GEOG 203 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Temperate Broadleaf And Mixed Forest, Xerophyte, Shrubland
Document Summary
Questions you should be able to answer by end of lecture 1 & 2: Plants and abiotic factors: temperature and moisture: different species live under a wide variety of conditions. They have different tolerances and different optimum growing conditions. Temperature limits: decreasing temperatures cause a decrease in metabolic rates. Freezing can cause cell damage, particularly if ice crystals form in cells- they would cause physical damage to cell tissues. Cold-tolerant species can expel excess water from cells to spaces between cells, where freezing will do no damage: high temperatures can also cause stress, increased respiration and increased water loss. Higher metabolic rates with physiological, biogeochemical and molecular changes in plant metabolism. Biomes- largest unit of plant organization: a large terrestrial ecosystem classified according to the predominant vegetation type and the adaptation of particular organisms to that particular environment. Presence of a biome is determined by annual precipitation and average annual temperature.
