Ecosystem Impacts of Climate Change

 
Key Terms
Biosphere 2, GAIA hypothesis, ecosystem, biome, stomatal conductance, transpiration, evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration

[The following terms are defined in the Bryant book but are not discussed in lecture. You still need to know what they are meant. C3 plants, C4 plants, carbon dioxide fertilizer effect, carbon sequestering, fixing carbon, nitrogen fixation,

Holdridge Life-Zone Classification, NDVI]
 

Review Questions

What are the common biomes?

What is the law of the maximum? What is the law of the minimum?

What climate variables are most important in controlling the world's terrestrial biomes?

What are the main effects of enhanced atmospheric CO2 on plants?

Will more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere cause trees and other plants to grow more?

What are the observed range shifts due to global warming?

What are the major effects of tropical deforestation on climate?

What are the main features of biosphere (ecological, bio-physical, hydrological) models that are used in general circulation models?

 
 
Additional Readings:
 
Other readings:

 

Last updated on 12/08/09 02:52 PM by Zong-Liang Yang