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Chapter 11: Terrestrial Flora and Fauna

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90% are invertebrates (Insects, spiders etc) ... Mid lat grass lands, Mid lat deciduous forest (Cfa, Cwa, Dfa,Dfb, Dwa,Dwa, Dwb ) ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Chapter 11: Terrestrial Flora and Fauna


1
Chapter 11 Terrestrial Flora and Fauna
  • Quick Review of the Previous Session
  • Natural Distribution
  • Terrestrial Flora
  • Terrestrial Fauna
  • The major Biomes
  • Human Modifications of Natural Disturbance Pattern

2
Quick Review
  • What is photosynthesis? What is Net primary
    production?
  • What do you understand by Ecosystems, Food Chain
    and food web? How are they related ?
  • Let us identify some Bio-geochemical Cycles
    Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, Hydrologic
    cycle
  • What Biomes and Ecotones?

3
What is photosynthesis? What is Net Primary
Production?
Net Photosynthesis Total Produced Used in
Respiration
Net Primary Productivity Net photo synthesis/
year/ unit area
4
Quick Review
  • What do you understand by Ecosystems, Food Chain
    and food web? How are they related
  • Ecosystem Includes all biotic and abiotic
    processes in biosphere that can be applied at
    different scales (includes environmental
    Interactions)
  • Food Chain and food Web Show graphical
    representation of flow of energy from one
    organism to another. Food web consists of
    multiple food chains.
  • Food Pyramid An approach of representing links
    as a part of the food chain as primary consumers,
    secondary consumers and so on

5
Food Chain
Figure 10-8
6
Food Pyramid
Figure 10-9
7
Quick Review
  • Let us identify Bio-geochemical Cycles Carbon,
    Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, Hydrologic cycle

8
Which cycle is this? What are sources and sinks?
9
The Oxygen Cycle
Figure 10-6
10
Which cycle is this? What are sources and sinks?
11
Quick Review
  • What Biomes and Ecotones?

A biome is a large area on the Earth's surface
that is defined by the types of plants and
animals living there. A biome can be partially
defined by the local climate patterns. The
transition between two biomes is an Ecotone
12
Terrestrial Flora and Fauna
  • Why are we interested in Flora and Fauna in
    geography
  • 1. Terrestrial flora and fauna is the most
    significant visual component of the landscape
  • 2.   Flora and fauna is sensitive indicator of
    environmental attributes
  • 3.   Flora and fauna influences human settlement
    and activities

13
1. Natural Distributions
  • Natural distribution of species or group of
    organisms depends on four conditions
  • 1. Evolutionary Development
  • 2. Migration and dispersal
  • 3. Reproductive success
  • 4. Extinctions

14
1. Natural Distributions
  • Evolutionary Development
  • According to Darwins theory of natural
    selection, there is a normal process of descent,
    with modifications from parents
  • Long slow endless process
  • May be localized or in several localities
  • Acacia in every continent but Eucalyptus in
    Australia

15
Natural Distributions
  • Migration/Dispersal
  • 1.   Animals possess active mechanism for
    locomotion
  • 2.   Plants engage in passive migration,
    particularly dispersal of seed by
  • wind
  • water
  •   animals

16
Migration/Dispersal
Example Coconut Palm
Figure 11-4
17
Natural Distributions
  • Reproductive Success
  • causes of poor reproductive success
  • heavy predation
  • climatic change
  • food supply failure

18
Reproductive Success
Figure 11-5
19
Natural Distributions
  • Extinction
  • 1.   Plant succession one type of vegetation is
    replaced naturally by another
  • 2.   Extinction permanent dying out of an entire
    species
  • a.   ½ billion species have become extinct
    throughout time

20
Natural Distributions
  • What do you think is the impact of human being on
    natural distributions?
  • Biodiversity Hotspots Threatened, Rare and
    Extinct
  • http//www.livescience.com/environment/060411_glob
    al_warming.html
  • Role of climate change and global warming
  • Think about the role of conservation and
    stewardship

21
2. Terrestrial Flora
  • Common characteristics
  • Most very hardy
  • Common characteristics Roots, stems, leaves and
    reproductive organs
  • Perennials Plants that endure seasonal
    climatic fluctuations from year to year
  • Annuals Plants that perish during times of
    climatic stress (such as winter) but leave behind
    a reservoir of seeds to germinate during the next
    favorable period

22
Terrestrial Flora
  • Environmental Adaptations
  • Main adaptations against environmental stress
  • Xerophytic Adaptations withstand dry conditions.
    Roots, stems and leaves modified
  • Hygrophytic Adaptations
  • hydrophytes permanently immersed in water
    (water lily),  
  • hygrophytes (ferns, moss, rushes)
  • Reproductive adaptation plants lie dormant for
    years 
  • Competition determines which plants can grow where

23
Environmental Adaptations
Xerophytes
Figure 11-7
24
Environmental AdaptationsHygrophytes
http//blogs.nature.com/news/blog/reports_from_the
_field/everest_expedition/
Figure 11-8
25
Terrestrial Flora
  • Floristic Terminology
  • A.   Floristic Terminology
  • 1. bryophytes plants that reproduce through
    spores mosses, and liverworts
  • 2. pteridophytes ferns, horsetails, club
    mosses
  • 3. plants that reproduce through seeds
  • a.   gymnosperms/conifers (naked seeds)
  • b.    angiosperms (vessel seeds)  flowering plants

26
Terrestrial Flora
  • By trunk composition
  • Woody plants
  • Herbaceous
  • By structure
  • hardwood
  • softwood
  • By leaf shape
  • broadleaf trees
  • needleleaf trees
  • By leaf retention
  • evergreen tree
  • deciduous tree

27
Floristic Terminology
Figure 11-9
28
Terrestrial Flora
  • Spatial groupings
  • Climax vegetation a stable plant succession of
    relatively constant composition
  • seral associations stages leading up to climax
    vegetation
  • Spatial groupings are approximations
  • Always remember that the role of human being
    influences the natural processes

29
Spatial Groupings of Plants
  • Vegetation Associations
  • Forest ( trees growing closely)
  • Woodland ( trees spaced widely)
  • Shrubland ( dominated by short woody plants)
  • Grassland (grasses and forbs)
  • Desert ( climate rather than association)
  • Tundra ( low growing plants in cold regions)
  • Wetland areas that may have shallow or standing
    water

30
Vegetation Associations
Figure 11-10
31
Vertical Zonation
Figure 11-13
32
Local Conditions Sunlight
Figure 11-16
33
3. Terrestrial Fauna
  • Less conspicuous than vegetation so relatively
    difficult to study than vegetation
  • Two main characteristics
  • Mobility
  • Depend on plants or other animals
  • 90 are invertebrates (Insects, spiders etc)
  • Vertebrates Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds,
    mammals

34
Environmental AdaptationsPhysiological, Behavior
and reproductive
Figures 11-18(a) and (b)
35
Environmental AdaptationsCompetition (
direct/Indirect)Competition for food or water
Competition for territorySocial groupings
Herds or flocks or colonies
36
Cooperation Symbiosis Two dissimilar animals
may live togetherMutualism, Commensalism and
Parasitism
Figure 11-20
37
Zoogeographic Regions
Figure 11-25
Function of higher latitude Less diverse
Transitional between Paleartic Neoarctic
Birds reptiles snakes
Most diverse Mammals/ vertebrates
Diverse endemic mammals
Primitive Primates
Unique
38
4. Major Biomes
  • 11 major biomes
  • Tropical rain forest, Tropical deciduous forest,
    Tropical scrub and tropical savanna (Af, Am, Aw)
  • Desert (BW/BS)
  • Mediterranean Woodlots and scrub (Csa, Csb)
  • Mid lat grass lands, Mid lat deciduous forest
    (Cfa, Cwa, Dfa,Dfb, Dwa,Dwa, Dwb )
  • Boreal forest (Dfc, Dwd, Dwc, Dwd)
  • Tundra (ET)
  • Mountains and icecaps (EF)

39
Major World Biomes
Figure 11-27
40
Tropical Rain Forest Removal
Figure 11-C
41
Central American Deforestation
Figure 11-B
42
Midlatitude Grassland
Figure 11-43
43
Midlatitude Deciduous Forest
Figure 11-46
44
Boreal Forest
Figure 11-48
45
5. Human Modification of Natural Distribution
Patterns
  • Removing Organisms
  • Modifying Habitat
  • Introducing Species to New Habitats
  • Conservation and stewardship is the greatest
    responsibility

46
Further readings
  • Multimedia
  • "Alien Invasion" Online News Hour with Jim
    Lehrer. July 1, 2004 report on efforts to combat
    invasion of alien plant and animal species in the
    United States.
  • "Exploring the Canopy Frontier" - National
    Geographic Society lecture by ecologist and
    climber Nalini Nadkarni about her research in the
    rain forest canopy. (11740) (RealPlayer
    required)
  • "Hot Times in Alaska" Scientific American
    Frontiers. This episode investigates the impact
    of climate change on Alaska's ecosystems.
  •  World's Biggest Tiger Preserve - NPR/National
    Geographic Radio Expeditions visits The Hukawng
    Valley in Myanmar where an entire valley nearly
    the size of Vermont is being set aside as a tiger
    reserve.
  • "The Birds of the Boreal" NPR/National
    Geographic Radio Expeditions
  • "The Last American rain forest" - Morning
    Edition (NPR) segment from Oct. 22, 1998 reports
    on the last great temperate rain forest in
    America, Alaska's Tsongass National Forest.
    (836) (RealAudio Required)
  •   Readings
  •  Where Have All the Songbirds Gone? from the
    "Why Files " Web site
  • Grassland Initiative (NASA EOS)
  • "Root Causes of Biodiversity Loss" -  CIESN,
    World Resources Institute.
  • Web Sites
  • Wild World Terrestrial Ecoregions (NGS/WWF) -
    rich resource for information about global
    ecosystems. Organized by biogeographical realm.
  • Biodiversity Hotspots - investigate endangered
    regions at this web site.
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