Grass (Few Trees)10-30 inches RainRolling/FlatWarm Summers and Cold Winters VegetationGrasses and Forbs Greatests Productivity per Unity Standing CropHigh Root/Shoot Ratio
Types of Grasslands
1. Cultivated2. Successional3. North American Grasslands4.
Eurasian Steppes5. South American Pampas6. South African Veldt7. Australian Grassland
Types of North American Grasslands
Tall-grass pairie – Big Bluestem, Needlegrass, legumes, composites, squirrels, gophersMixed-grass pairie – Needlegrass-grama, bison, pronghorn, antelopeShort-grass prairie – blue grama, buffalo grass, prairie dogsDesert grassland – SW US, N Mexico, BunchgrassesAnnual grassland – San Joaquin Valley, CAPalosue Prairie – b/n Rocky Mtns and Cascades, cool season bunchgrasses, sagebrush
Savanna
Grass with Scattered Woody Vegetation Wet/Dry SeasonsTropics/SubtropicsCentral and Southern Africa MammalsWildebeest, Leopard, Lion, Zebra, Giraffe, Elephants, Cheetah, Rhino, Hyaena, Termites, Bunchgrasses
Shrubland
Arid/Semi-Arid Regions Types of ShrublandMediterranean – Hot dry summers, cool wet winters, sclerophyllous Vegetation North American Chaparral – thicket of Shrubby Evergreen Oak, Active in Winter, Dormant in Summer, Scrub ak, Chamise Northern Desert Scrub – Cold Desert of Great Basin, Sagebrush Heathlands – Heath-like plants, sclerophyllous vegetation, Arctic Regions, NW Europe Successional – Sumac, Alder, and Willow
Fauna
Animals of a Given Region or Area Jackrabbit, coyotesFound in Chaparral and Desert Shrubs
Deserts
< 10 Inches of Rain Hot Summers Poor Soil Low Productivity
Types of Desert
North America Great Basin – Cold Desert, Sagebrush SW US – CAM Plants, Cactus (Giant Saguaro), Yucca, Ephemeral Species, Lizards, Snakes, Coyotes, Spadefoot Toda, Rodents (Kangaroo Rat)
Tundra
Treeless, Cold, Short Growing Season Arctic – permafrost, dwarf shrub and heaths, lichen, moss, chusion plants, grass, and sedge Alpine – no permafrost, wetter than Arctic
Types of Alpine Tundra
Western Mountains – Cushion, mat-forming plants, Marmots, Mountain Goats, Bighorn Sheep, and Pika Appalachian – heaths and sedge meadows Tropical – Rosette Plants
Types of Coniferous Forests
Taiga
Montane
Southern Pine
Temperate Rainforest
Taiga
Boreal Forest Not very productive(little plant biomass produced each year)Not very Diverse VegetationSpruce, Fir, Larch, Pine, Birch, Aspen, Lichen, and Moss
Boreal
Of, or related to, Northern Biotic Region
Taiga Fauna
Caribou, Moose, Snowshoe hare, and Lynx
Montane
Central Europe – Norway Spruce, Scots Pine Rocky Mountains – Engelmann Spruce, Subalpine Fir, Douglas-fir, Ponderosa & Lodgepole Pines Sierra Nevada & Cascades – Red Fir, Lodgepole Pine, Giant Sequoia, Sugar Pine, Ponderosa
Southern Pine
Coastal Plains – Pine Pine Barrens (NJ) – Dwarf Pine: pitch pine, dwarf blackjack oak Southeastern Mixed – Oak and Pine
Temperate Rainforest
Pacific NW – Douglas Fir, Redwood (CA), Ferns, and Mosses Fauna – Bear, Moose, Mountain Lion, Squirrel, and White-tailed Deer
Types of Temperate Broadleaf Forest
Temperate Deciduous Forest
Temperate Evergreen Forest
Temperate Woodlands
Temperate Deciduous Forest
AsiaEupore – Beech, oak, ash, birch, elmNorth America – hemlock, northern hardwood forest, central hardwood forest
Central Hardwood Forest – Temperate Deciduous Forest
Southern Slopes – Oak and Chestnut Northern Slopes/Cloves – Tulip tree, high diversity of temperate tree species Ozarks – oak and hickory
Temperate Evergreen Forest
Australia – Eucalyptus forest Gulf Coast and Florida Everglades – Magnolia, live oak, Spanish moss, Palm
Temperate Woodlands
Oak, Oak-Juniper, and Pine-Juniper
Tropical Rainforest
Regions:Amazon Basin, Indo-Malaysian, West & Central Africa Warm, Constant Temperature with 60 to 160 inches of rainFlora – Broadleaf evergreen trees, Epiphytes, Lianas Vegetation structure/stratification: Feeding Layers, Most Productive Ecosystem, Infertile soil, nudtrients are in the vegetation not soil, Organic matter decomposes quickly, no significant litter layer
Mountain Rainforest/Cloud Forest
Shorter Trees with gnarles limbs More even canopy
Tropical Seasonal Forest
Transitional – less rain, temperature more variable Few trees lose leaves during dry period
Tropical Dry Forest
> 40 % tropical Forest Most tropical forests are not rainforests distinct wet and dry seasons plants lose leaves during dry period
Lentic (Lacustrine)
Lakes
Pelagic
Open Water Area
Zone of Lakes
Zones are relative to Light Compensation PointsLimnetic – Light PenetratesProfundal – Deep water, without Light
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Fish, large Invertebrates
Neuston
Organisms associated with Surface of Lake E.g. Water striders
Benthic
Bottom (on or in) Zones Profundal benthosLittoral benthos
Littoral
Margin of Lake
Riparian
Shoreline Types: Muddy and Oozy, Rocky and Sandy Shores
Macrophytes
Large Plants in a Lake
Types of Macrophytes
Emergent – e.g. reeds, cattails, bulruches
Floating – rooted – e.
g. water lilies, pondweeds
Free-floating – (surface) – e.g. duckweed
Free-floating – (submerged) – e.g.
hornwort
Submerged-rooted – e.g. Chara, Elodea
Lacustrine Succession
Bare bottom and Open Water – pioneer stage
Submergent Vegetation and Phytoplankton (Algae)
Emergent Vegetation
Temporary Pond
Marsh
Grassland – Prairie, meadow
Forest
Littoral Fauna
Insects:Dragonflies, mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies, midges, backsimmers, water strider, and diving beetle Fish
Physical Features of Lakes
Light
Temperature
Light: Zones: euphotic, disphotic, and aphotic Light Compensation Point TemperatureThermal Stratification: epilimnion, metalimnion, hypolimnionDimictic Lakes: 2 mixing periods/overturns
Formation of Lakes
Glaciers – e.g.
Kettle Lakes
Ice Scour – e.g. Finger Lakes, Great Lakes
Tectonic Lakes – e.g. Rift Lakes, Lake Tahoe
Volcanic Lakes – e.
g. Crater Lake
Riverine Lakes – Oxbow Lakes, Floodplain Lake
Coastal Impoundment – e.g. Coast of S Africa
Organic Origins – e.g.
Hoover Dam
Major Lakes
Caspian Sea – Largest Inland body of Water
Dead Sea – Most concentrated natural salt Lake in world, Lowest point on Earth
Great Salt Lake
Baikal – Largest (Volume) Deepest
The Great Lakes – e.g. Superior (Largest in Surface Area), Michigan
Aral Sea
Salt Marshes
Associated with Estuaries, Flooded daily by tides, High Productivity, Low Diversity, and Food web Changes with Tide Flora – Saltwater Cordgrass Fauna – Fiddler Crab, ribbed mussel, and Marsh Periwinkle
Estuaries
E.g. – River deltas, bays, lagoons Primarily marine, benthic organisms (e.
g. Oysters) Salinity Stratification
Coral Reefs
Warm, shallow, nutrient-deficient seas Very productive, high biodiversity Living Coral, Coralline red algae, foraminifera, mollusks
Riverine
Stream
Why do Streams Exist?
Surface Water
Channels
Slope or Gradiant
Watershed
Area or River where a water stream drains
Stream Order
Stream Orders from 1 to 3 = Headwater StreamsStream Orders from 4 to 6 = Mid Size StreamsStream Orders from 6 and Above are Larger Streams
Major Rivers
Nile – Longest River
Mississippi/Missouri River – 12 miles shorter than Nile
Amazon River – Widest River
Colorado – Drains into the Pacific Ocean
Columbia/Snake
St. Lawrence
Stream Physical Features
Flow
Pools and Riffles
Flow:Must be moving and it MeandersWater flows the fastest in the Center of the River
Benthic Structures of Streams
Sandy Benthic
Bedrock Benthic
Gravel and Rubble Benthic – Most productive becuase of small spaces for small organisms to hide
Detritus of Streams
CPOM – Coarse Particulate Organic Matter – Size is anything > 1 mm in Diameter (e.g. trees, woods, plants, leaves)
FPOM – Fine Particulate Organic Matter – Size range from .
5 mm to 1 mm (e.g. invertebrates that live in small spaces) Some of these particles can actually move out and dissolve into UPOM
UPOM – Ultrafine Particulate Organic Matter – Size is < .5 mm and Particles generally do not dissolve at this level
