GEOG 106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 28: Urban Heat Island, Karl Agathon, Aquatic Plant
Document Summary
Ecological principles remain the same as in non urban habitats. To survive and prosper organisms need sustainable levels of water, nutrients (food), light, warmth, space. Each organism has a range of tolerance for these factors and does best where there is an optimum set of conditions. Organisms also affect their environment by using resources and interacting with other organisms. The disadvantages of being a tree in a city is the roots overgrowing and pushing the street up (breaking concrete). Climatic stresses depend on clustering and water use differs by tree density. Effects: warmer temperatures (urban heat island) and drier air. Impacts on vegetation: longer growing season, advantageous for species that prefer warm and dry habitats, frost damage is less a limitation, disadvantageous for species that depend on high humidity. species (e. g. lichen). Example: the timing of plant flowering depends greatly on the microclimate. Impacts on vegetation: preferential growth of resistant species, disadvantage for sensitive.
