GEOG 5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Anostraca, Phytophthora Ramorum, Santa Monica Mountains
Document Summary
Grasslands 37 million years ago evolved with mammals (megafauna) grasses benefited by large animals walking through the grasslands helping them spread bamboo, sugar cane, corn, wheat, barley- all grases made up civilization. Worldwide: low precipitation, 25 cm to 75cm fire, lightning, humans. North america grasslands: perennial grass adapted to living underground (20% on top, 80% under ground) fire. 1,000 bison left have come back from extinction today- 200,000 native and farm kept bison in the us and canada bison are better than cattle because: 2 - less of an impact (tiny feet, no impact on grass) while cow feet are huge. 3 - disperse a lof wildflowers, cause an increase in diversity. 1/3 endemic (occur no where else in the world) Almost an island because we are the only mediterranean ecosystem around us. Central valley and la dominated by native perennial evergreen bunch grasses and wildflowers. (bunch grass means space between the grasses)
