biomes Soil Succession sping AP TEST

Terms in this set (101)

is an area's temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed, cloud cover, and other physical conditions of the lower atmosphere over hours or days.

distance above sea level

distance from the equator

Average temperature

factor determining climate

Average precipitation

factor determining climate

Coriolis effect

a deflection of moving objects when they are viewed from a rotating reference frame. In a reference frame with clockwise rotation, the deflection is to the left of the motion of the object; in one with anti clockwise rotation, the deflection is to the right.

Prevailing winds

major surface winds that blow almost continuously and distribute air, moisture, and dust over the earth's surface

Greenhouse gases

gases in the located in the troposphere and causes the greenhouse effect. Examples include carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, ozone, methane, water vapor, and nitrous oxide

Greenhouse gases

carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, ozone, methane, water vapor, and nitrous oxide

Greenhouse effect

wavelength infrared radiation in the troposphere. If the atmospheric concentrations of these greenhouse gases increase and other natural processes do not remove them, the average temperature of the lower atmosphere will increase gradually. (Global warming)

periods of heavy rains and experienced on continents lying north and south of the warm oceans

bricks, concrete, asphalt, and other building materials absorb and hold heat, and building block wind flow. Cars and the climate control systems of buildings release large quantities of heat and pollutants. As a result, cities tend to have more haze and smog, higher temperatures, and lower wind speeds than the surrounding countryside.

Tropical deserts

Sahara and Namib of Africa are hot and dry most of the yea. They have few plants and a hard, windblown surface with rocks and sand. They are deserts we see in movies

Temperate deserts

Mojave in California, daytime temperatures are high in the summer and low in the winter. This is more precipitation than in tropical deserts. Consists of cacti and drought resistant shrubs

vegetation is sparse, winters are cold, summers are warm or hot, and precipitation is low.

Grasslands (prairie) and Chaparral

biome found in regions where moderate annual average precipitation (25cm 76cm) is enough to support the growth of grass and small plants but not enough to support large stands of trees.

tropical grasslands with scattered trees and enormous herds of hoofed animals. Trees such as acacia, warm temperatures with alternating dry and wet seasons.

Temperate Grasslands

Fertile Soils with cold winters and hot and dry summers have deep and fertile soils that make them widely used for growing crops and grazing cattle

Short grass prairies

Midwestern United States, winds blow continuously, evaporation is rapid, often leading to fires in the summer and fall. This combination helps maintain grasslands

Polar Grasslands- Arctic Tundra

polar grassland are covered with ice and snow except during a brief summer

underground soil in which captured water stays frozen for more than 2 consecutive years. During the long and cold winters the surface soil also freezes

occurs above the limit of tree growth but below the permanent snow line on high mountains. Vegetation is similar to arctic tundra

has a moderate climate but its dense thickets of spiny shrubs are subject to periodic fires

biome with enough average annual precipitation (at least 76cm) to support the growth of tree species and smaller forms of vegetation.

Tropical Rain Forest

Threatened Centers of Biodiversity with Poor Soils have heavy rainfall on most days and a rich diversity of species occupying a variety of specialized niches in distinct layers

Broadleaf evergreen plants

vegetation that dominates this biome, keep their leaves year round

Tropical dry forests

found in tropical areas with warm temperatures year round and wet and dry seasons Tree heights are lower than in rain forests

Temperate Deciduous Forests

Changing with the Seasons most of the trees in these forests survive winter by dropping their leaves, which decay and produce a nutrient rich soil

Broadleaf deciduous trees

- oak, hickory, maple, poplar, and beechsurvive cold winters by dropping their leaves in the fall and becoming dominant.

Evergreen Coniferous Forests

Cold Winters, Wet Summers, and Conifers - these forests consist mostly of cone bearing evergreen trees that keep their needles year spruce, fir, cedar, hemlock, and pine round to help the trees survive long and cold winters Coniferous Evergreen trees

High elevation forested islands of biodiversity and often have snow covered peaks that reflect solar radiation and gradually release water to lower

Islands of biodiversity

surrounded by a sea of lower elevation landscapes transformed by human activities

Animal plankton; small floating herbivores that feed on phytoplankton

Huge populations of extremely small photosynthetic bacteria that may be responsible for 70% of the primary productivity near the ocean surface.

Strongly swimming organisms found in aquatic systems.

dwelling organisms

Organism that digests parts of dead organisms and cast off fragments and wastes of living organisms by breaking down the complex organic molecules in those materials into simpler inorganic compounds.

Warm, nutrient rich, shallow part of the ocean that extends from the high tide mark on land to the edge of a shelf

Partially enclosed coastal area at the mouth of a river where its freshwater, carrying fertile silt and runoff from the land, mixes with salty seawater.

Coastal Wetlands

Land along a coastline, extending inland from an estuary that is convered with saltwater all or part of the year.

Intertidal Zone

The area of shoreline between low and high tides.

Part of an ocean that lies beyond the continental shelf.

brightly lit upper zone where floating and drifting phytoplankton carry out photosynthesis. Nutrient levels are low and levels of dissolved oxygen are high. Fast swimming predators inhabit this zone.

Fast swimming predators inhabit this zone

dimly lit middle zone that does not contain photosynthesizing producers because of lack of sunlight. Zooplankton and smaller fish populate this zone.

lowest zone. Dark and very cold with little dissolved oxygen.

Large natural body of standing freshwater formed when water from precipitation, land runoff, or groundwater flow fills a depression in the earth created by glaciation, earth movement, volcanic activity, or a giant meteorite.

The top layer of a lake. It is near the shore and consists of the shallow sunlit waters to the depth at which rooted plants such as cattails stop growing. It's the most productive zone because of the ample amount of sunlight. There is great biodiversity.

the open, sunlit water surface layer away from the shore that extends to the depth by penetrated sunlight. Main photosynthetic body of the lake, produces the food and oxygen that support most of the lake's consumers. Primary organisms microscopic phytoplankton and zooplankton.

deep, open water where it is too dark for photosynthesis. Oxygen levels are low. Fish adapted to the lake's cooler and darker water are found here.

Bottom of the lake. Mostly decomposers and detritus feeders inhabit it. Nourished by dead matter and sediments washing into the lake.

Oligotrophic Lake

with a low supply of plant nutrients.

with a large or excessive supply of plant nutrients, mostly nitrates and phosphates.

Cultural Eutrophication

Overnourishment of aquatic ecosystems with plant nutrients because of human activities such as agriculture, urbanization, and discharges from industrial plants and sewage treatment plants.

Mesotrophic Lakes

with a moderate supply of plant nutrients

Precipitation that does not infiltrate the ground or return to the atmosphere by evaporation or transpiration.

Freshwater from precipitation and melting ice that flows on the earth's surface into nearby streams, lakes, wetlands, and reservoirs.

Floodplain zone

streams join into wider and deeper rivers that flow across broad, flat valleys.

Inland Wetlands

Land away from the coast, such as a swamp, marsh, or bog, that is covered all or part of the time with freshwater.

the land area that delivers runoff, sediment, and dissolved substances to a stream

The study of how organisms with one another and with their nonliving environment. The study of connections in nature.

Any form of life

organisms that resemble one another in appearance, behavior, chemistry, and genetic makeup.

A group of interacting individuals of the same species occupying a specific area.

Genetic Diversity

Difference in genetic makeup.

The place where a population lives (can be as large as the ocean or as small as the intestines of a termite).

Distribution (range)

The area over which we can find a species (Some tropical plants have a very small range while animals like grizzlies tend to have large ranges).

Biological community

Consists of all the populations of different species that live and interact in a specific area.

A community where populations of different species interact with one another and with their nonliving environment of matter and energy.

The global ecosystem where all life is interconnected.

A thin membrane of air around the planet.

the part of the atmosphere. It extends about 17km above sea level. This layer contains most of earth's air, mostly oxygen (21%) and nitrogen (78%).

the part of the atmosphere. It extends from about 17km to 48km above sea level. Keeps out harmful UV radiation.

All of earth's water. It's found as a liquid (water), a solid (ice), and a gas (steam).

The earth's crust and upper mantle

Large regions with distinct climates and specific species adapted to them.

Aquatic life zones

different ecosystems found in different types of water (ocean verse a lake).

Nonliving components such as water, air, nutrients, and solar energy.

Consists of living components such as producers, consumers, and decomposers.

Limiting factor

A certain factor like nitrogen and phosphorous that has a great effect on an environment.

Producers (autotrophs) -

Make their own food from compounds and energy obtained from their environment. Most producers capture sunlight to produce carbohydrates.

The act of capturing sunlight to produce energy.

Consumers (heterotrophs)

Obtain energy from consuming other organisms or their remains.

Primary Consumers (herbivores)

- Eat producers (deer).

Secondary consumers (carnivores)

Feed on primary consumers (fox).

eat both plants and animals (bear).

are specialized organism that recycles nutrients in ecosystems. Breakdown dead material (Bacteria).

Feed on the dead bodies or waste of other organisms (maggots)

Aerobic respiration

When an organism uses the chemical energy stored in glucose and other organic compounds to fuel their life processes. Need oxygen to convert organic nutrients back into carbon dioxide and water

Anaerobic respiration (fermentation)

When an organism uses the chemical energy stored in glucose and other organic compounds to fuel their life processes in the absence of oxygen. The byproducts of this are methane, ethyl alcohol, acetic acid, hydrogen sulfide.

A sequence of organisms, each of which is a source of food for the next.

the weight of all organisms in a trophic level.

Gross Primary Productivity

The rate at which an ecosystem's producers convert solar energy into chemical energy as biomass.

Net primary productivity

The rate at which producers use photosynthesis to store energy minus the rate at which they use some of this stored energy.

The surface litter layer.

The topsoil layer. A porous mixture of partially decomposed bodies of dead plants and animals (humus).

Parent material.

When water moving downwards through soil (infiltration) takes minerals down with it.

Different soils are measured by the amount of sand, clay and silt in it

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