living in the environment 17 th miller/spoolman chapter 7 climate and biodiversity
TRANSCRIPT
Different Climates Support Different Life Forms
• Climate – decade/century long temperature and precipitation patterns – determines which plants and animals can live where
• Tropical: equator, intense sunlight
• Polar: poles, little sunlight
• Temperate: in-betweentropical and polar
Three Major Climate Zones
Fig. 7-1, p. 147
Tropical
Polar
Temperate
Weather Vs. Climate• Weather • Temperature, precipitation, wind speed, cloud cover• Timeframe: Hours to days
• Climate• Area’s general pattern of atmospheric conditions over
decades and longer• Timeframe: Decades to centuries
Fig. 7-2, p. 149
Natural Capital: Generalized Map of the Earth’s Current Climate Zones
Major Drivers of Climate• Wind Patterns (air circulation in lower atmosphere)
• Due to:1. Uneven heating of the earth’s surface by sun2. Earth’s rotation3. Heat absorbing properties of air, water, and land
• Ocean currents • Due to:1. Prevailing winds 2. Earth’s rotation 3. Ocean temperature4. Ocean salinity
Fig. 7-3, p. 149
Global Air Circulation
Fig. 7-4, p. 150
Energy Transfer by Convection in the Atmosphere
Fig. 7-5, p. 150
Connected Deep and Shallow Ocean Currents
Major Driver of Climate• Greenhouse gases• H2O
• CO2
• CH4
• N2O
• Natural greenhouse effect• Gases keep earth habitable
• Human-enhanced global warming
Local Climates or Micro-Climates
• Uneven heat absorption by land and water• Land and sea breezes
• Elevation• Rain shadow effect• Most precipitation falls on the windward side of
mountain ranges• Deserts leeward
• Cities create microclimates
Fig. 7-8, p. 153
Generalized Effects of Elevation and Latitude on Climate and Biomes
Fig. 7-6, p. 152
Rain Shadow Effect
Climate Helps Create Biomes
• Major biomes: large land regions with certain types of climate and dominant plant life
• Created by/Controlled by• Latitude and elevation• Annual precipitation• Temperature
Fig. 7-7, p. 153
The Earth’s Major Biomes
Figure 3, Supplement 8
North America Biomes
Figure 6, Supplement 8
Global Plant Biodiversity
There Are Three Major Types of Deserts
1. Tropical deserts
2. Temperate deserts
3. Cold deserts
• All 3: Fragile ecosystem• Slow plant growth• Low species diversity• Slow nutrient recycling• Lack of water
Fig. 7-10, p. 155
Climate Graphs of Three Types of Deserts
Fig. 7-A, p. 156
Wildflowers Bloom after Rain in Arizona
There Are Three Major Types of Grasslands
1. Tropical• Savanna: Mostly grassland with scattered trees• Wet and Dry seasons
1. Temperate• Cold winters and hot and dry summers• Grass prairies• Often converted to farmland
There Are Three Major Types of Grasslands
3. Cold (arctic tundra)• Plants close to ground to conserve heat• Most growth in short summer• Permafrost: Underground soil that stays frozen
Fig. 7-11, p. 157
Climate Graphs of Tropical, Temperate, and Cold Grasslands
Fig. 7-12, p. 158
Monoculture Crop Replacing Biologically Diverse Temperate Grassland
Temperate Shrubland: Nice Climate, Risky Place to Live
• Chaparral
• Near the sea: nice climate
• Prone to fires in the dry season
There Are Three Major Types of Forests
1. Tropical• High temperature and precipitation• Very High Species Diversity• Rapid recycling of scarce soil nutrients• Rapidly impacted by human activities
2. Temperate• Diversity of broad-leaf, deciduous trees• Moderate Rainfall
There Are Three Major Types of Forests
3. Cold• Evergreen coniferous forests: boreal or taigas• Cold and drier climate• Low cone bearing tree diversity
• Other types of forests:• Coastal coniferous forest (on both North American
coasts)• Temperate rain forests (Oregon)
Fig. 7-13, p. 160
Climate Graphs of Tropical, Temperate, and Cold Forests
Fig. 7-16, p. 163
Temperate Rain Forest in Washington State
Mountains Play Important Ecological Roles
• Majority of the world’s forests
• Islands of biodiversity
• Habitats for endemic species
• Help regulate the earth’s climate
• Major storehouses of water (snowpack and glaciers)• Role in hydrologic cycle
Fig. 7-17, p. 163
Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State
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.
Common Human Impacts to Biomes• Deserts• Large desert cities• Destruction of soil and underground habitat by
off-road vehicles• Soil salinization from irrigation• Depletion of groundwater• Land disturbance and pollution from mineral
extraction
Common Human Impacts to Biomes• Grasslands• Conversion to cropland• Release of CO2 to atmosphere from burning
grassland• Overgrazing by livestock• Oil production and off-road vehicles in arctic
tundra
Common Human Impacts to Biomes• Forests• Clearing for agriculture, livestock grazing, timber,
and urban development• Conversion of diverse forests to tree plantations• Pollution of forest streams
Common Human Impacts to Biomes• Mountains• Timber and mineral extraction• Hydroelectric dams and reservoirs• Air pollution blowing in from urban areas and
power plants• Water supplies threatened by glacial melting• Increasing tourism
Three Big Ideas
1. Differences in climate, based mostly on long-term differences in average temperature and precipitation, largely determine the types and locations of the earth’s deserts, grasslands, and forests.
2. The earth’s terrestrial systems provide important ecological and economic services.
Three Big Ideas
3. Human activities are degrading and disrupting many of the ecological and economic services provided by the earth’s terrestrial ecosystems.