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Climate and Terrestrial Biodiversity : Chapter 7

Climate and Terrestrial Biodiversity : Chapter 7. Let’s dance. Stand up. Your face is earth. I am the sun. Where is your north pole? Your forehead is North America. Where is New York? California? (Help each other) Where does the sun rise? Set? Now rotate. How long does this take?

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Climate and Terrestrial Biodiversity : Chapter 7

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  1. Climate and TerrestrialBiodiversity:Chapter 7

  2. Let’s dance. • Stand up. Your face is earth. I am the sun. • Where is your north pole? • Your forehead is North America. Where is New York? California? (Help each other) • Where does the sun rise? Set? Now rotate. How long does this take? • The earth is tilted. How much? Where is the north star for you? • Why do we have summer? Winter? • Now revolve but don’t rotate. How long does this take?

  3. Core Case Study: Connections b/t Wind, Climate, and Biomes • Wind • Driven by solar energy • Circulates • Heat • Moisture • Plant nutrients • Soil particles • Long-lived air pollutants

  4. Dust Blown from West Africa to the Amazonian Rain Forests Video!

  5. 7-1 What Factors Influence Climate? • Concept 7-1 An area's climate is determined mostly by • solar radiation, • the earth’s rotation, • global patterns of air and water movement, • gases in the atmosphere, • and the earth’s surface features.

  6. The Earth Has Many Different Climates • Weather – short term • Climate – long term pattern • Air circulation in lower atmosphere due to • Uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun • Rotation of the earth on its axis • Properties of air, water, and land

  7. The Earth Has Many Different Climates • Currents • Prevailing winds • Earth’s rotation • Redistribution of heat from the sun • Link between air circulation, ocean currents, and biomes

  8. Ocean currents video • http://www.montereyinstitute.org/noaa/lesson08.html

  9. Natural Capital: Generalized Map of the Earth’s Current Climate Zones

  10. Connected Deep and Shallow Ocean Currents

  11. El Niño, La Niña • http://esminfo.prenhall.com/science/geoanimations/animations/26_NinoNina.html

  12. Global Air Circulation – prevailing winds

  13. Energy Transfer by Convection in the Atmosphere

  14. Global Air Circulation, Ocean Currents, and Biomes

  15. Greenhouse Gases Warm the Lower Atmosphere • Greenhouse gases • H2O • CO2 * • CH4 * • N2O * • Greenhouse effect – good and bad • *Human-enhanced global warming

  16. Flow of Energy to and from the Earth

  17. The Earth’s Surface Features Affect Local Climates • Heat absorption by land and water • Effect of • Mountains • Rain shadow effect – windward (wet), leeward (dry) • Cities • Microclimates

  18. Rain Shadow Effect

  19. 7-2 How Does Climate Affect the Nature and Locations of Biomes? • Concept 7-2 Differences in average annual precipitation and temperature lead to the formation of tropical, temperate, and cold deserts, grasslands, and forests, and largely determine their locations.

  20. Climate Affects Where Organisms Can Live • Major biomes – regions with similar climate, soil, plants, animals • Latitude and elevation • Climates can be categorized by • Annual precipitation • Temperature

  21. The Earth’s Major Biomes

  22. Generalized Effects of Elevation and Latitude on Climate and Biomes

  23. St. Mary Lake, Glacier NP, Montana No plants can grow here. Tundra, lichens, mosses Coniferous forest Photo: L. Kern, 2012

  24. Another view at Glacier Photo: L. Kern, 2012

  25. Going-to-the-sun Road, Logan Pass July 4th, 2012 Photo: L. Kern, 2012

  26. Going-to-the-sun road Purple/gray patches are areas where pines were all killed in a forest fire, 2006. Photo: L. Kern, 2012

  27. In summer, the snowmelt makes hundreds of waterfalls. Photo: L. Kern, 2012

  28. Close-up of the previous pic. Photo: L. Kern, 2012

  29. Natural Capital: Average Precipitation and Average Temperature as Limiting Factors

  30. Science Focus: Staying Alive in the Desert • Plant adaptations • Either drop leaves (mesquite, creosote) when dry or no leaves (succulents), leaves are waxy • Deep tap roots or shallow widespread roots • Large seeds that can lie dormant for long periods • Animal strategies and adaptations • Small size, nocturnal, get water from breaking down fats, thick skins, excrete dry wastes

  31. There Are Three Major Types of Deserts • Tropical, Temperate, Cold deserts • Fragile ecosystem • Slow plant growth • Low species diversity • Slow nutrient recycling • Lack of water

  32. Wind blown dust storms in Saraha - increased 10x since 1950 due to • Overgrazing • Drought due to • Climate change • Human overuse of water • SUV connection: 4x4s driving over surface, allowing it to crumble and be picked up by winds.

  33. Climate Graphs of Three Types of Deserts

  34. There Are Three Major Types of Grasslands • Tropical • Savanna • Grazing animals – eat grasses • Browsing animals – eat twigs and leaves • Temperate • Tall-grass prairies (up to 88cm/yr) • Short-grass prairies (25 cm/yr)

  35. Grasslands – why no trees • Fires are common in grasslands • Fires and winds hinder tree growth • Many of these areas are degraded by overgrazing

  36. There Are Three Major Types of Grasslands • Arctic tundra: fragile biome • Adaptations of plants and animals • Permafrost – layer in soil where water stays frozen 2+ years! • Permafrost doesn’t allow water to permeate soil – lakes and ponds • Alpine tundra

  37. Climate Graphs of Tropical, Temperate, and Cold Grasslands

  38. Temperate Shrubland: Nice Climate, Risky Place to Live • Chaparral, temp shrubland • Near the sea: nice climate • Prone to fires in the dry season • Fire resistant roots • Seeds sprout with fire • Thin soil, not very fertile

  39. Chaparral Vegetation in Utah, U.S.

  40. There Are Three Major Types of Forests • Tropical • Temperate • Cold • Northern coniferous and boreal forest / taiga

  41. There Are Three Major Types of Forests • Tropical rain forests • Broadleaf, evergreen trees • Temperature and moisture • Stratification of specialized plant and animal niches • Little wind: significance – seed dispersal • Rapid recycling of scarce soil nutrients • Impact of human activities

  42. There Are Three Major Types of Forests • Temperate deciduous forests • Temperature and moisture • Broad-leaf, deciduous trees • Slow rate of decomposition: significance • Impact of human activities – most disturbed

  43. There Are Three Major Types of Forests • Evergreen coniferous forests: boreal and taigas • Temperature and moisture • Few species of cone: bearing trees • Slow decomposition: significance • Coastal coniferous forest • Temperate rain forests

  44. Climate Graphs of Tropical, Temperate, and Cold Forests

  45. Some Components and Interactions in a Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystem

  46. Stratification of Specialized Plant and Animal Niches in a Tropical Rain Forest

  47. Mountains Play Important Ecological Roles • Majority of the world’s forests • Habitats for endemic species • Help regulate the earth’s climate • Can affect sea levels • Major storehouses of water • Role in hydrologic cycle (see slide #28 again)

  48. 7-3 How Have We Affected the Word’s Terrestrial Ecosystems? • Concept 7-3 In many areas, human activities are impairing ecological and economic services provided by the earth’s deserts, grasslands, forests, and mountains.

  49. Humans Have Disturbed Most of the Earth’s Lands • Deserts • Grasslands • Forests • Mountains

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