PBIO 100 Lecture Notes
Undergraduate Program in Plant Biology, University of Maryland
LECTURE 33 - ECOLOGY
I. Important terms
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A. Ecology is a very complex field of study involving the effects of the
environment on living organisms, the effects of living organisms on the
environment, and the effects that living organisms have on one another.
II. Plant community
A plant community consists of different populations of plants living together
in the same geographic area.
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A. Plant communities are usually defined by the dominant species, such as
the white pine forest community. The dominant species are the most influential
species in the community.
B. They control the structure, and to some degree, the species composition
of the community through their effects on the physical and chemical factors
in the community including:
-
1. light (provide shade)
2. wind (wind screen)
3. humidity (higher than in open areas)
4. availability of water and nutrients in the soils
C. Within each plant community may be a variety of plant forms, such as trees,
shrubs, and a plant ground cover.
-
1. a
tree
is a woody plant that generally has a single stem (trunk)
2. a relatively small woody plant typically with several stems arising near
the ground is called a
shrub
3. the
ground
cover may consist grasses or forbs. A forb is any small herbaceous (no
wood) plant that is not a grass. Some or all of the ground may not be covered
by plants. There may be bare ground or sand. In some forest communities,
the ground may be covered by litter, a layer of slightly decomposed organic
matter
III. Ecosystems
Ecosystem-
a community with all its living organisms (biotic) and its nonliving environment
(abiotic).
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A. A plant community exists in a particular habitat created by all the biotic
and abiotic factors. Every plant species has a range of environmental conditions
that it can tolerate. Some plant species can live only in
dry soil and others
in
wet,
some in bright light
and others in shade,
some in hot climates
and others in cold.
The plants that live within a community are able to tolerate the various
environmental factors that make up that community's habitat.
B. Biotic - There are many more organisms that live in a community besides
the plants. The community supports a variety of animals including
mammals,
birds,
reptiles,
amphibians,
and
insects.
C. Abiotic
-
1. climate - Temperate climates with generally moderate temperatures and
significant rainfall, such as that found in the eastern United States, permit
extensive plant growth.
-
a. there are climates that are wetter, as in the
temperate or
tropical
rain forests where plant abundance and species diversity are greater, and
climates that are drier, as in the deserts where plant abundance is lower
b. plants within a community respond to the seasons of the year; in
winter,
deciduous trees have dropped their leaves and are dormant. Some plants bloom
in the spring, whereas
others bloom in
summer or
fall
2. light - The availability of affects plant composition in the communities;
plants requiring strong
sunlight cannot grow in the dark understory of the summer forest; other
plants are uniquely adapted to the
shade.
3. soil - the depth and type of soil dictates what kinds of plants may grow;
the soil provides support, inorganic nutrients, water, and suitable gases
for the root systems.
-
a.
the
plants contribute to the composition of the soil through litter; meaning
the old leaves and stems that have dropped from the trees and accumulated
on the ground surface; these decompose through the action of bacteria and
fungi to produce the organic material in the soil
b. example: the
litter
in pine forests is slightly acidic, so the soils in these communities
are acidic
c. the degree of soil moisture also affects the distribution of plants;
constantly wet soil supports aquatic or
marsh
plant communities;
succulent plants
often dominate areas where the soil is always dry
d. matter - living organisms are composed of matter or inorganic substances
made of atoms.
4. All inorganic substances essential for life tend to move in cycles from
the physical environment to organisms, then back to the environment.
IV. Biosphere
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A. Biosphere-
all of the communities on Earth (i.e., all of Earth's living organisms)
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B.
Ecosphere-
interactions among Earth's biosphere, atmosphere, water, and land
Other Sites of Interest:
Biogeography
in Geography 121, Okanagan University College
Ecosystems
Energy flow
and productivity
Biogeochemical
cycling as an environmental problem
Last revised: September 1, 1998 - Browning