Biomes of the World Notes

BIOMES:

Deserts:

-rainfall and climate:

-warm, dry, descending air creates desert bands at 30 degrees N and S

-sparse but species-rich community dominated by shrubs and small trees

-dominant plants
        adaptations to conserve water and protect from predation

-dominant animals:

-soils:

-human disturbances
        slow to recover because of harsh climate

Grasslands/Savannas:

-rainfall and climate:
        seasonal cycles for temperature and precipitation

-located in continental interiors

-dominant plants:
        frequent grass fires

-dominant animals:

-soils:

-human disturbances
        fire suppression
        conversion into farmland
        soil erosion
        hunting
        wetland drainage

Tundra:

-rainfall and climate:

-located at far North and South latitudes and high elevations

-dominant plants:
        

-dominant animals:

         -soils
                  permafrost
                 
-human disturbances
         slow to heal
         oil and natural gas wells in the arctic
         truck ruts and tracks

Conifer Forest: (boreal forest/taiga)

-rainfall and climate:

-between 45 and 50 degrees North latitude
        
-many lakes, potholes, bogs, and fens

-dominant coniferous trees:

-dominant animals:

-soils:
        
        
-Sub-type: temperate rainforest
       luxuriant plant growth and huge trees

-human disturbances
        timber, turpentine, and rosin

Broad-Leaved Deciduous Forest:

-rainfall and climate:

-four seasons- requires adaptations for the frozen season

-dominant trees:

-dominant animals:

-soils:

-human disturbances- most hard hit by man
        trees harvested for timber

Tropical Rain Forest:

cover only 6% of the Earth's surface- about the size of the contiguous US, but houses over 1/2 of the known plant and animal species

-rainfall and climate:

-located near the Equator

-dominant plants:

-dominant animals:

-soils:

-subtype cloud forests

-human disturbance
      deforestation
      agriculture

Chaparral/Thorn Scrub/Mediterranean:

-rainfall and climate:

-located 30 degrees north and south of equator

-dominant plants:

-dominant animals:

-soils:

Aquatic Biomes:

• Categorized by the salinity (__________) of the water and location

Salty

Open Ocean

Coasts

• Coral Reefs
• Mangroves
• Estuaries

Freshwater

Lakes

Wetlands

• an area wet enough to support plants specialized to grow under __________ soil conditions.
• highly productive and rich in biodiversity- home to many ____________ species
• provide food and habitat for many species
• stores floodwater (as does floodplains) and _________ water
• _____% of the original wetlands are distroyed in US
• less than 5% of land in US are wetlands
• swamps have _______, marshes do not

Land Use: Forests and Range lands

Land Use Distribution of World:

• 29% Forest and woodlands
• 33% Tundra, desert, wetlands, and urban areas
• 27% Range and pasture
• 11% Cropland

Benefits of Forests: regulate ________, control ________ runoff, provide shelter and food and purify the ______. Plus they are pretty to look at!

Good News:

• Forests in NE USA (Temperate) are ________________!
• Debt for _________ Swap: Bank loans owed by third world countries are bought by conservation groups. These groups offer to cancel the debt owed if they ________ some of their land! Fabulous!
• Small controlled burns actually reduce the chance of major forest ________. (Less fuel build up.) Some plants need fires to germinate.
• Land reform gives indigenous people the right to land ownership reducing ________________.

Bad News:

• Only ____% of the orginal (old growth) forests are left in USA. Deforestation occurs in America because of agriculture and ________ development.
• Tropical jungles are declining the fastest of all areas being deforested in Africa, S. America and Asia (3rd world). Once the forest/jungle is cleared the soil can only support one or two _______ until it is totally _________ and useless.
• Roughly half the world's use of timber is ________ and the other half for _______.
• 1/4 of the world's population uses wood or charcoal as their main energy source!!! Yikes.
• Fires have been surpressed for years in parks which create conditions for more distructive fires.
• The Healthy Forest Initiative started by ________ ________ to thin forests in order to supress fires (and log remote forests without having to go through pesky __________ review procedures) actually encourages more distructive fires! Fire _______ shrubs grow in the cleared areas.

Forest management (or mismanagement):

Monoculture forestry: is the most profitable but the most __________ to the health of the forest.

In the United States and Canada, the two main issues in timber (mis)management are

(1) Cutting the last remains of _______-growth forest :(

(2) Clear cutting is when _________ tree in a given area is cut regardless of size. The concentration of nitrates in the runoff increases and soil erosion soars. Strip cutting entails harvesting all trees in a narrow _________.

Sustainable Forestry: In both temperate and tropical regions, certification programs are being developed to identify ____________ produced wood products. Increasingly, non-timber forest products (nuts, latex, medicines) are seen as an alternative to timber production.

• Selective cutting is when only a small percentage of the _________ trees are taken in each 10- or 20- year rotation. The habitat impact is much less.
• Slash and burn or swidden agriculture is sustainable mixed perennial polyculture. Diversity rules!

Grasslands

Range lands: Pasture (generally enclosed domestic meadows or managed grasslands) and open range (unfenced, natural prairie and open woodlands) occupy about 22% of the world's land surface.

Overgrazing and Protection: About one-third of the world's range is severely degraded by overgrazing, making this the largest cause of soil _________. The process of denuding and degrading a once-fertile land initiates a __________-producing cycle that feeds on itself and is called desertification.

Rotational grazing; confining animals to a small area for a _______ time (often only for a day or two) before shifting them to a new location; stimulates the effects of wild herds. This allows the animals to trample and fertilize the ground ________ damaging it.

Preserving and Restoring Nature

History and Park Origins

• Early parks were for religious purposes and elite ________ and pleasure grounds.
  
• Frederick Law Olmstead is the father of __________ design- designed Central Park in NYC.
• First national park was ___________.
  

Wilderness Areas

a large area of undeveloped, unspoiled land where _________, not man rules.

Benefits for its protection include:

• refuge for __________ wildlife
• an opportunity for ________
• _________ research
• letting the land exist in a natural state for its own sake

Argument against preserving wilderness

• more _______
• more energy sources
• more __________
• more land for shopping malls and roadways!

Problems    

• Parks are being clear-cut right up to their ______________.
  
• Excessive tourism is trampling plants, snowmobiles _________ wildlife.
• Park visitors increase by 1/3 in the last decade while funding went _______ 1/4.  Little money to protect park from overuse.
• Mining and oil companies ______ in some of the national monuments
• Most parks are divided based on ___________, not ecological considerations.
• Parks need more than just a large boundary to protect an ecosystem. It needs to protect watershed, airshed and the full scope of where the wildlife will _________- the natural ________________ area. 

Levels of ecological protection and restriction of human activities.

1. National parks, ecological reserves, wilderness preserves: highly __________
2. National wildlife refuges: only hunting and ___________ were allowed. Lately _______ drilling, grazing logging, off-road vehicles and ___________ have also been permitted!!! Grrr.
   
3. National forests, national resource lands, recreation areas: any ___________ is permitted (short of building your own house on the land )

World parks and preserves   

• Covers nearly ______% of earth's surface. 
  
• Most protected biomes: tropical dry forests, savannahs, and temperate ___________ forests.
• Least protected: __________, aquatic ecosystems and ___________.
• Best countries for preserves: Costa Rica, Tanzania, Butan and Switzerland. 
• Tropical countries are beginning to find that over long term their land is worth more as an _____________ attraction than logged. Yeah!
• ____________ are the worst problem on African wildlife preserves. Boo!

World conservation strategy

1. Maintain earth so humans can survive (good idea, huh?)
2. Preserve _________ biodiversity
3. Ensure that any utilization of species and ecosystems is ___________.
   

SIZE AND DESIGN

Optimumal size and shape for a preserve is as _______ and _________ as possible. It is impossible to isolate critical core areas from human disturbance if the park is small, skinny and broken up.

____________ of natural habitat allow movement of species from one area to another to help maintain ___________ exchange and prevent extinctions by providing an escape route in times of trouble.

Restoration Ecology

• to repair or reconstruct ecosystems damaged by __________ or natural forces

Restoration- bring something back to its _________ condition ex. using native plants to restore a woodlands so it looks natural

Rehabilitation- rebuilding the elements of a former landscape __________ achieving complete restoration (its useful to humans though) ex. highway plantings

Remediation- cleaning chemical contaminant from a polluted area by __________ or __________ means ex. horseradish roots remove phenols from industrial effluents. Locoweeds take selenium out of soil.

Reclamation- chemical or physical manipulations in __________ degraded areas such as open pit mines. ex. SMCRA requires reclamation of land after mining to restore the shape of the land to its original contour.

Re-creation- the attempt to construct a new biological community on a site that _____ _______ there originally. ex. Developers are required to mitigate damage to a wetland (in building over it) by re-creating a new wetland in a different area.

The battle continues between preservations and restorationist. Which do you think is a more important idealogy to uphold?