ENV100Y5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 34: Forest Ecology, Agroforestry, Capillary Action
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ENV100Y5 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
Mature forests are complex ecosystems: provide habitat, maintain soil, air, and water quality, and play key roles in biogeochemical cycles. Trees provide many ecological services: crucial link in nutrient and water cycles, stabilize soil and prevents erosion, slow runoff and lessen flooding, store carbon, release oxygen, moderate climate. Forests are economically valuable: benefits: fuel, shelter, transportation (ships), paper, softwood = timber harvested from coniferous trees, hardwood = timber harvested from deciduous trees, ntfps = non-timber forest products, such as medicinal, herbal, decorative, and edible products. 3 major types of forest biome: boreal forest, tropical rainforest, temperate forest. Other forest types: temperate rain forest, ponderosa pine forest. Forests defined partly on the basis of structure: closed vs. open canopy. Tropical rainforest: canopy: multilayered, continuous; little light penetration. Buttress roots: unlike in other biomes, most mammal herbivores are arboreal in these forests: since most primary production is in canopy, most species are canopy specialists.
