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Environment - Biomes

	What sequence of plant communities do we tend to see as we travel north or increase in altitude?
	tropical forest deciduous (temperate) forest coniferous or boreal forest (taiga) tundra ice desert (snow and ice)

	What is the environmental variable which mainly determines the transition between biomes?
	temperature

	What other variable besides temperature tends to modify the plant community we might find in particular locations?
	rainfall

	Why are we particularly concerned to preserve tropical rainforests as a resource?
	region of highest productivity and biodiversity

	What are two kinds of plants that can exist in desert habitats?
	slow growing perennial plants (often CAM plants), annuals/ephemerals

	What natural forces tend to maintain grasslands, as opposed to forests in an area?
	periodic fire grazing animals

	What kinds of plants are excluded from grassland?
	annuals and trees

	What is the importance of grassland areas for agriculture and why is this?
	fertile and stable soils high accumulation of organic matter good structure and stored nutrients

	Contrast the development of herbaceous and woody species in temperate forests.
	Herbaceous (and understory shrubs/trees) are either spring flowering before trees have leaves or slow growing fall-flowering in the shade of leaf canopy.

	Are temperate forests more or less favorable for agriculture than grassland areas?
	less favorable - less nutrients and less stable structure

	What vegetation types are represented in Ohio?
	mainly temperate (deciduous) forest; some savannah (or prairie)

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