3. NATURAL VEGETATION:
• NATURAL VEGETATION REFERS TO THE PLANTS AND
OTHER FLORA THAT MAKE UP THE PLANT LIFE IN THE
REGION.
• THE NATURAL VEGETATION WILL DETERMINE THE
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AREA.
4. Types of Vegetation
Scientists divide the Earth’s land into what are called vegetation
regions. These areas have distinct types of plants, soil, and
weather patterns.
What is vegetation region?
Vegetation regions are geological area characterized by
distinct plant communities. Community composition,
determined primarily by Climate (e.g., temperature,
precipitation and sunlight), may be affected by factors such
as Geology, soil composition and erosion, water drainage
patterns and human interference. Each vegetation region
supports a characteristic animal community that may affect its
composition.
6. Forest:
Forests are areas with trees grouped in a way so their
leaves or foliage, shade the ground.
Forests can be found just about anywhere trees can
grow, from below sea level to high in the mountains.
From tropical rain forests near the Equator to boreal
forests in cold climates close to the Arctic Circle,
different types of forests can be found all over the
world.
Types of forest:
Deciduous forests: have trees with
green leaves that change color in the
fall and drop altogether in the winter.
Evergreen forests: have trees with
leaves that stay green all year long.
7. Grassland:
Grasslands are as their name suggests, flat and open
areas where grasses are the dominant type of
vegetation. Grasslands can be found on every
continent except Antarctica.
Role of climate on grassland:
In cool, mild climates, like northwest Europe,
grasslands are dominated by tough vegetation,
such as oats, that thrives all year. Some of these
grasses are so tough and hard that they are
considered as weeds.
In warmer climates, seasonal vegetation survives
better.
8. Tundra:
Tundra is an area where tree growth is difficult
because of cold temperatures and short seasons.
Vegetation in tundra is limited to a few shrubs,
grasses, and mosses. Scientists estimate roughly
1,700 different species live in the tundra, which
isn’t much compared to forests and grasslands.
The ground is often too cold for plants to set
down roots, and without plants few animal
species can survive.
Tundra
Alpine tundra
Separated from a
forest vegetation
region by the tree
line, the area beyond
which conditions are
too harsh or cold for
tree growth.
Arctic
tundra
Occurs in the far-
northern hemisphere
of the Earth. It has a
bare landscape and is
frozen for much of
the year.
9. Desert:
Deserts have almost no precipitation, or
rainfall. In fact, deserts are specifically defined
as areas with an average annual precipitation
of less than 10 inches per year. Deserts usually
have really high daytime temperatures, low
nighttime temperatures, and very low humidity.
Not all deserts are hot and sandy, however. The
largest desert in the world is the Antarctic
Desert, which takes up most of the continent of
Antarctica. In the Antarctic Desert, ice sheets
cover barren rock. Few animals can live in the
Antarctic Desert. Those that do are often
microscopic, such as lice.
10. Ice Sheet:
The interesting thing about the ice sheet “vegetation region”
is that there really isn’t any vegetation there at all! An ice
sheet is a large stretch of glacier ice that covers the land all
around it for more than 50,000 square kilometers (20,000
square miles). Currently, the only ice sheets are in Antarctica
and Greenland.
Don’t confuse the ice sheets, called polar ice caps, with other
ice shelves or glaciers; an ice sheet is much, much bigger.
Scientists are also studying ice sheets
to measure the rate of melting ice.
Parts of the Greenland ice sheet were
once thought to be permanent, but they
are now melting at a fast pace.
12. Poaching : is the main cause of extinction of many species of animals and
birds.
Wild animals killed for many reasons, they are killed for there;
Skin -Tiger, leopard, deer.
Nails -Tigers.
Horns -Elephant, rhinoceros.
Feathers -peacocks.
15. Latitude and Altitude
Latitude:
The angular distance of a place north or south of the
earth's equator, or of the equator of a celestial object,
usually expressed in degrees and minutes.
Altitude:
The height of an object or point in relation to sea level or
ground level.
16. What is a high latitude climate?
Although there is no specific definition for high latitude
climate, these environments typically exist above 60 degrees of
latitude. This type of climate is called arctic in the Northern
Hemisphere, Antarctic in the Southern Hemisphere, or simply polar.
What is a mid-latitude climate?
The middle latitude zones have warm, dry summers and cool,
wet winters. The climate is often divided into four categories:
Mediterranean, humid subtropical, marine west coast and humid
continental. The climate is regulated by oceanic bodies, typically
experiencing strong prevailing winds and significant weather fronts.
17. Altitude affects climate in that the higher up
you get, the more the temperature drops. The
temperature goes down roughly 4 degrees
Fahrenheit for every 1,000 feet you climb.
Altitude is the subject's distance from the
sea. This is why a lot of high-up places such
as mountaintops often get snow for most of
the year when other places do not, no matter
how low the temperature drops.
For each 1,000 foot rise in altitude there
is a 4°F drop in temperature. For
example, if at sea level the average
temperature is 75°F, at 10,000 feet the
average temperature would be only 35°F.
This has a dramatic effect on plant and
animal distribution.
In tropical mountainous areas several
types of forests occur. Montane forests
are cooler and may contain deciduous
trees. At sea level, there are lowland
rainforests and mangroves. At cloud
level, moist, dripping cloud forests may
occur. They are cooler than lowland
forests. High mountains may also have
alpine, tundra, and snow covered peaks.
Effects of altitude on climate and vegetation: