Discussion of mangrove
paper
Aubé, M. and L. Caron. 2001. The mangroves of the north coast of Haiti - A preliminary assessment. Wetlands Ecology and Management 9:271–278.
Aubé, M. and L. Caron. 2001. The mangroves of the north coast of Haiti - A preliminary assessment. Wetlands Ecology and Management 9:271–278.
Mangrove video
Characteristics of
mangroves
Only grow in tropics
Mangrove trees are halophytes – plants that grow in salty
environments. Along coast and river
edges where tide influences.
Evergreen – don’t lose leaves
Importance of mangroves
1.
Prevent soil from washing into ocean.
2.
Protect land from wind of hurricanes.
3.
Protect land from surges of water during hurricanes.
4.
Nursery for fish, crustaceans (shrimp, lobster)
and other animals.
5.
Habitat for birds.
Thus, maintains biodiversity, can be an ecotourism destination,
and can be used to educate about Haiti’s wildlife.
Geography – Affects forest biomes. We will look at world and
regional scales.
See handout with biome map and temperature/precipitation pattern graph.
See handout with biome map and temperature/precipitation pattern graph.
Biomes are
groupings of ecosystems defined by the growth forms of its plants.
They are influenced by geography
& climate, which determines which plants can grow there.
We will
review most of the biomes, but look at tropical forest biome to illustrate how
geography and climate determines the plants.
Know the
patterns!
Closer to
equator = narrower temperature range, more precipitation, more biodiversity.
The Biomes – not all have
forest, but need to know about them to see the big picture.
Influenced
by annual precipitation & temperature which vary throughout the year.
1.
Tundra
a.
arctic & high elevations of mountains.
b.
temperature -25C to 5C (-13F to 41F)
c.
23 cm precipitation = 2 inches per year
d.
soil frozen, low growing plants with growth a
few months a year, animals migrate or hibernate
2. Boreal Forest
a.
Band around northern part of north hemisphere
b.
temperature -5C to 5C (23 F to 41F)
c.
precipitation:
d.
Conifers – evergreen so can photosynthesize year
round, branches shed snow
3. Temperate Evergreen Forest
a.
Northwestern coast of North America
b.
Mild winter (no frost), warm summers
c.
300 cm rain per year
d.
Trees do not loose leaves and are covered with
epiphytic mosses, liverworts, and ferns.
4. Temperate Deciduous Forest
a.
Eastern US, Europe, eastern China
b.
Wide flux in temperature winter to summer -5C to 30C (23F to 86F)
c.
81 cm precipitation (snow and rain) per year
d.
Trees loose leaves in winter
5. Temperate Grassland
a.
Central US
b.
Wide flux in temperature winter to summer -5C to 35C
(23F to 95F)
c.
31 cm precipitation (snow and rain)
d.
Grasses and forbs (herbaceous plants), few trees
= AGRICULTURE
6. Desert – Cold
a.
Southwest US
b.
Wide flux in temperature winter to summer 0C to 25C (32F to 77F)
c.
38 cm rain per year
d.
shrubs
7. Desert – hot
a.
Mexico
b.
Narrow range of temperature 25C to 35 C (77F to
95F)
c.
15 cm rain per year
d.
Succulent plants – cactus
8. Thorn Forest and Tropical Savanna
a.
Edge of hot desserts, on the tropical side
b.
Narrow range of temperature 25C to 35C (77F to
95F)
c.
A lot of rain
74 cm
d.
Spiny shrubs, small trees loose leave during dry
winter. Where it is grazed by large
animals we have savanna – grasses with scattered trees. – AFRICA with giraffes, antelope, etc.
9. Tropical Deciduous
a.
Move towards equator and replace above biome
with this biome
b.
Narrower range temperature 22C to 27C (72F to
80F)
c.
Even more rain 163 cm
d.
Most trees loose leaves during dry season
e.
Rich soils, thus have been cleared for
agriculture
10. Tropical Evergreen – Haiti
a.
Move towards equator and replace above biome
with this biome
b.
Even narrower range temperature 25 to 27C
c.
Even more rain >250cm
d.
Highest in biodiversity, and more epiphytes
(plants that derive moisture and nutrients from air and water rather than soil)
e.
Poor soils since most nutrients are tied up in
the vegetation
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