Can the community concept be applied at global scales

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From Communities to Biomes (GEOG 302, 9 Feb.,
2009)?

• Can the community concept be applied at global
  scales?
• Taxonomy
• Guild
• Physiognomy form and morphological structure of
  vegetation (outward appearance)
• Functional type morphological or physiological
• Nitrogen fixer
• Needle leaf deciduous tree
• Needle leaf coniferous tree

Mammal community (Class) Grazer community (guild)
Plant community (Kingdom) Producers community
(guild)
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From Communities to Biomes
Textbook Fig. 5.11
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From Communities to Biomes
Textbook Fig. 5.26
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Biomes

• Biomes broadly reflect climate

• Deserts
• Tundra (arctic and alpine)
• Boreal forest (aka taiga)
• Temperate forest
• Tropical rainforest
• Temperate grassland (aka prairies,
  steppes, pampas)
• Chaparral

?
Mean annual temperature (C)
Mean annual precipitation (cm)
Textbook Fig. 5.12
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4.1 Controls of Biomes
Biomes
http//www.cdc.noaa.gov/USclimate/states.fast.html
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4.1 Controls of Biomes
Biomes
http//www.cdc.noaa.gov/USclimate/states.fast.html
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4.1 Controls of Biomes
Biomes

• Why do conifers dominate the Pacific Northwest
  but not the Eastern US?
• Temperate Coniferous Forest
  Temperate Deciduous Forest

Photo by L. Brubaker
http//biology.clc.uc.edu/graphics/bio303/e20deci
duous.jpg
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4.1 Controls of Biomes
Biomes
Why do conifers dominate the Pacific Northwest
but not the Eastern US?
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4.1 Controls of Biomes
Biomes
Climate (i.e. summer drought) physiology
Photo by L. Brubaker
Waring, R. H. and J. F. Franklin. 1979. Evergreen
Coniferous Forests of the Pacific Northwest.
Science 2041380-1386.
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4.1 Controls of Biomes
Biomes
Climate variability is equally important as mean
climate.
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Biomes Productivity per unit area
Net primary productivity Rate at which solar
energy is converted to plant tissue, expressed as
mass per unit surface area (e.g., g m-2 yr-1)
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Biomes NPP per unit area
Textbook Fig. 5.29a
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Biomes Surface area per biome
Textbook Fig. 5.30a
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Biomes Total NPP per biome
Textbook Fig. 5.30b
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Ecoregions community to ecosystems

• Ecoregions
• Geographic grouping of landscapes, each comprised
  of a mosaic of ecosystems

Textbook Fig. 5.31a
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Ecoregions community to ecosystems
Textbook Fig. 5.31b
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Ecoregions community to ecosystems
Textbook Fig. 5.32
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Ecoregions community to ecosystems
Textbook Fig. 5.32
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Exam Review

• Format 4 parts,100 points total.
• Part I True or false questions, 20 questions,
  1 point each.
• Part II Multiple choice, 15 questions, 2-
  points each.
• Part III Fill in the blank, 15 questions, 2
  points each.
• Part IV Short answers, 6 questions, 5 points
  each.

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Topics on Exam 1
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True or False

• True or False
• In an ecosystem, energy cycles and nutrients
  flow.
• In a scientific paper, the Results section
  contains a description of and inferences from
  data.
• A community is made up of all organisms in the
  environment and may be defined based on taxonomy.
• The majority of species on Earth has been
  described.
• According to the Equal Importance Hypothesis
  species organize individualistically in a
  community.

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Multiple Choice

• The amount of useable energy in an ecosystem can
  determine
• Species richness
• An organisms ecological niche
• The size distribution of organisms
• None of the above

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Fill in the Blank

• The producer community is an example of a
  community grouped by _______________.

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Write a question from todays lecture

• What is one key point from the material thus far?
• write question
• write short answer
• If you write a good question, it will be used on
  the exam