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Hilary Term 1 > Climate and Life on Earth I: The terrestrial biosphere > Flashcards

Climate and Life on Earth I: The terrestrial biosphere Flashcards

1
Q

At the global scale, variations in climatic factors, especially temperature and rainfall, determine

A

the distribution and diversity of the major terrestrial ‘biomes’, alongside their primary
productivity

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2
Q

Describe some of the local conditions and resources that vary within biomes

A
  • topography
  • geology
  • soil
  • influence community patterns and productivity at a smaller scale
  • change on a variety of timescales (ecological succession progresses, climate change), tracked by changes in their associated ecological communities.
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3
Q

List some biomes

A
  • ice sheet and polar desert
  • tundra
  • taiga
  • temperate broadleaf forest
  • temperate steppe
  • subtropical rainforest
  • Mediterranean vegetation
  • monsoon forest
  • arid deser
  • xeric shrubland
  • dry steppe
  • semiarid desert
  • grass savanna
  • tree savanna
  • subtropical and tropical dry forest
  • tropical rainforest
  • alpine tundra
  • montane forests
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4
Q

primary productivity

A
  • the rate at which biomass is produced per unit area/volume through photosynthesis
  • measured in a rate of energy production per unit area, or as a mass of carbon or dry organic matter
  • paralogue of the extent to which biomes capture carbon from atmosphere
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5
Q

What determines the distribution and characteristics of ecological communities at a global scale?

A
  • climate (temperature)
  • precipitation
  • biomes
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6
Q

biomes

A

zones dominated by plants with characteristic shapes, forms and physiological processes

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7
Q

Describe the Whittaker Biome Classification

A

distribution of terrestrial biomes can be explained largely by temperature and rainfall

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8
Q

Give some Mediterranean biomes

A
  • “Garrigue”, S. France
  • “Chapparal”, California
  • “Fynbos”, South Africa
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9
Q

Describe the meso-scale changes with elevation (and aspect)

A
  • civilisation up to 1800m and 35 degrees
  • rainforest up to 3000m and 25 degrees
  • moorlands up to 4000m and 20 degrees
  • alpine desert up to 5000m and 15 degrees
  • eternal ice above 5000m and up to -25 degrees
  • e.g. Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
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10
Q

Categorise civilisation

A
  • villages
  • agriculture
  • livestock breeding
  • plantations
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11
Q

Categorise rainforest

A
  • dense vegetation
  • frequent rainfall
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12
Q

Categorise moorland

A
  • grasslands
  • upland moors
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13
Q

Categorise alpine deser

A
  • stone
  • lava desert
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14
Q

Categorise eternal ice

A
  • ice
  • glacier
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15
Q

Ecosystems depend upon

A

the energy that is being harvested by plants, algae, and other primary producers

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16
Q

Gross primary productivity (GPP)

A
  • total fixation of energy by photosynthesis
  • some GPP will be respired by autotroph, and lost from the ecosystem as respiratory heat
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17
Q

Net primary productivity (NPP)

A
  • energy fixed by photosynthesis not lost to ecosystem as respiratory heat
  • all NPP passes through a live consumer system or a decomposer system
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18
Q

secondary productivity

A

heterotrophs produce biomass

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19
Q

Different biomes have

A

differing annual NPPs

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20
Q

List some marine NPPs

A
  • trade winds domain (tropical and subtropical): 13.0
  • westerly winds domain (temperate): 16.3
  • polar domain: 6.4
  • coastal domain: 10.7
  • salt marshes, estuaries and macrophytes: 1.2
  • coral reefs: 0.7
21
Q

List some terrestrial NPPs

A
  • tropical rainforests: 17.8
  • broadleaf deciduous forests: 1.5
  • mixed broadleaf and needleleaf forests: 3.1
  • needleleaf evergreen forests: 3.1
  • needleleaf deciduous forest: 1.4
  • savannas: 16.8
  • perennial grasslands: 2.4
  • broadleaf shrubs with bare soil: 1.0
  • tundra: 0.5-0.8
  • desert: 8.0
  • cultivation: 56.4
22
Q

Which is the marine biome with the lowest NPP

A

coral reefs

23
Q

Which is the marine biome with the highest NPP

A

Westerly winds domain (temperate)

24
Q

Which is the terrestrial biome with the lowest NPP

A

tundra

25
Q

Which is the terrestrial biome with the highest NPP

A

cultivation, the tropical rainforests

26
Q

Give a measure of the human domination of the biosphere

A

appropriation of NPP

27
Q

Describe human appropriation of potential NPP

A
  • 23.8%
  • 53% from harvesting
  • 40% by land-use-induced productivity changes
  • 7% by human-induced fires
28
Q

In terrestrial systems, NPP is primarily limited by:

A
  • intensity of solar radiation received
  • availability of water
  • temperature
  • availability of nutrients
29
Q

Different regions of the planet receive

A

different amounts of solar radiation

30
Q

Give some regions of the planet

A
  • artic circle
  • tropic of Cancer
  • equator
  • tropic of Capricorn
  • antarctic circle
31
Q

Plants living in different regions have

A
  • differing degrees of efficiency in using solar radiation
  • other resources (water) cause these efficiencies
32
Q

Precipitation levels in a region

A
  • affect NPP
  • e.g. tallgrass prairie
33
Q

ANPP

A

above-ground NPP

34
Q

Water use will be affected by

A

temperature

35
Q

Describe the correlation between precipitation (mm) and ANPP (gm-2)

A
  • strong linear correlation
  • y = 0.38x + 176.83
  • P = 0.0003 (significant)
  • r^2 = 0.62
36
Q

Describe the effects of increasing temperature

A
  • photosynthesis
  • increases rate of evaporation
  • increases rate of decomposition (releases nutrients)
37
Q

Productivity is only possible when

A

plants are able to photosynthesise

38
Q

Describe the relationship between maximum ecosystem GPP (%) and day of the year in temperature, coniferous and boreal systems

A

normally distributed

39
Q

Which nutrients are usually limiting?

A

phosphorus and nitrogen

40
Q

What is a plant called if it is limited by both phosphorus and nitrogen

A

co-limited

41
Q

Describe the fate of primary producers

A

energy and nutrients captured is then consumed by heterotrophs

42
Q

Describe a trophic pyramid

A
  • sun’s energy captured by primary producers
  • herbivorous consumers
  • 1st level carnivorous consumers
  • 2nd level carnivorous consumers
  • 3rd level carnivorous consumers
  • apex carnivores
  • heat energy lost at each stage
  • matter decomposed at each stage
43
Q

List some primary producers

A

phytoplankton, seaweed

44
Q

List some herbivorous consumers

A

zooplankton, cockles

45
Q

List some 1st level carnivorous consumers

A
  • juvenile stages of fish and jellyfish
  • small fish, crustaceans and sea stars
46
Q

List some 2nd level carnivorous consumers

A

larger fish

47
Q

List some 3rd level carnivorous consumers

A

squid

48
Q

List some top carnivores

A

shark, dolphin, albatross

49
Q

Climate plays a major role in determining

A

how different sorts of ecological communities are distributed across the globe

Hilary Term 1 (61 decks)

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