GEOG 5Gillespie, Thomas2012 FallWeek 1Lecture 3October 4 Announcements- Required readings: Chapters 1 and 6 Outline of Last Lecture I. Discussion of biomes Outline of Today’s Lecture II. Outline of the remaining biomes Today’s LectureEcosystems and Biomes (continued)Mediterranean Scrub:- Where – The Med, Central Chile, South Africa, Southern Australia- CA – Yes - Why - Summer’s are hot and winter’s are wet – this is caused by the cold ocean currents - Fire – Yes, very important part. The plants are adapted to fire – they have seeds that do not open unless heated by a huge fire. Also have resprouting plants – plants, which have roots long underneath the ground, so can grow back after a fire very easily. - Plants – Shrubs (2m tall), small leaves, evergreen, light colored, leaves point upwards, they have a distinctive smell eg) Rosemary- People’s impact – Urbanization, agriculture, wineries - Conservation Status: Bad Plant Adaptations in the Mediterranean Scrub: Region # Species # Species that are EndemicChile 3000 1600South Africa 8000 5000CA 4000 2000 +The Med 25,000 13,000Australia 5000 4000These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.Tropical Rainforests: - Where – Amazon, Congo, South East Asia, North Australia, Madagascar - CA – No - Why – ITCZ (Inter-tropical Convergence Zone) Orographic Precipitation – idea of wet and dry side of mountains - Fire – No, not a part of this biome- Plants – high closed canopy, 50m tall, shallow root system, diversity – in 1 Ha (1 Ha = 100m X 100m) there are 300 trees! Epiphytes (plants that live on top of other plants andlianas (woody vines) - People’s impact – timber and agriculture (tribal and commercial) - Conservation Status – on mainland the conservation is realtively bad, however on islandsit is extremely bad as they are closed systems and cannot regrow so easily. Tropical Dry Forest: - Where – Mexico, Central Asia, South Asia, India - CA – no - Why – ITCZ, this creates the seasonality. Orographic Precipitation – this biome occurs on the dry sides of the mountains, creating a dry climate with little precipitation- Fire – Not an important part of this biome- Plants – Short structure, trees are a third of the size of those in tropical rainforests, no epiphytes. Trees are deciduous- People’s impact: great place to live so highly populated, agriculture, use of the trees to create fires - Conservation Status - Ugly Tropical Savanna: - Where – Brazil, Venezuela, Africa, Australia, India - CA – N0 - Why – Rainfall is only 50-100cm per year - Fire – yes very important- Plants – grasses. These grasses are annual meaning they follow a cycle of grow – die – fire – grow etc. Also scattered trees with thick bark - People’s impact – agriculture and cattle grazing- Conservation Status – bad Desert: - Where- Hot Deserts – Mexico, Sahara, AustraliaCold Deserts – Iran, Gobi Desert, South Argentina - CA – yes – Sonoran desert (hot desert), Colorado (hot desert), Great basin (cold desert, Mojave (cold desert)- Why – 50 cm of precipitation per year (or less) - Fire – N0- Plants – Hot deserts: succulents (store water) eg) cactus; spines; annualsCold deserts – non-succulents due to freezing, certain trees eg) Joshua trees.- People’s impact – very limited, maybe some oil - Conservation Status – Very