Geog Exam 3

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Climate

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the consistent, long term behavior of weather over time, including its variability; in contrast to weather, which is the condition of the atmosphere at any given place and time.

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Climatology

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the scientific study of climate and climatic patterns and the consistent behavior of weather & weather variability & extremes over time in one place or region, including the effects of climate change on society and culture.

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Climatic regions

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areas of similar weather patterns, climates that contain characteristic regional weather and air mass patterns.

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Genetic classification

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the use of casual factors to determine climatic regions, example: analysis of the effect of interacting air masses.

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Empirical classification

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based on weather statistics or other data; used to determine general climate categories.

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Leaching

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the process of extracting minerals from a solid by dissolving them in a liquid, either in nature or through an industrial process

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Climograph

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graph that plots daily, monthly, or annual temperature & precipitation values for a selected station; may also include other weather info.

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Steppe

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regional term referring to the vast semiarid grassland biome of Eastern Europe & Asia; the equivalent biome in North America is shortgrass prairie, & in Africa, it is the savanna. Is considered too dry to support forest, but too moist to be a desert.

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Paleoclimatology

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study of climates past ages.

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General circulation model (GCM)

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complex computer-based climate model that produces generalizations about reality & predictive forecasts of future weather & climate conditions.

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Soil

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dynamic natural body, made up of fine minerals covering the Earth’s surface, in which plants grow; composed of minerals and organic matter.

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Soil science

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interdisciplinary science of soil. Pedology concerns the origin, classification, distribution, & description of soil. Edaphology focuses on soil as medium for sustaining higher plants.

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Pedon

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a soil profile extending from the surface of the lowest extent of plant roots or to the depth where regolith or bedrock is encountered, imagined as a hexagonal column; the basic soil sampling unit.

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Polypedon

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the identifiable soil in an area, with distinctive characteristics differenciating it from surrounding polypedons, forming the basic soil mapping unit; composed of many pedons.

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Soil horizon

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various layers exposed in a pedon, roughly parallel to the surface & identified as O, A, E, B & C, residing above bedrock designated R.

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Humus

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mixture of organic debris in soil, worked by consumers and decomposers in the humification process; characteristically formed from plant and animal litter laid down at the surface.

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Eluviation

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downward removal of finer particles & minerals from the upper horizons of soil; an erosion process within a soil body.

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Illuviation

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downward movement & deposition of finer particles & minerals from the upper horizon of the soil; a depositional process. Deposition usually is in the B horizon, where accumulations if clays, aluminum, carbonates, iron, & some humus occur.

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Solum

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a true soil profile in the pedon; ideally, a combination of the A & B horizons.

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Loam

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a mixture of sand, silt, and clay in almost equal proportions, with no one texture dominant; an ideal agricultural soil.

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Soil colloid

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substance containing tiny clay and organic particles in soil provide chemically active sites for mineral ion adsorption.

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Cation-exchange capacity (CEC)

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the ability of soil colloids to exchange cations between their surfaces, and the soil solutions; a measured potential that indicates soil fertility.

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Soil fertility

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ability of soil to support plant productivity when it contains organic substances and clay minerals that absorb water and certain elemental ions needed by plants.

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Desertification

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expansion of deserts worldwide, related principally to poor agricultural practices (overgrazing & inappropriate agricultural practices), improper soils-moisture management, erosion and salinization, deforestation and the ongoing climatic change; an unwanted semipermanent invasion into neighboring biomes.

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Aridisols

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desert soils, a soil of an order comprising typically saline or alkaline soils with very little organic matter, characteristic of arid regions.

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Mollisols

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a soil order in the Soil Taxonomy classification that has humus-rich, organic content high in alkalinity; some of the world’s most significant agriculture.

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Alfisols

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moderately weathered forest soil that are moist versions of Mollisoils, with productivity dependent on specific patterns of moisture & temperature; rich in organics; most wide-ranging of the soil orders in the Soil Taxonomy classifications.

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Ultisols

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featuring highly weathered forest soils, principally in the humid subtropical climatic classification. Increases weathering & exposure can degenerate an Alfisol into the reddish color and texture of these more humid, tropical soil. Fertility is quickly exhausted when Ultisols are cultivated. An order in the Soil Taxonomy classification.

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Spondosols

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occurs in northern coniferous forests; best developed in cold, moist, forested climates in humid continental or subarctic regions; lacks humus & clay in the A horizons & has high acidity associated with podsolization process; an order in the Soil Taxonomy classification.

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Entisols

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specifically lacks vertical development of horizons; usually young or underdeveloped & found in active slopes, alluvial-filled floodplains, & poorly drained tundra; an order in the Soil Taxonomy classification.

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Inceptisols

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usually young soils that are weakly developed & inherently infertile, although they are more developed than Entisols; an order in the Soil Taxonomy classification.

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Gelisols

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cold and frozen soils at high latitudes or high elevations; characteristic tundra vegetation; a new order in the Soil Taxonomy classification (added in 1998).

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Andisols

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derived from volcanic parent materials in areas of volcanic activity; a new order in the Soil Taxonomy classification (1990).

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Vertisols

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features expandable clay soils composed of more than 30% swelling clays; occurs in regions that experience high variable soil-moisture balances through the seasons; an order in the Soil Taxonomy classification.

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Histosols

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formed form thick accumulations of organic matter, such as beds of former lakes, bogs, and layers of peat; an order in the Soil Taxonomy classification.

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Ecosystem

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self-regulating association of living plants & animals & their nonliving physical & chemical environment.

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Ecology

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science that studies the interrelationships among organisms & their environment & among various ecosystems.

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Biogeography

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study of the distribution of plants & animals & related ecosystems; the geographical relationships with related environments over time.

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Community

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convenient biotic subdivision within an ecosystem; formed by interacting populations of animals & plants in an area.

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Habitat

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that physical location in which an organism is biologically suited to live. Most species have specific habitat limits.

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Niche

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the basic function, or occupation, of a life form within a given community; the way an organism obtains its food, air & water.

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Vascular plant

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a plant that has developed conductive tissues & true roots for internal transport of fluid and nutrients. Vascular, Latin, “vessel-bearing”, refers to conduction of cells.

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Stomata

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small openings on the undersides of leaves, allows water and gases to pass through.

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Photosynthesis

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joining of carbon dioxide & hydrogen inplants under the influence of certain wavelengths of visible light; releases oxygen & produces energy-rich organic material (sugars & starches).

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Chlorophyll

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light sensitive pigment that resides in chloroplasts (organelle) bodies in leaf cells of plants; the basis of photosynthesis.

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Respiration

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process by which plants derive energy for their operations; essentially, the reverse of photosynthetic process; the release of carbon dioxide, water & heat into the environment.

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Net primary productivity

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the net photosynthesis (minus the respiration) for a given community; considers all growth & all reduction factors that affect the amount of useful chemical energy (biomass) fixed (chemically bound) in an ecosystem.

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Biomass

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the total mass of living organisms on Earth or per unit area of a landscape; also, the weight of the living organisms in an ecosystem.

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Life zone

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an altitudinal zonation of plants & animals that form distinctive communities. Each life zone possesses its own temperature & precipitation relations.

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Biogeochemical cycle

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the various circuits of flowing elements & materials (carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, water) that combine Earth’s biotic (living) & abiotic (nonliving) systems; the cycling of materials is continuous & renewed through the biosphere & the life processes.

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Producer

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organism that is capable of using carbon dioxide as its sole source of carbon, which it chemically fixes through photosynthesis to provide its own nourishment; also called an autotroph.

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Consumer

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organism in an ecosystem that depends on producers (plants) for its source of nutrients.

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Food chain

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the circuit along which energy flows from producers, whom manufactures their own food, to consumers; a 1 directional flow of chemical energy, ending with detritivores.

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Food web

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a complex network of interconnected food chains.

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Herbivore

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the primary consumer in the food chain, which eats plant materials formed by a producer that has synthesized organic molecules.

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Carnivore

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a secondary consumer that principally eats meat for sustenance. The top carnivore in a food chain is considered a tertiary consumer.

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Omnivore

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a consumer that feeds on both producers (plants) and consumers (animals); a classification occupied by humans, among other animals.

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Detritivore

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detritus feeders and decomposers that consume, digest & destroy organic waste and debris. Detritus feeders; worms, mites, termites, centipedes, snails, crabs, & even vultures, among others; consume detritus & excrete nutrients & simple inorganic compounds that fuel an ecosystem.

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Decomposer

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bacteria and fungi that digest organic debris outside their bodies & absorb & release nutrients in an ecosystem.

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Limiting factor

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the physical or chemical factor that most inhibits (either through lack or excess) biotic processes.

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Ecological succession

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the process whereby different & usually more complex assemblages of plants & animals replace older & susally simpler communities. Communities are in a constant state of change as each species adapts to conditions; ecosystems do not exhibit a stable point or successional climax condition as previously thought.

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Primary succession

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the succession that occurs among plant species in an area of new surfaces created by mass movement of land, an area exposed by retreating glacier, cooled lava flows & volcanic eruption landscapes, surface mining& clear-cut logging scars, or an area of sand dune, with no trace of a former community.

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Pioneer community

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the initial plant community in an area; usually found on new surfaces or those that have been stripped of life. Example; surfaces created by mass movements of land or on land disturbed by human activities.

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Secondary succession

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the succession that occurs among plant species in an area where vestiges of a previously functioning community are present; an area where the natural community has been destroyed or disturbed, but where the underlying soil remains intact.

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Fire ecology

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the recognition of fire as a dynamic ingredient in community succession. Controlled fires secure plant reproduction and prevent accumulation of forest litter and brush; widely regarded as a wise forest management process.

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Eutrophication

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a natural process in which lakes receive nutrients & sediment & become enriched; the gradual filling & natural aging of water bodies.

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Terrestrial ecosystem

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a self-regulating association characterized by specific plant formations; usually named for the predominant vegetation and known as a biome when large and stale.

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Biome

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a large terrestrial ecosystem characterized by specific plant communities& formations; usually named after the predominant vegetation in the region.

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Formation class

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that portion of a biome that concerns the plant communities only, subdivided by size, shape & structure of the dominant vegetation.

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Ecotone

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a boundary transition zone between adjoining ecosystems that may vary in width & represent areas of tension as similar species of plants & animals compete for the resources.

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Invasive species

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species that is brought or introduced from elsewhere by humans, either accidentally or intentionally. This non-native species is also known as an exotic species or alien species.

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Tropical rainforest

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a lush biome of tall broadleaf evergreen trees & diverse plants & animals, roughly between 23.5 degrees North & 23.5 degrees South. The dense canopy of leaves is usually arranged in 3 levels.

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Tropical seasonal forest & scrub

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a variable biome on the margins of the rain forests, occupying regions of lesser & more erratic rainfall; the site of transitional communities between the rain forests and tropical grasslands.

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Tropical savanna

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a major biome containing large expanses of grassland interrupted by trees & shrubs; a transitional area between the humid rainforests & tropical seasonal forests & the drier, semiarid tropical steppes & deserts.

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Midlatitude broadleaf and mixed forest

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a biome in moist continental climates in areas of warm-to-hot summers & cool-to-cold winters; relatively lush stands of broadleaf forests trend northward into Needleleaf evergreen stands.

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Needleleaf forest (taiga, boreal forest)

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the forest of pine, spruce, fir and larch stretching from the east coast of Canada westward to Alaska & continuing from Siberia westward across the entire extent of Russia to the European Plain. Called the taiga (Russian word) or the boreal forest, it occurs principally in the humid continental & subarctic climates & includes montane forests that may be at lower latitudes at elevation.

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Montane forest

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of or inhabiting mountainous country.

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Temperate rain forest

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a major biome of lush forests at middle & high latitudes; occurs along narrow margins of the Pacific Northwest in North America, among other locations; includes the tallest trees in the world.

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Mediterranean shrubland

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a major biome dominated by Mediterranean dry-summer climates& characterized by scrub & short, stunted, tough (sclerophyllous) forests.

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Chaparral

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the dominant shrub formation of Mediterranean dry-summer climates; characterized by (sclerophyllous) scrub & short, stunted & tough forests; derived from the Spanish chapparo; specific to CA.

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Midlatitude grassland

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the major biome most modified by human activity; so named because of the predominance of grasslike plants, although deciduous broadleafs appear along streams & other limited sites; location of the world’s breadbaskets of grain & livestock production.

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Desert biomes

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an arid landscape of uniquely adapted dry climate plants & animals.

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Warm desert & semidesert

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desert biome cause by the presence of subtropical high-pressure cells; characterized by dry air and low precipitation.

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Cold desert & semidesert

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a type of desert biome found in higher latitudes than warm deserts. Interior locations and rain shadow locations produce these cold deserts in North America.

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Tundra

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a vast, flat, treeless Arctic region of Europe, Asia, and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen.

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Arctic tundra

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found in the extreme northern area of North America & Russia, bordering in the Arctic Ocean.

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Alpine tundra

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tundra conditions as high elevation.

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Island biogeography

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special places for study because of their spatial isolation& the relatively small number of species present. Islands resembles natural experiments because the impact of individual factors, such as civilization, can be more easily assessed on islands then over larger continental areas.