GEOG 339 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Evolutionary Arms Race, Spider Web, Species Ii
Document Summary
Chapter 2, the rain forest is neither fragile nor stable main argument: no one knows all the details, and all is not yet understood, but what is known with some certainty can be explained easily. Ecosystems are thought to be fragile and easily damaged by the careless hand of man, but also considered stable organisms, honed by evolution to be harmonious - conflicting notions. But both the fragility and stability of rain forests are attributed to their characteristic high biodiversity. Chapter 3, farming on rain forest soils main argument: perspective that logger"s chain saw causes rain forest destruction is incomplete. Rainforest soils are usually acidic, contain a type of clay that cannot exchange nutrients well, and are very low in organic matter. Even if nutrients were added, would be washed out because of low storage capacity. Vast majority of nutrients in ecosystem are stored in plant material rather than in soil. Contain pests in form of insects, diseases, and weeds.
