BIO 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 26: Temperate Deciduous Forest, Polar Desert, Permafrost
28 Jun 2015
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Document Summary
Ecological convergence: many organisms have convergent traits (similar, but not homologous, example: euphorbia ammok looks like a cactus, but is not a cactus. Very distantly related to cactuses (evolved separately: cactuses only grow in south american deserts, euphorbia grows in africa. Seven common biomes: tundra, cold and dry, arctic (polar desert, high mountains in lower latitudes, plants grow on permafrost (permanently frozen soil, boreal forest and temperate evergreen forest. Tolerant of wet soil: previously called taiga , long, cold winters, short, hot summers, no permafrost, larger plants, evergreen plants (don"t have to wait for warm weather to flourish, temperate deciduous forest. Much of plant biomass is underground: extensive root systems. Can regrow after damage: hot desert, least amount of precipitation. Low growing shrubs in the spring: tropical evergreen forest, warm and wet, abundant flora, highest concentration of nutrients tied up in trees. Soil is nutritionally poor: epiphytes: plants with no true roots.
