Summary GGH1502 STUDY NOTES (COMPLETE SUMMARIZED NOTES)

Summary GGH1502 STUDY NOTES 1.1 Intro - Climate is the characteristic condition of the atmosphere near the earth’s surface at a certain place on earth o Determining factors: air temperature & precipitation o Determines what plants and animals inhabit a region - Three components: Climate, animals and plants are interwoven to create biomes - Biome: a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups that are adapted to a particular environment o Major biomes: desert, forests, grasslands, tundra, aquatic environments o Each biome consists of many ecosystems - Changes in environments cause a ripple effect in other parts 1.3 Classifying the natural world - The natural world can be divided into 4 subsystems: Lithosphere - Earth’s crust and upper part of the mantle - consists of rocks (igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary) soil & sediments - Weathering occurs where the lithosphere is exposed to the atmosphere. This gives rise to the formation of soil Atmosphere - Gaseous layers surrounding the earth - Extends to a height of approx. 480KM above the earth’s surface - divided into 4 part, temperatures change with height: Troposphere, Stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere - Weather occurs in the troposphere (lowest part) - responsible for the distribution of climates Biosphere - the part of the earth where all organisms live hydrosphere - The water at or near the earth’s surface; liquid, solid or gas. - Includes oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, ice, water vapour in atmosphere The interaction of these subsystems are studied. - The atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere function together to create the environment of the biosphere. - Ecology is the study of relationships and interactions between living organisms and between the organisms and their environment. - Ecosphere: the environment and the collection of living organisms that interact with one another and with their non-living environment. - Eight Biomes Tundra - Absence of trees - Vegetation: grasses, herbs, mosses, lichens, small woody plants adapted to shorter growing seasons - Little precipitation, soils are nutrient poor - Cold climate - Shallow soils – permafrost - Animals hibernate or migrate in the colder season - Located north of the Arctic Circle Coniferous forest (boreal forest / taiga) - Winters are cold, summers are longer than tundra - Vegetation: mostly conifers – pine/fir/spruce - Trees are tall, narrow shape and needle leaves - Subject to periodic fires - Burn regeneration cycle is NB for deer’s, bears and insects - Soils are acidic Temperate forest - Trees are deciduous - Almost Exclusively to N. Hemisphere - Tall broad leaf trees - Climate is seasonal with abundant water supply during growing season