10/15/13
1
Climate and Terrestrial Biodiversity
Chapter 7
Core Case Study: Connections between Wind, Climate, and Biomes
§ Wind • Indirect form of solar energy
§ Circulates • Heat • Moisture • Plant nutrients • Soil particles • Long-lived air pollutants
Dust Blown from West Africa to the Amazonian Rain Forests
10/15/13
2
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.
Flow of Energy to and from the Earth
The Earth Has Many Different Climates (1)
§ Weather = local short-term atmospheric conditions (e.g., temp., humidity, wind…)
§ Climate = general long-term(decades to
centuries) patterns of weather/atmospheric conditions
§ 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
10/15/13
3
Fig. 7-3, p. 142
Cold deserts 60°N
Air cools and descends at lower latitudes.
Westerlies Forests Northeast trades Hot deserts
30°N
Warm air rises and moves toward the poles.
Equator Forests 0° Solar energy
Air cools and descends at lower latitudes.
The highest solar energy input is at the equator.
Southeast trades Hot deserts 30°S
Westerlies Forests
Cold deserts 60°S
Global Air Circulation
Animation: Seasonal variation
The Earth Has Many Different Climates (2)
§ Ocean Currents & Atmosphere Relationship… • Prevailing winds • Earth’s rotation • Redistribution of heat from the sun
§ Link between air circulation, ocean currents, and biomes (Fig. 7-2)
10/15/13
4
Natural Capital: Generalized Map of the Earth’s Current Climate Zones
Active Figure: Climate and ocean currents map
Animation: Upwelling along western coasts
10/15/13
5
Animation: El Nino Southern Oscillation
Greenhouse Gases Warm the Lower Atmosphere
§ Greenhouse gases contribute to climate… • H2O • CO2
• CH4
• N2O
§ Greenhouse effect
§ Human-enhanced global warming
Animation: Greenhouse effect
10/15/13
6
Animation: Increasing greenhouse gases
The Earth’s Surface Features Affect Local Climates
§ Heat absorption by land and water (thermal inertia)
§ Effect of • Mountains
• Rain shadow effect • Cities
• Microclimates
Animation: Coastal breezes
10/15/13
7
Fig. 7-7, p. 145
Prevailing winds pick up moisture from an ocean.
On the windward side of a mountain range, air rises, cools, and releases moisture.
On the leeward side of the mountain range, air descends, warms, and releases little moisture.
Rain Shadow Effect
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.
Climate Affects Where Organisms Can Live
§ Major biomes (Fig. 7-8)
§ Latitude and elevation (Fig. 7-9) § Annual precipitation (Fig. 7-10)
§ Temperature (Fig. 7-10)
10/15/13
8
The Earth’s Major Biomes
Generalized Effects of Elevation and Latitude on Climate and Biomes
Fig. 7-10, p. 147
Cold Polar
Tundra Subpolar
Temperate Coniferous forest
Desert
Deciduous forest
Grassland Chaparral Tropical
Hot
Desert Wet Rain forest Savanna
Tropical seasonal
forest
Dry
Scrubland
Temperature & Precipitation
10/15/13
9
There Are Three Major Types of Deserts
§ Tropical deserts
§ Temperate deserts
§ Cold deserts
§ Fragile ecosystem • Slow plant growth • Low species diversity • Slow nutrient recycling • Lack of water
Fig. 7-11, p. 149 Stepped Art
There Are Three Major Types of Grasslands (1)
§ Tropical
§ Temperate
§ Cold (arctic tundra)
10/15/13
10
There Are Three Major Types of Grasslands (2)
§ Tropical • Savanna
• Grazing animals • Browsing animals
§ Temperate • Tall-grass prairies • Short-grass prairies
There Are Three Major Types of Grasslands (3)
§ Arctic tundra: fragile biome
§ Adaptations of plants and animals
§ Permafrost
§ Alpine tundra
Fig. 7-12, p. 151 Stepped Art
10/15/13
11
Video: Caribou on tundra
Arctic Tundra Grazers: Moose and Caribou near Nome, Alaska
Monoculture Crop Replacing Biologically Diverse Temperate Grassland
10/15/13
12
Temperate Shrubland: Nice Climate, Risky Place to Live
§ Chaparral
§ Near the sea: nice climate
§ Prone to fires in the dry season
Chaparral Vegetation in Utah, U.S.
There Are Three Major Types of Forests (1)
§ Tropical
§ Temperate
§ Cold • Northern coniferous and boreal
10/15/13
13
There Are Three Major Types of Forests (2)
§ Tropical rain forests • Temperature and moisture • Stratification of specialized plant and animal
niches • Little wind: significance • Rapid recycling of scarce soil nutrients • Impact of human activities
There Are Three Major Types of Forests (3)
§ Temperate deciduous forests • Temperature and moisture • Broad-leaf trees • Slow rate of decomposition: significance • Impact of human activities
There Are Three Major Types of Forests (4)
§ Evergreen coniferous forests: boreal and taigas • Temperature and moisture • Few species of cone: bearing trees • Slow decomposition: significance
§ Coastal coniferous forest
§ Temperate rain forests
10/15/13
14
Climate Graphs of Tropical, Temperate, and Cold Forests
Fig. 7-16, p. 155
Blue and gold macaw
Harpy eagle
Ocelot
Squirrel monkeys
Climbing monstera palm
Katydid Slaty-tailed trogon
Green tree snake
Tree frog
Ants
Bacteria Bromeliad Fungi
Producer to primary consumer
Primary to secondary consumer
Secondary to higher-level consumer
All producers and consumers to decomposers
Tropical Rain Forest
Fig. 7-17, p. 156
45 Harpy eagle
Emergent layer
40
35 Toco toucan
30 Canopy
25
Hei
ght (
met
ers)
20 Wooly
opossum Under story
15
10
Brazilian tapir
Shrub layer 5
Black-crowned antpitta
Ground layer 0
Stratification of Plant and Animal Niches
10/15/13
15
Temperate Rain Forest in Washington State, U.S.
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
Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State, U.S.
10/15/13
16
Active Figure: Rainforest food web
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.
Fig. 7-20, p. 158
NATURAL CAPITAL DEGRADATION
Major Human Impacts on Terrestrial Ecosystems Deserts Grasslands Forests Mountains
Large desert cities Conversion to cropland
Clearing for agriculture, livestock grazing, timber, and urban development
Agriculture
Soil destruction by off-road vehicles
Timber extraction Release of CO2 to atmosphere from burning grassland Conversion of
diverse forests to tree plantations
Hydroelectric dams and reservoirs
Mineral extraction
Soil salinization from irrigation Increasing tourism
Overgrazing by livestock Depletion of
groundwater Damage from off-road vehicles
Urban air pollution Increased ultraviolet radiation from ozone depletion Land disturbance
and pollution from mineral extraction
Oil production and off-road vehicles in arctic tundra
Pollution of forest streams
Soil damage from off-road vehicles