Aquatic Ecosystems
True/False: Aquatic ecosystems tend to be more stable than terrestrial ecosystems.
True
Little temperature change throughout the year, soil poor in nutrients, organisms add vertical dimension, occur within 10 degrees latitude of equator
Tropical rainforests
Widespread distribution, annual rainfall 300-1,000 mm, experience periodic droughts, soil nutrient rich and deep, dominated by herbaceous vegetation,
Temperate grassland
Pedogenesis
Development of soils
Define soil
A complex mixture of living and nonliving material upon which most terrestrial life depends
Oceans, reefs, and shorelines are examples of what kind of aquatic system?
Saltwater/marine
Average rainfall 650-3,000 mm, long growing seasons dominated by deciduous plants, short growing season dominated by conifers, 40-50 degrees latitude
Temperate forest
Alternates between we and dry seasons, wildfires, soils have low water permeability, 2-D landscape
Tropical savanna
Thermocline
Change in temperature with respect to depth
Characterize the C horizon of soil
Weathered parent material, rock fragments, lies on bedrock
Deepest of the ocean zones
Hadal zone
Cold and dry with short summers, covers most of arctic circle, low decomposition rates
Tundra
Hot and dry in summer, cool and moist in other seasons, occur on all continents except Australia, soil has moderate fertility, trees and shrubs (mostly evergreen)
Woodland/shrubland
Definition from notes: correlates well with the general distribution patterns of species
Better definition: the overall climate of a region usually a large geographic region
Macroclimate
Characterize the A horizon of soil
Mineral soil, some organic matter, soluble organic matter leached from soil
Which is the second deepest ocean zone
Abyssal zone
Climate more seasonal than tropical rainforest, soil vulnerable to erosion, contains many of the same plant and animal species as tropical rainforests
Tropical dry forest
Confined to northern hemisphere, covers 11% of earth’s land area, thin acidic soil with low fertility, dominated by evergreen conifers
Boreal forest/Taiga
Definition from notes: More important to individuals, patchy among general distribution
Better defintion: climate of a very small or restricted area
Microclimate
Characterize the O horizon of soil
Upper layer: somewhat fragmented organic matter Lower layer: highly fragmented organic matter
What is the first ocean zone
Intertidal zone
30 degrees N and 30 degrees S latitude, soil low in organic matter, water loss exceeds precipitation, occupy 20% of Earth’s land surface, few animals but high biodiversity
Desert
Built by geological processes and thus concentrated in belts of geological activity, “Islands in the Sky”
Mountains
CLORPT
Climate, organism, relief, parental material, time
Characterize the B horizon of soil
Organic matter leached from A horizon deposits here, banding patterns