BI553 Ecological Classification

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Presentation

• Review / Brief Summary of some basic concepts
• Environmental Conditions The Niche.
• Environmental Gradients and Plant Distribution.
• Community Patterns.
• Biomes.
• Life Zones.
• Ecoregions.
• Missouri Natural Divisions.
• A historic diversion
• Nelsons Terrestrial Communities.

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Presentation

• Review / Brief Summary of some basic concepts
• Environmental Conditions The Niche.
• Environmental Gradients and Plant Distribution.
• Community Patterns.
• Biomes.
• Life Zones.
• Ecoregions.
• Missouri Natural Divisions.
• A historic diversion
• Nelsons Terrestrial Communities.

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Organism and Environment Physiological Tolerance
Curve
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Individual physiological tolerance
influences species distributions.
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SaguaroCereus giganteus indicator species of the
Sonora Desert. - Limited by extreme Conditions.
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SaguaroCereus giganteus -Northern limit
of distribution is where a day without
thawing occurs. Can withstand a night of
freezing,but must thaw next day.
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Open Circles No days w/o thawing
Closed circlesat least 0.5 days w/o thawing
ARIZONA
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Wild madderRubia peregrina,in Europe.N. limit
is Januaryisotherm of 4.5oC - Average conditions
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Presentation

• Review / Brief Summary of some basic concepts
• Environmental Conditions The Niche.
• Environmental Gradients and Plant Distribution.
• Community Patterns.
• Biomes.
• Life Zones.
• Ecoregions.
• Missouri Natural Divisions.
• A historic diversion
• Nelsons Terrestrial Communities.

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How are Organisms Distributed?
Environmental Gradient
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Communities Tend toResult from Individual
Patternsof Species Distributions on Gradients.
Ecotones
Gleason,Whittaker etc.
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The individualistic or continuum view of the
community Gleason, Whitaker
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Distribution Patterns of Species on a Moisture
Gradient in Santa Catalina Mtns, AZ.
Stems Per Ha
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A distinctcommunity transition may result
from steep environmentalgradients
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The Great Smoky Mountains, TN. Dominant
Community Types
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The Great Smoky Mountains, TN. Dominant
Community Types
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Forest Types
Great Smoky Mtns, Tennessee. Communitydesignation
s are based on relative species abundances.
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CommunityDesignations are Based
on Relative Species Abundances.
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What are the most importantgradients influencing
plant distribution?

• Enough hints so far..
• Temperature
• Moisture
• Substrate Characteristics
• soil typerock base.

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Temperature

• Rotating tilted sphere

Precipitation

• Wind direction and local topography

Water Availability

• Precipitation vs evaporation
• Soil characteristics

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Temperature
Imagine an equally wide shaft of solar
energystriking at the equator and near the pole.
Same shaft of radiation scatters over larger
surface area - dispersed,
less intense
Shaft of radiation isfocused on a narrow band
of the earths surface - intense
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Result of the tilt - the seasons
Northern Hemisphere View
SpringEquinox
SummerSolstice
WinterSolstice
FallEquinox
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LOCAL TOPOGRAPHY TEMPERATURE
S facing slope
N facing slope
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SW West Virginia-Trees
S Aspect
N Aspect
On N facing slope, the valley floor effectively
extends further up the slope
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Point Sur, California forest and shrubs
Northfacingslope
South facing slope
Forest further up on N,grasses/shrubs further
down on S slope
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PRECIPITATION
Wind Directions
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LOCAL TOPOGRAPHY PRECIPITATION
N.A.
Adiabatic Cooling
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SOILS WATER AVAILABILITY
TEXTURE- Soil Particle Composition
(lt.002 mm)
(0.002 0.05 mm)
(0.05 2.0 mm)
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Soil Texture Classification
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Soil water content andWater Potential in
Different soil types
Loam has greatest FC PWP Difference.
PermanentWilting Pt.
Field Capacity
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SOILS WATER AVAILABILITY

• Sands tend to dry out rapidly
• provide xeric conditions.
• Clays retain moisture but it is less readily
  available to plants because it adheres to
  particle
• provide mesic conditions.

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Presentation

• Review / Brief Summary of some basic concepts
• Environmental Conditions The Niche.
• Environmental Gradients and Plant Distribution.
• Community Patterns.
• Biomes.
• Life Zones.
• Ecoregions.
• Missouri Natural Divisions.
• A historic diversion
• Nelsons Terrestrial Communities.

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Biomes of the U.S.
Sierra Mtn.EvergreenForests
TransitionalConiferous Forests
Grasslands
Rocky Mtn. EvergreenForests
EasternDeciduousForests
Deserts
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A World Biome Map
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Organizing Biomes Whitaker
What goes where?
Where would you locate Cape Girardeau?
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Taiga
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CAPE GIRARDEAU?

• Latitude Longitude
• Average Temperature
• Annual
• Summer
• Winter
• Precipitation
• Rainfall
• Snow

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CAPE GIRARDEAU?

• N 37o 18.932 W 89o 31.789
• Average Temperature
• Annual 56.3oF 13.5oC
• Summer 79.5oF 26.4oC
• Winter 33.6oF 0.64oC
• Precipitation
• Rainfall 45.57 115.75 cm
• Snow 11.00 28 cm.

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Warm Year
Period of Record 1895-2006
Temperature anomaly for 7-state region compared
to 1901-2000 mean
Cool Year
1998
Warm Year
Period of Record 1895-2006
Cool Year
Temperature anomaly for the globe (land and
ocean) compared to 1901-2000 mean
1977
Data Source National Climatic Data Center
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Missouris Future
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As goes Illinois - so goes Missouri.
Now
By 2030summer
By 2030winter
By 2095 winter
By 2095 summer
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Suppose we increase temp 50C leave ppt. as is?
X
Taiga
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For A LittleMore Detail
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U.S. Soil Groups
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MAJOR SOIL TYPES

• ALFISOLS Moist, moderately weathered mineral
  soils forest
• ANDISOLS volcanic, little weathering
• ARIDISOLS Dry mineral, little leaching, calc
  carbonate accum. Grassland, deserts
• ENTISOLS Recent rock / sand origin
• GELISOLS Permafrost
• HISTOSOLS Peat Bogs

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• INCEPTISOLS young, weakly weathered
• MOLLISOLS well-developed, high organic,
  prairies.
• OXISOLS Deeply weathered, lateritic
• SPODOSOLS moist, leached, cool, conifer forests
• ULTISOLS weathered, warm, moist, iron oxides,
  forest
• VERTISOLS clay, dry season cracks.

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BASIC U.S. SOILS MAP
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Presentation

• Review / Brief Summary of some basic concepts
• Environmental Conditions The Niche.
• Environmental Gradients and Plant Distribution.
• Community Patterns.
• Biomes.
• Life Zones.
• Ecoregions.
• Missouri Natural Divisions.
• Nelsons Terrestrial Communities.

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LAT.
ALT
WET/COLD
HOLDRIDGELIFE ZONES
DRY/HOT
WET/HOT
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Costa Rica - Life Zones
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Where is Cape Girardeau?
X
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Presentation

• Review / Brief Summary of some basic concepts
• Environmental Conditions The Niche.
• Environmental Gradients and Plant Distribution.
• Community Patterns.
• Biomes.
• Life Zones.
• Ecoregions.
• Missouri Natural Divisions.
• A historic diversion
• Nelsons Terrestrial Communities.

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ECOLOGICAL LAND CLASSIFICATIONUSFS

• CLASSIFIES UNITS OF LAND AT REDUCING SPATIAL
  SCALE.
• Hierarchial,
• Nested,
• Homogeneous in Environmental Late Successional
  Characteristics

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Ecoregions Baileys Domains
Domain DivisionSub-regionProvinceSectionSub-se
ctionLandtype AssociationEcological Landt
ypeLandtype PhaseSite
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Examples

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Hierarchy

• Sub-Region- Two or More States
• Province- From multi-state to thousands
  of sq. m.
• Section- Thousands of sq m.

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MISSOURI
36 - Central Tallgrass Prairie37- Osage
Plains38 Ozarks42 Mississippi
River Alluvial Plain43 Upper East Gulf
Coastal Plain 44 Interior Low Plateau
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http//www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/cropmap/missour
i/maps/MOeco3.html
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Missouri Land Cover 2000
http//ims.missouri.edu/maproom/missouri/viewer.ht
m?JSlayerparam15020162179DATAad1,lc6,LEVELAP
P
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Hierarchy

• Sub-Section- Hundreds of sq. miles.
• Landtype Association- 1 to tens of sq.
  miles.
• Ecological Landtype Tenth to one sq.
  miles.

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Hierarchy

• Landtype Phase- 6 64 acres
• Site- A point, usually fewer than 6
  acres

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Presentation

• Review / Brief Summary of some basic concepts
• Environmental Conditions The Niche.
• Environmental Gradients and Plant Distribution.
• Community Patterns.
• Biomes.
• Life Zones.
• Ecoregions.
• Missouri Natural Divisions.
• A Historic Diversion
• Nelsons Terrestrial Communities.

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THE NATURAL DIVISIONS OF MISSOURIRichard H. Thom
and James H. Wilson

• Transactions of the Missouri Academy of Science
  14 9 - 23

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THE NATURAL DIVISIONS OF MISSOURI
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• Glaciated PlainsDivision
• App. 1/3rd of state
• - Soils result of Kansan stage of
  Pleistocene
• glaciation
• - grassland/- riparian forest

SECTIONS a) Western b) Grand River c)
Eastern d) Lincoln Hills
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Correlates with the Divisions
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MISSOURISOILS
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Presentation

• Review / Brief Summary of some basic concepts
• Environmental Conditions The Niche.
• Environmental Gradients and Plant Distribution.
• Community Patterns.
• Biomes.
• Life Zones.
• Ecoregions.
• Missouri Natural Divisions.
• A historic diversion
• Nelsons Terrestrial Communities.

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20,000
RecentGlacialevents are critical.
170,000 120,000
480,000 230,000
800,000 600,000
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Four glaciations struck N.A. in the Pleistocene
Most recent Wisconsin
Beringian Land Bridge
20,000 years ago YA or YBP
X
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Human arrival in N.A.
The pattern of land, sea, and ice at glacial
maximum
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Oaks, Quercus spp., evolved prob. in Mexico,
then moved North slowly asice receded.