Ecology Flashcards
(75 cards)
1
Q
What does U-FAO stand for and what do they consider a Forest?
A
- Area > 035 Ha
- Tree Canopy Cover >10%
- Not Primarily Agriculture
- Capable of 5m Height
2
Q
What do Forest ecosystems do?
A
- Produce Oxygen, Absorb Carbon and C02. Increases Air Quality.
- One of the buffering agents when discussing Climate
- Clean Water
- Erosion, Flooding
- Supports Wildlife
- Recreation
- Builds Paper, Furniture, Buildings, and ENERGY
3
Q
What is Forestry?
A
The Science, Art and Practice of sustainably managing the composition, structure, and function of forest ecosystems for a multitude of environmental, economic, social and cultural values
4
Q
What is Forest Ecology?
A
The scientific study of interrelated patterns, processes, and organisms in forest ecosystems
-The Biological basis for management of forest resources
5
Q
What is Synecology?
A
- Branch of Ecology
- -Study of Ecological Communities
6
Q
What is Autecology?
A
- Branch of Ecology
- -Study of Individual organisms or species
7
Q
What is Silvics?
A
The study of the life history, characteristics and ecology of forest trees
8
Q
What is Silviculture?
A
Branch of Forestry concerned with managing and tending a forest
9
Q
How many BEC zones are in BC?
A
16
10
Q
3 General Questions you should ask?
A
- What’s up with this Forest?
- How did it get this way?
- What’s Next?
11
Q
What are the 5 Important Ecosystems Attributes?
A
- Structure - Communities that share the habitat/multiple habitats. Size of Ecosystem and the multiple species. Physical Contributions, Chemical make up of the soil, Intensity of sunlight, macro/micro habitats, atmospheric environment
- Function - Interdependence, supplies/nutrients(recycling) available. Furthering genetic changes, bio diversity
- Complexity - Interlinking diversity of organisms, weather, multiple niches - link together to form an ecosystem. Symbiotic relationships
- Interaction - Between Organisms/humans, Symbiosis, Co-dependent.
- Change Overtime - Climate change, human involvement, natural disasters, seasons changing, species changing (Size, Complexity), ecological succession
12
Q
What is Macroclimate?
A
Climate at a broad, regional scale; influenced by factors such as elevation, and latitude
13
Q
What is Microclimate?
A
Climate at a local scale, influenced by topography and vegetation
14
Q
What is a Niche?
A
The ecological role of a species in the community (functional, adaptational, distributional), including all interactions in which it participates; the range of conditions under which a species occurs
15
Q
What is Primary Succession?
A
The development of a community from an essentially abiotic setting (e.g. after glaciation)
16
Q
What is Succession?
A
A sequence of changes in plant, animal and microbial communities occupying a particular site, which sometimes leads to a stable climax community
17
Q
What is Symbiosis
A
A mutually beneficial association between two or more organisms (called Symbionts)
18
Q
What is Trophic Level?
A
A position in the food chain described by the number of energy transfer steps to reach that level
19
Q
What is Xeric?
A
Describes an environment or habitat with little moisture; dry to very dry
20
Q
What is Zonal
A
Term for sites that best reflect the regional climate and are least influenced by the local topography and/or soil properties; typically with intermediate soil moisture and nutrient regimes, mid slope positions on gentle to moderate slopes, with moderately deep to deep soils and free drainage
21
Q
What is an Ecosystem?
A
Any unit that includes all of the organisms in a given area interacting with the physical environment
22
Q
What are the 2 components of an Ecosystem
A
- Abiotic Environment - The non living stuff
- -Atmosphere, Soil or Geological substrate - Biotic Community - Living Stuff
- -Plant/Animal/Microbial Communities
23
Q
Define Different Climates
Determines the Broad Biotic Potential
A
- Desert
- Tundra
- Boreal
- Temperature
- Tropical
24
Q
What do you look at when considering the Physical Environment?
A
- Landform - Topography
- Origin Of Materials - Glacier and/or Marine
- Mineralogy - Whether they have been weathered from granite, sedimentary, volcanic, etc.
25
What is an Organism
An individual form of life such as a plant, animal, bacterium, protist, or fungus
26
What is a Species
Related Organisms capable of interbreeding
27
What is a Population
All the individuals of a species that constitute a specific group or occur in a specified habitat
28
What is a Community
An assemblage of different species that occur together in a particular habitat
29
What are the Vegetation Layers
```
A1 = Dominant Trees
A2 = Codominant
A3 = Sub-canopy Trees
B1 = Tall Shrub/Tree 2- 10m
B2 = Low Shrub
```
30
What happens to a leaf going through an Ecosystem processes
Photosynthesis --> Decomposition --> Biomass Production
31
What is Photosynthesis?
Helps take C02 from the Atmosphere, water and light from the sun and produces energy and carbohydrates (wood, leaves, root tissue) and Oxygen Gas
32
List the Trophic Levels starting from Bottom at Vegetation
Vegetation --> Primary Consumers Herbivores --> Secondary Consumers Predators --> Tertiary Consumers Predators
33
How does an Ecosystem Vary?
Spatial - In Space
| Temporal - Over Time (Dynamic)
34
What is the BEC Regional Climate broken down into?
Regional Level (Largely driven by Climate) =
- Local Level (Locale scale mostly based on soils and land form
- Chronological Level (Temporal)
35
What is the Succession of the Boreal Forest After Fire?
1. Herb Stage (0-5 years)
2. Shrub Stage (6-25 years)
3. Young Forest Stage (26-50 years)
4. Mature Forest Stage (51-150 years)
5. Climax Forest Stage (150-300 years)
36
What is an example of a situation where Primary Succession occurs; and what are the stages
Post-Glacial
1. Lichens, mosses and exposed rocks
2. Small Herbs and Shrubs
3. Health Mat
4. Jack Pine, Black Spruce, and Aspen
5. Balsam, Fir, Paper Birch, White Spruce (Climax Community)
37
What is an example of a situation where Secondary Succession occurs; and what are the stages
```
Some Kind of Disturbance - but it doesn't take it all the way back to Primary - so you still have some living organisms on site.
Ex. Logging, Windthrow, Fire
1. Annual Weeds
2. Perennial Weeds and Grasses
3. Shrubs
4. Young Pine Forest
5. Mature Oak-Hickory Forest
```
38
What is Ecological Succession?
The Abiotic and Biotic components of ecosystems interact - resulting in change to both
39
What is a Sere?
The entire sequence of Biotic communities that occupy a site and replace each other over time, following disturbance of the original community
40
What is Seral Stage?
The communities that make up a Sere
41
What are the two kinds of processes of Mechanisms of Change?
* Autogenic Processes; Biotic - Colonization (invasion and survival) and Competition, displacement of a species
* Allogenic Processes; Abiotic - Fire, Floods, Landslides, Volcanic Eruptions
42
What does the rate of change depend on?
D-PL'R
- Degree of environmental change that must occur before one community can be replaced by another
- Productivity of the organisms and the degree of change produced (How long it takes for one community to replace another)
- Longevity of the organisms occupying the stage (Typically; Early=Shorter lives, Later; Species live longer)
- Resistance to invasion by species occupying the site
43
What is the generalized relationship between succession and structural stages
Successional: A description of where it is in the process
Structural: The structure thats there, more of a description of whats there
44
What is Xerosere sites?
Very Dry sites
Common features include;
-Rock surfaces exposed by fire or landslides
-Little or No Water holding Capacity
-No Capital of Nutrients
-Lichens are often the first plants to invade followed by mosses
*These sites develop over a very long time frame
45
What is a Mesosere site?
```
Mesic Sites ("Zonal Site")
Common features include;
-Loamy >1m in depth
-moderate fertility
-mid slope positions or on flat terrain
-first colonized by herbs (unless low in N) then alder, salal, ferns, elderberry, salmonberry
-followed by conifers
```
46
What is a Hydrosere sit?
Wetlands
Common features include;
-Start in new wetlands
-Invaded by phytoplankton and bottom rooted plants
-Followed by sedges, rushes, mosses and shrubs such as Labrador tea
-Tree Species Pl, Yc
47
What are MASS Vegetation Methods
- Ecosystem mapping
- Residual Forest Structure
- Understory Cover By Species
- Permanent nested plots:
- -2, 10 and 500 m2
- -18 per treatment
- Edge Transects: 55m in, 25m out
48
What are the 5 Stages of Stand Development?
1. Disturbance and Legacy Creation
2. Stand Initiation
3. Stem Exclusion
4. Understory Re-initiation
5. Old Growth
49
The "Father" of the BEC System was?
D. Vladimir Krajina
50
The two main "levels" in the hierarchy of the BEC System are?
Climate and Site
51
The Climate Level of the BEC System consists of
Zones, Subzones, and variations
52
The Site Level of BEC Consists of
Site Associations, Site Series, Phases
53
The "Edatopic Grid" shows what two properties
Moisture and Nutrients
54
A "Zonal" Site is found on what slope position?
Midslope
55
Site Series are classified using primarily:
Vegetation and Soils
56
An Important Forestry Application of BEC Site Classication is
Tree Species Slection
57
The Three main types of surface organic materials (humus forms) are
Mull, Moder and Mor
58
What are the two Levels/Classifications of the Ecosystem Classification Framework?
- Site Level - BGC Site Classification
- -Alliance, Site Association, Site Series
- Climate Level - BGC Zone Classification
- -Zone, Subzone, Variant
59
What are the Key BEC Concepts
- Ecosystem
- Succession and Climax
- Site Potential
- Edatopic Grid
- Ecological Equivalence
60
What is the Primary Factors used in the BEC System?
Climate, Soil Moisture/Nutrients
61
What is an example of a Seral Stage and a Site association
Seral Stage: Shrub-herb, Pole Sapling, Young Forest, Mature Forest, Old Growth
Site Association: The potential of a site; CwHw - Oak Fern
62
On the Edatopic Grid, what is on the X Axis and what is on the Y axis?
X=Soil Nutrient Regime
--A:Very Poor, B:Poor, C:Medium, D:Rich, E:Very Rich
Y=Relative Soil Moisture Regime
--0=Very Xeric, 1=Xeric, 2=Subxeric, 3=Submesic, 4=Mesic, 5=Subhygric, 6=Hygric, 7=Subhydric, 8=Hydric
**4C = Zonal Site
63
What does the BEC Zones depend on?
- Regions of Cimatic
- Defined by mature vegetation on "Zonal Sites"
- Zonal Site = Average - Best reflects climate influences
- Stratifies landscape into "bioclimate" zones
64
Define a Zonal Site
- Flat to moderate slopes
- Middle Slope Positions
- Medium soil texture (loam)
- Medium nutrient regime
- Moderately well-drained soils
- No Root restricting layers
65
What are the levels of the Climate Classification of the BEC System?
Biogeoclimatic zone
- >Biogeoclimatic subzone
- ->Biogeoclimatic variant
- -->Biogeoclimatic Phase (Rarely Used)
66
How many and what are the BEC zones on Vancouver Island?
4
- (AT) Alpine Tundra
- CDF (Cedar, Douglas Fir)
- CWH (Cedar, Western Hemlock)
- MH (Mountain Hemlock)
67
Naming of BEC Subzones
| Define the letters; ZONE xyz 1
xyz = Subzone
x= Preciptiation Regime (X, D, M, W, V)
y= Interior (Temperate Regime) and Coastal Zones (Continentality - h, maritime, s)
z= Woodland/Parkland (Occur in upper elevation units)
Number refers to elevation
68
How do Foresters use BEC -Zones, Subzones, and Variants?
- Seed Zones
- Forest Pest Risk
- Natural Disturbance Types
- Wildlife Habitat Management
- Planning for Reserves
69
Which is Preferred, Acceptable and Minor in the following;
Fd(Cw)
Pl
```
Fd = Preferred
Cw = Acceptable
Pl = Minor
```
70
What is TEM?
Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping
- Map of Ecosystems (site series) at 1:20,000 scale
- Refined Biogeoclimatic Units (Zones, Subzones, Variants)
- Database of Plots
- GIS Database and Spatial Coverage for Analysis
71
Broad ecosystem classification categories such as grasslands, savannahs, evergreen forests are called
Biomes
72
Elevation differences among sites are considered part of the
macroclimate
73
An important factor affecting ecosystems that is highly influenced by climate is
fire
74
How do you discover the measurement of tree height-Height on Level Ground (Percent)
=Top Clino Shot(%) + Bottom Clino Shot (%) x distance
| **Ignore +/- on clino when doing this
75
How do you discover the measurement of tree height - Height on Sloping Ground (Percent)
=Top Clino Shot(%) - Bottom Clino Shot (%) x distance
| **Ignore +/- on clino when doing this
