Chapter 23: Terrestrial Ecosystems

Question 1

Major regional ecological community of plants and animals;

Usually corresponds to plant ecologists’ and European ecologists’ classification of plant formations and life zones

Answer 1

biomes

Question 2

Of leaves, shed during a certain season (winter in temperate regions; dry season in the tropics);

Of trees, having deciduous parts

Answer 2

deciduous

Question 3

Applied to trees and shrubs for which there is no complete seasonal loss of leaves;

2 types:

• Broadleaf
• Needle-leaf

Answer 3

evergreen

Question 4

Plant-like outgrowths developed by many large trees;

They function as prop roots to support trees rooted in shallow soil that offer poor anchorage

Answer 4

buttresses

Question 5

tropical forest

Answer 5

Its types are classified by seasonality of rainfall:

• Tropical rain forests, which have high seasonal rainfall and are dominated by broadleaf evergreen trees
• Dry tropical forests, which have varying lengths of dry season and are dominated by drought-deciduous trees

Question 6

tropical rain forest vertical stratification

Answer 6

From top to bottom:

• Emergent canopy
• Upper canopy
• Lower canopy
• Understory
• Ground cover

Question 7

Tropical rain forest vertical layer that includes trees widely spaced

30 or more meters aboveground

Answer 7

emergent canopy

Question 8

Tropical rain forest vertical layer that includes medium-spaced crowns

About 15 to 30 meters aboveground

Answer 8

upper canopy

Question 9

Tropical rain forest vertical layer that includes low trees

About 5 to 15 meters aboveground

Answer 9

lower canopy

Question 10

Tropical rain forest vertical layer that includes shrubs and saplings

About 1 to 5 meters aboveground

Answer 10

understory

Question 11

Tropical rain forest vertical layer that includes herbs and ferns

About 0 to 1 meters aboveground

Answer 11

ground cover

Question 12

A broad category of forests found between the tropical and subtropical regions and the barren, treeless lands of the far north and extreme south

Answer 12

temperate forest

Question 13

3 main categories of temperate forest

Answer 13

• Coniferous forests
• Mixed broadleaved/coniferous forests
• Broadleaved forests

Question 14

Forest dominated by needle-leaf evergreen trees and found primarily in a broad circumpolar belt across the Northern Hemisphere and on mountain ranges, where low temperatures limit the growing season to a few months each year;

The largest expanse of this type of forest is the boreal forest, or taiga

Answer 14

conifer forest

Question 15

The northern circumpolar boreal forest;

The largest biome on Earth;

Characterized by a cold continental climate, consists of 4 major zones:

• Forest ecotone
• Open boreal woodland
• Main boreal forest
• Boreal-mixed forest ecotone

Answer 15

taiga

Question 16

A biome characterized by semiarid regions with seasonal rainfall;

Has tall grasses and occasional trees

Answer 16

tropical savanna

Question 17

This climate has recurring drought, and much of the diversity of vegetation cover reflects differences;

At its worst where precipitation is lowest and the temperatures are high

Answer 17

temperate grassland

Question 18

3 main types of the native grasslands of North America, influenced by declining precipitation from east to west, distinguished by the height of the dominant species

Answer 18

• Tallgrass prairie
• Mixed-grass prairie
• Shortgrass prairie

Question 19

A narrow belt of tall grasses dominated by big bluestem that once ran north and south adjacent to the deciduous forest of eastern North America;

Presence maintained by fire;

Largely destroyed by cultivation

Answer 19

tallgrass prairie

Question 20

Grassland in mid North America, characterized by great variation in precipitation and a mixture of largely cool-season shortgrass and tallgrass species

Answer 20

mixed-grass prairie

Question 21

Westernmost grasslands of the Great Plains, characterized by infrequent rainfall, low humidity, and high winds;

Dominated by shallow-rooted, sod-forming grasses

Answer 21

shortgrass prairie

Question 22

Name given to Eurasian grasslands that extend from eastern Europe to western Siberia and China

Answer 22

steppe

Question 23

Extensive grasslands in the east of the interior of South Africa, largely confined to high terrain

Answer 23

veld

Question 24

Temperate South American grassland, dominated by bunchgrasses;

Much of the moister ones are under cultivation

Answer 24

pampas

Question 25

Dominated by evergreen shrubs and sclerophyll trees, this biome has adapted to the distinctive climate of summer drought and cool, moist winters; The shrublands are fire-adapted and highly flammable

Answer 25

mediterranean or chaparral

Question 26

Describes vegetation that possesses small leaves, thickened cuticles, glandular hairs, and sunken stomata — all characteristics that function to reduce water loss during the hot, dry summer period; This type of vegetation is found in all five regions of the mediterranean ecosystems

Answer 26

sclerophyllous

Question 27

Area in an arctic or alpine (high mountain) region, characterized by bare ground, absence of trees, and growth of mosses, lichens, sedges, forbs, and low shrubs

Answer 27

tundra

Question 28

A type of ecosystem that results from dry descending air masses within the regions between 15 degrees N and 30 degrees S latitude, the rain shadows of coastal mountain ranges, and remoteness from oceanic moisture

Answer 28

desert

Question 29

4 broad types of desert

Answer 29

- Hot - Cold - Extreme - Semidesert

Question 30

This type of desert ranges from those lacking vegetation to ones with some combination of chenopods, dwarf shrubs, and succulents Ex: Mojave Desert

Answer 30

Hot desert

Question 31

A desert that has a continental climate, with warm summers and prolonged cold winters; Its vegetation falls into 2 main associations: - Sagebrush - Shadscale Ex: Gobi Desert

Answer 31

Cold desert

Question 32

A climate characterized by long winters and short, cool-to-mild summers; Also called subarctic climate

Answer 32

boreal

Question 33

A climate characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life

Answer 33

arid

Question 34

Permanently frozen soil in arctic regions

Answer 34

permafrost

Question 35

Forest harvesting procedure in which all trees on the site are cut and removed

Answer 35

clear-cutting

Question 36

extent of deforestation since Pleistocene

Answer 36

Globally, about half of the forest that was present under modern (post-Pleistocene) climatic conditions — and before the spread of human influence — has disappeared largely through the impact of human activities