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Chapter 11: Terrestrial Flora and Fauna

McKnight’s Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation,

Tenth Edition, Hess

Terrestrial Flora and Fauna

• Ecosystems and Biomes• Terrestrial Flora• Terrestrial Fauna• Zoogeographic Regions• The Major Biomes• Human Modification of Natural Distribution

Patterns

2© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Ecosystems and Biomes

• Ecosystem—community of plants and animals living together

• Numerous ecosystem scales• Biomes

– large recognizable assemblage of plants and animals in interaction with environment

– Identified by dominant vegetation, biomass

– Ten major types• Ecotones


Figure 11-1

Terrestrial Flora

• Most significant visual component of landscape• Sensitive indicator to other environmental attributes• Influence on human settlement and activities• Plant characteristics

– Hardy– Perennials– Annuals– Highly variable in size– Common characteristics: roots, stems, branches,

leaves


Terrestrial Flora

• Floristic terminology– Two types, seeds and spores– Spore reproduction

• Bryophytes—mosses and liverworts

• Pteridophytes—ferns, horsetails

– Seed reproduction• Gymnosperms—seeds in cones,

also called conifers• Angiosperms—seeds encased

in protection, all other plant life is of this type


Figure 11-3

Terrestrial Flora

• Floristic terminology (cont.)– Woody plants versus herbaceous plants– Evergreen trees versus deciduous trees– Broadleaf trees versus needleleaf trees– Hardwoods versus softwoods

• Environmental adaptations– Plants have changed their tolerance relative to their

environmental conditions– Two most prominent adaptations involve availability of

water


Terrestrial Flora

• Xerophytic adaptations– Roots modified in shape

and size to seek moisture

– Stems modified as a means to store moisture

– Leaf surface modified to decrease transpiration

– Lie dormant for years until they receive rain, then reproduce rapidly


Figure 11-4

Terrestrial Flora

• Hygrophytic adaptations– Hydrophytes—those that

are completely submersed in water

– Hygrophytes—those which require frequent water soakings

– Extensive root systems– Hygrophytic plants

supported by buoyancy of water instead of stems


Figure 11-6

Terrestrial Flora

• Competition and inevitability of change– Plants are competitive for area– Floristic pattern of Earth’s

surface is impermanent– Eventual pattern of constant

plant composition—climax vegetation

– Seral stages


Figure 11-5

Terrestrial Flora

• Spatial associations of plants– Need generalization to interpret spatial flora patterns– Human effects

• Major floristic associations


Figure 11-7

Terrestrial Flora

• Forests– Trees so close their leaf canopies

overlap– Require significant annual

precipitation– Likely to become climax vegetation

• Woodlands– Trees spaced more widely than

forests, no overlapping canopies– Ground cover not inhibited by lack

of sunlight– Drier than forest environments


Figure 11-8

Terrestrial Flora

• Shrublands– Short, woody plants such as shrubs or bushes– Leafy foliate near ground– Generally restricted to arid locales

• Grasslands– Scattered trees and shrubs– Dominated by grasses and forbs– Prominent types include savanna, prairie, and steppe


Terrestrial Flora

• Deserts (Figure 11-9)– Widely scattered plants with

much bare ground– Great variety of vegetation

• Tundra– Complex mix of low plants

with no trees– Cold climates

• Wetlands– Shallow standing water– Swamps and marshes


Figure 11-9

Terrestrial Flora

• Vertical zonation– Distinct pattern of vegetation

patterns in mountainous areas– Elevation-latitude relationship– Upper treeline

• Local variations– Sunlight exposure

• Adret slope• Ubac slope

– Valley bottom location, riparian vegetation


Figure 11-13

Terrestrial Fauna

• Fauna more widely distributed than flora

• Less prominence in geographic study

• Sometimes fauna more sensitive to the health of an ecosystem

• Animal characteristics– Motile– Need plants and/or animals for

sustenance


Figure 11-15

Terrestrial Fauna

• Environmental adaptations– Evolution impacts– Adaptation to environmental

extremes

• Physiological adaptations– Anatomical and/or metabolic

changes– Example: fox ear size– Fur-bearing mammals

common in high-latitude/elevation

– Other examples

16© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.Figure 11-19

Terrestrial Fauna

• Behavioral adaptations– Change behavior based on

environmental stress– Hibernation and estivation

• Reproductive adaptations– New reproductive cycles to

overcome harsh environmental conditions

• Example of animal adaptations to desert life (Figure 11-20)


Figure 11-20

Terrestrial Fauna

• Competition among animals– Indirect competition for space and

resources– Direct competition through predation– Competition for food and water– Parental instincts

• Cooperation among animals– Social groups of animals– Symbiosis

• Mutualism• Commensalism• Parasitism


Figure 11-22

Zoogeographic Regions

• Broad distribution of fauna reflects energy and food diversity distribution

• Nine zoogeographic regions based on vertebrate distribution


Figure 11-23


• Ethiopian—Separated by oceanic and land boundaries, most diverse terrestrial fauna

• Oriental—Similar fauna to Ethiopian, but fewer species, separated by mountainous terrain, endemic groups

• Palearctic—fauna poorer than Ethiopian or Oriental, due to its higher latitude

• Nearctic—Mixture of Palearctic and Neotropical regions, poor fauna, possibly joined at one time with the Palearctic, explaining similarities in biota



• Neotropical—tropical portions of Americas; birds diverse; numerous endemic fauna

• Madagascar—numerous endemic fauna due to isolation from Africa

• New Zealand—dominated by birds, no mammals, and limited vertebrate fauna

• Pacific Islands—numerous isolated islands, very limited fauna



• Australian—isolated large island has limited fauna types, but 8 of 9 are endemic– Flora unique, 90% are

eucalyptus– Fauna dominated by

monotremes and marsupials


Figure 11-17

The Major Biomes

• Tropical rainforest (selva)– Greatest species

diversity– Different heights of

vegetation– Very dense vegetation– Little surface vegetation

due to lack of sunlight– Fauna generally

arboreal (tree dwelling)


Figure 11-26

The Major Biomes

• Tropical deciduous forest– Less tree density than

selva– Lower tree heights

indicative of less precipitation

– More ground level vertebrates, many arboreal vertebrates


Figure 11-28

The Major Biomes

• Tropical scrub– Subtropical steppe and

tropical savanna climates

– Extensive grasses– Moderately tall trees– Numerous ground-

dwelling fauna, little arboreal fauna


Figure 11-29

The Major Biomes

• Tropical savanna– Dominated by tall

grasses, occasional bare ground

– Mixture of bushes and shrubs dot landscape – park savanna

– Mixture of fauna; African savanna has “big game”

– Human modification of tropical regions


Figure 11-30

The Major Biomes

• Desert– Wide flora diversity,

xerophytic flora– Sparse plant cover,

typically shrubs– Moderately diverse

fauna, no large-sized animals

– Rainfall can trigger plant germination

– Biota near oases


Figure 11-31

The Major Biomes

• Mediterranean woodland and shrub– Pronounced wet-dry

climate (mediterranean climate)

– Chaparral shrub growth dominant flora

– Open grassy woodlands common as well

– Summer wildfires– Indistinctive fauna

28© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.Figure 11-33

The Major Biomes

• Midlatitude deciduous forest– Dense growth of

broadleaf trees– Widely modified by

humans– Diversity of fauna to

match tropical regions– Wildlife more limited

during winter due to hibernation


Figure 11-35

The Major Biomes

• Boreal forest– Often co-located with

the subarctic climate– Most trees are conifers– Trees taller on southern

side of this biome– Limited faunal species

diversity– Number of animals

much higher than species diversity


Figure 11-36

The Major Biomes

• Tundra– Too cold for trees to

survive– Dense, low height plant

cover– Animal life dominated by

birds– Few fish and mammals,

no reptiles or amphibians– Alpine tundras exist at

high elevations


Figure 11-38

Human Modification of Natural Distribution Patterns

• Humans can modify distribution patterns astonishingly quickly

• Physical removal of organisms– Modification of

landscape to make room for civilization

– Vast effects on overall distribution patterns


Figure 11-37


• Habitat modification– Tropical rainforest

removal• 27 million acres of rain

forest lost per year• Ecosystem effects from

rainforest removal• Loss of biodiversity

through extinction

– Methods which overcome the removal of tropical rainforest


Figure 11-40


• Artificial translocation of organisms– Introduction of exotic

species– Crops and pets– Deliberate release of

livestock as “feral” creatures

• Example of relocation: the sad case of Florida


Figure 11-46

Summary

• Biomes and ecosystems describe communities of flora and fauna and their spatial location patterns

• Terrestrial flora exist in vast diversity on the Earth’s surface

• Floral terminology is used to help understand floral processes

• Flora undergo environmental adaptations to account for their surrounding environment

• Flora exist competitively in nature• There are five primary floral distributions globally


Summary

• Flora is subject to a vertical zonation as well• Terrestrial fauna are less spatially defined due to

motility• There are two primary kinds of animals• As with flora, terrestrial fauna undergo environmental

adaptations as their surroundings change• Competition between animals is widely evident• Animals work cooperatively in many instances• There are nine primary zoogeographic regions


Summary

• The ten biomes of the world help to identify the spatial distribution of terrestrial flora and fauna and assess their relationship to the surrounding climate

• Numerous human interactions have significantly modified the biomes of the world


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Technology

flora

animals

fauna

plants

mammals

figure 11

ethiopian