Ecology Vocab
When two or more species work together for shared interests
The term for the era when New England colonists raised millions of tons of wool for the global market
What is "Sheep Fever"
The toppling of trees in very strong winds
what is "blowdown"
The type of fungi that creates extensive networks of nutrient exhange underneath the soil
what is "mycelium"
This little critter is responsible for creating many of the mutliple-trunked Pine trees we see the the forest today.
what is the "White Pine Weevil"
The total amount of living and dead organic matter in an ecosystem
What is "biomass"
The tribes of New England and eastern Canada that shared the same linguistic heritage
What is the "Algonquin Nation"
The major hurricane that altered New England forests as we see them today occured in
Trees can survive even if they are cut down at the base so long as they have __________ to a neighboring tree.
The pre-Nepoleonic Portuguese fiercely protected their monopoly on this breed of sheep
what is "merino"
A plant with very specific requirements for moisture, temperature, or nutrients
What is an "eco-indicator"
The colonists altered the landscape to serve as either cultivated land (crops), grazing land (pasture), or ______.
what are "fields for cutting hay"
Overgrazing by sheep and other livestock would inevitably cause topsoil loss and ________.
Archeologists have proven that Native Americans had complex systems of using fire to manage forest composition through the discovery of ___________ deposits.
What is "charcoal"
When there is a noticeable difference in the age of trees in a forest we call that an__________.
what is an "Age discontinuity"
An area that shares the same climate and supports the same mix of vegetation
The Natives used ___________ techniques to clear underbrush and encourage wide open hunting and transportation lanes between old-growth hardwoods like oak and chestnut.
what is "controlled burning"
Large-scale ecological forest disturbance has most often caused by humans, extreme weather events, or _________.
Small stones will continuously rise to the surface of New England soils, but only when the land is __________.
what is "cultivated, tilled, or plowed"
When standing on a "pillow", you can tell the direction of the high wind event that tool place by looking in this direction.
What is "looking over the cradle"
An interrelationship between individuals of different species where one individual benefits while the others are unaffected by the interaction
what is "commensalism"
The advent of the railroad system and Erie Canal forced New England farms to switch from sheep to ______ .
what is "dairy cattle"
A large-scale forest fire might be caused by a lightning strike on a tree that is growing on a slope and has a _______ at its base.
The chunky, sandy soils left behind in New England from the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet are refered to as ______.
What is "Glacial Till"
Species such as Oriental Bittersweet have an excellent advantage in New England forests because our trees have not had time to __________ with it.
Logging was a major form of industry in Central New England, and was impacted dramatically by the loss of this species of hardwood, which made up nearly half of some local woodlots
What is American Chestnut
The order of events that take place after a large-scale forest disturbance is called________.
What is "succession"
Despite the effects of Chestnut fungal blight, many Chestnuts continue to thrive underground and send their ________ up every year in an attempt to grow.
what are "shoots"
This type of plant avoids being eaten by browsing animals such as deer and rabbits by growing close to the ground.
What are "basal rosettes"
These years produce a bumper crop of seed for a particular tree species, which can tell us a lot about the age of a forest.
What are "mast years"
The population of Native Americans in New England went from hundreds of thousands to a few thousand in the course of decades, mainly because of these two viral pathogens
What are "smallpox and chickenpox"
The invention of this made building stone walls for pastures too tedious and unnecessary
What is "barbed wire"
The big boulders we find in random places across New England are called
what are "Glacial Erratics"
Evidence of an old logging road would be the discovery opposing "_______".
what are "basal scars"