Biology 2483A Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Temperate Deciduous Forest, Intertropical Convergence Zone, Succulent Plant

• School: Western University
• Department: Biology
• Course: Biology 2483A
• Professor: Hugh Henry

Document Summary

Lecture 2- the biosphere biosphere =zone of life on earth. Biomes are large-scale biological communities shaped by the physical environment, particularly climate and moisture availability. Biomes are categorized by dominant plant forms, not taxonomic relationships. Plants occupy sites for a long time and are good indicators of the physical environment, reflecting climatic conditions and disturbances. Terrestrial biomes are characterized by growth forms of the dominant plants, such as leaf deciduousness (seasonally shed leaves) or succulence (fleshy tissue-having think heavy leaves or stems that store water). Forbs: herbaceous plants that have a stem but not grass nor woody eg. sunflower or weeds/dandelions. Convergence: evolution of similar growth forms among distantly related species in response to similar selection pressures. Similar growth forms can be found on different continents, even though the plants are not genetically related. Temperature has direct physiological effects on plant growth form. Precipitation and temperature act together to influence water availability and water loss/stress by plants.