GEOG 203 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Permafrost, Temperate Climate, Lignin

• School: McGill University
• Department: Geography
• Course: GEOG 203
• Professor: Tim Moore

Document Summary

Lecture 4: topic 2 disturbance and ecological succession part 2. Soils have little organic matter- it is limited to a very thin layer. The organic matter decomposes quickly in the warm, humid climate and nutrient cycling is rapid, as compared to the midlatitude deciduous forest. Most of the nutrients are held in the living plants- the (cid:374)utrie(cid:374)t (cid:272)(cid:455)(cid:272)li(cid:374)g (cid:858)a(cid:272)tio(cid:374)(cid:859) is there. Vegetation structure: tall, closely set trees, crowns form a dense canopy trees support growth of numerous other plants, epiphytes and lianas. The great variety of plant species, in turn, supports a high diversity of animal species. Gap succession is a process by which also the tropical rainforest is maintained. It is also difficult to identify one or a few dominant species. In the rain forest the initial cause of a gap is usually the fall of a senescent (aging) tree.