Lecture 7 CM

Question 1

Desert biome: dominant vegetation type

Answer 1

Many areas sand/ gravel/ rock only
succulent grasses and shrubs
Cactus (Americas)
Euphorbia (Africa, Asia)

Question 2

Desert biome: vegetation structure

Answer 2

Usually present only in depressions/
above seasonally watered aquifers

Question 3

Desert biome: soil structure

Answer 3

Poorly formed or absent

Question 4

Desert biome:climate

Answer 4

Hot summer, cool/freezing winter

Question 5

Desert biome: Rainfall

Answer 5

<5cm per annum

Question 6

Desert biome: Net annual productivity

Answer 6

c. 315 Kcal m-2 yr-1 (Average)

Question 7

Why does desert biome not have a soil structure?

Answer 7

continual and significant aerial movement of sand

Question 8

What is the fastest expanding biome?

Answer 8

Desert due to climate change and human activity

Question 9

Where is desert located?

Answer 9

20-40 degrees N and S

Question 10

Example of a desert biome

Answer 10

Desert scrub of Pinyon Pine and Utah Juniper
Upper Reaches of the Colorado River Basin
Canyonlands National Park
Utah, USA

Question 11

Dry tropical forest/scrub/savanna: dominant vegetation type

Answer 11

Semi-deciduous trees, sclerophyllous
shrubs and herbs, C4 grasses
Baboab (Adansonia), Australian bush

Question 12

Dry tropical forest/scrub/savanna: vegetation structure

Answer 12

+/- scattered open canopy <c. 20m tall
<2m tall shrub and herb layer

Question 13

Dry Tropical Forest/ Scrub/ Savanna: soil structure

Answer 13

Moderate depth, variable fertility

Question 14

Dry Tropical Forest/ Scrub/ Savanna: Climate

Answer 14

Hot summer, mild winter

Question 15

Dry Tropical Forest/ Scrub/ Savanna: Rainfall

Answer 15

100-200cm, seasonal*

Question 16

Dry Tropical Forest/ Scrub/ Savanna: Net annual productivity

Answer 16

c. 7000 Kcal m-2 yr-1 (Average)

Question 17

The dry tropical forest/scrub/savanna biome is prone to:

Answer 17

Droughts and frequent fires

Question 18

Dry tropical forest/scrub/savanna biome location

Answer 18

0-30 degrees N and S

Question 19

Which biome has the most constant change

Answer 19

Dry tropical forests/savanna biome

Question 20

What results in the continual shifting of forest habitats in what is known as shifting mosaic

Answer 20

Seasonal fires and grazing of herbivores

Question 21

Which biome has the greatest vertebrate biomass?

Answer 21

Savanna

Question 22

The vertebrate biomass is supported by?

Answer 22

massive green biomass production on tropical
grasslands after seasonal monsoon rains

Question 23

Seasonal shifts in monsoon winds trigger

Answer 23

mass herbivore
migrations from dry grasslands to wet grasslands

Question 24

Carnivores are generally

Answer 24

more territorial and less mobile

Question 25

* Grasses are much more tolerant of

Answer 25

grazing and fire than forest Thus forests dominate only where grazing and fire are reduced – however patterns at any one point in time are liable to change

Question 26

Tropical rain forest biome: Dominant vegetation type

Answer 26

Evergreen broadleaf trees, highly species diverse

Question 27

Tropical rain forest: vegetation structure

Answer 27

main canopy 40-50m, emergent trees 50-70m, vines and epiphytes abundant, several substories, usually sparse shrub and herb layers

Question 28

Tropical rain forest: Soil structure

Answer 28

frequently shallow, infertile

Question 29

Tropical rain forest: Climate

Answer 29

Hot all year round

Question 30

Tropical rain forest: Rainfall

Answer 30

>150cm per annum, continuous

Question 31

Tropical rain forest: Net annual productivity

Answer 31

c. 9000 Kcal m-2 yr-1 (Average)

Question 32

Which biome is the most biologically productive?

Answer 32

Tropical rain forest

Question 33

Tropical rainforest location?

Answer 33

0-20 degrees N and S

Question 34

The tropical rainforest biome has no growth limitations other than?

Answer 34

physical disturbances e.g. too wet for fire

Question 35

What biome has a key role in global water and carbon cycles?

Answer 35

Tropical rain forest

Question 36

The tropical rain forest biome has every kind of life strategy evident, multi species relationships and dependencies are very complex an example of this is:

Answer 36

The Hornbill (a large, widely foraging fruit-eating bird) * Hornbills eat figs, the seeds germinate in debris of large nest * Using guano (droppings) for nutrition, fig seedling sends adventitious roots through canopy to forest floor (30-40m down!). Roots become woody, a ‘lace curtain’ stem develops around and ultimately strangles the host tree on which nest has been built. * Hornbills main food for eagles * Hunting hornbills for pet trade kills both figs and eagles, and a key relationship in the rainforest is destroyed

Question 37

Among plants the tropical rain forest biome has many?

Answer 37

epiphytes (Orchids, Bromeliads) * and a variety of unusual life strategies (carnivorous pitcher plants like Nepenthes; strangler figs) * and an abundance of ground-level monocots (like palms and gingers)

Question 38

Tropical rain forest biome: Among animals

Answer 38

there are more vertebrate species here than any othe biome (more than 50% of all species), in particular arboreal mammals and frogs, and an abundance of bird species.

Question 39

Tropical rain forest biome: Among insects

Answer 39

there are probably >1,000,000 species of beetles alone, and every group is similarly diverse (Bugs, wasps, flies etc.)

Question 40

Tropical rain forest biome: The dominant herbivores are

Answer 40

termites and ants

Question 41

The mountain zone: High altitude habitats exist in?

Answer 41

Every biome

Question 42

The mountain zone: The elevational ecological gradient is similar to

Answer 42

the latititudinal climate gradient, but over a much shorter interval

Question 43

Individual mountain ranges contain multiple biomes, up to and including

Answer 43

permanent ice-cover

Question 44

Species endemism is higher in mountain areas because

Answer 44

habitats are very restricted in area, and usually surrounded by very different vegetation (‘sky islands’)

Question 45

Mountain habitats are more susceptible to

Answer 45

disturbance/ destruction and the effects of climate change compared to lowland areas

Question 46

Mountain ranges comprise a series of sub-biomes at different altitudes, for example

Answer 46

the North American Rocky Mountains

Question 47

Mountain sub biomes:

Answer 47

Lower montane zone Montane zone Subalpine zone Alpine zone

Question 48

Tropical alpine plants such as Espeletina hartwegiana (Andes, Equador) have a specialised

Answer 48

frost-protection growth form and are restricted to a narrow distributional range

Question 49

This ecozone is surrounded by

Answer 49

tropical rainforest (at lower elevations) and glaciers (at higher elevations