Latitudinal Gradient of Species Diversity Essay

The bar chart was used to compare the number of species in each transect. In transect A, there were 5 different species. The species in this area were mostly grass, forbs, moss, bugs and beetles. Bugs and beetles made up a small population of this transect. In transect B, there were also 5 species. The species were mostly grass, shrubs, forbs, moss and bugs. In this transect, shrubs were found which makes transect B more diversed than A. In Transect C, 8 species were located in this area. The species included shrubs, grass, fobs, evergreen, trees, dirt, bugs and spiders. New species such as evergreen, trees, dirt and spiders were located in this location. Therefore the test that diversity happens through ecological succession was

Biomes are appropriate conditions for organizing the natural world because the organisms that live in them common constellations of adaptations, particularly the climate of each of the areas and the characteristic vegetation types that develops in these divisions. It should be understood that the climate is perhaps the most important in determining classes of individuals who may live in an area and the ways they should be amended to live under different conditions of temperature and precipitation and seasonal distribution of these factors element. Every place on Earth has its own climate, influenced by both macroclimate regions as the particular microclimate. The soils are very important because they are essential to determine the types of plants that will grow into a bioclimatic zone in partical, in addition, also as substrates for animals serve. In turn, the soils are heavily influenced by regional climate, as well as the geology of the bedrock. At the same time we have to keep in mind the diversity of plants like the flora just like the diversity of the fauna as well as the adaptation of both.

Meaning that at latitudinal points closer to the poles there is less bio-diversification, and when approaching close to the equator and tropics the bio-diversification increases. The first theory on why this occurs is that in the tropics the species evolutionary clock ticks faster, increasing the chance of genetic mutations. Another theory is that in the area of the tropics the species there are more finicky because of the consistent temperature creating a low thermal tolerance creating insuperable barriers. Another theory is that the age of the tropics, rainforests, are old in comparison to the barren ice covered lands of the polar regions, creating an ideal place for life to

Holmes, Garnett, Bureau of Plant Industry United States, and Bureau of Chemistry and Soils United States. Soil Survey of The Yuma Area, Arizona-California. N.p.: Govt. print. off., 1905

These are soils consisting predominantly of unaltered mineral material that have no surface/sub-surface horizon attributed to soil forming processes (unless buried under a 730cm thick deposit from the Holocene) (Avery, 1980;). These soils do not normally have continuous vegetation cover (Avery, 1980). They occur in very recently formed soil and may have a superficial organic or organo-mineral layer less than 5cm thick. Sometimes they have a buried horizon below 30cm of depth. (Thompson, 2007; Jarvis, 1984).

Extracted soil samples indicate simultaneous reduction of rainfall and occasional erosion. Both soil and sediment features show establishment of marked

The texture of the soil is very dry. The soils are porous and can hardly hold any water. Moreover, it is considerably impermeable to any moisture. The Aridisols does not support plant life, but instead, it promotes minerals (Allen et al., 19). Their location is mainly in the desert areas. It is found in the far western part of the state of Texas. However, some little vegetation can grow on its topsoil. There are several minerals located in the aridisols namely gypsum, sodium, calcium and carbonate (Ettema et al., 45). Also, the soil provides the perfect texture for building the foundation of a structure.

Loose soil from digging animals is easier for plants to grow in compared to the hard compacted soil found where there are no digging animals

In a total of 350 to 700 words, answer the following questions about diversity. Cite at least two references while answering the questions.

Hydrosol is a very wet kind of soil and is saturated for the majority of the year, often located where former lake beds occur. Sudosol is more sodic than acidic, it is a Texture Contrast Soil and therefore there is a strong contrast between the surface and the subsoil. This is the most common type of soil in the Mallee region. Vertosols are soils which grow and shrink, causing cracking when the soil dries out. They occur along the creek and river beds as well as the broad plains of the Mallee. Along the coastlines of the Mallee are Calcarosol soils, they, unlike Sudosols and Vertosols, do not have a strong texture contrast throughout its layers. Lastly, two sandy soils have been identified in the Mallee region: Rudosol and Tenosol. Rudosols are very young and undeveloped soils and are widespread in the Big Desert and Sunset Country. Tenosols are also rather undeveloped and occur in the same areas as Rudosols. Tenosols generally have a ‘low water holding capacity and fertility’. Having a vast selection of soils can only mean that a vast selection of produce comes from the area.

This book is full of information about serpentine soil and the different habitats that can be formed form it. Some of the important information includes the fact that the deeper into the Earth we go the minerals forming its mantle and most of its oceanic crust, are darker and denser high-iron and -magnesium rocks and minerals. Which as they nearer the surface may have the ability to become “serpentinized”. The reason serpentine soils are so unique is because these rocks are rarely found on land, but occasionally get moved through the Earth due to subduction which brings up layers of serpentine rock to the surface causing these outcroppings of rocks. These layers, as described by the book, are truly “unearthly in their appearance”. Serpentine soils are deficient in plant essential nutrients and often also in organic matter which makes them really poor host for some forms of plant life. But because of their abundance of magnesium and sometimes in nickel, chromium, and cobalt it is a highly sought after habitat for mining. And also provides very lush surrounding soil areas. This book furthers the information that I’ve obtained for this project and probably has most of the more useful

change developed due to the effects of climate and low nutritional status of Australian soils. In

Erosion removes the surface soils, containing most of the organic matter, plant nutrients, and fine soil particles, which help to retain water and nutrients in the root zone where they are available to plants. Thus it affects the productivity of plants. The remaining, the subsoil, tends to be less fertile, less absorbent and less able to retain pesticides, fertilizers, and other plant nutrients. There are over 17,000 soil types recognized worldwide. They vary widely in structure, erodibility, fertility, and ability to produce crops. A generalized soil profile for a humid, temperate climate is showed. When the natural vegetation is cleared for agriculture, soils become exposed to erosion and loss of soil fertility. The removal of the above-ground natural

The high water content of these soils causes the chemistry to be primarily reducing rather than oxidizing as it is in most other soils. Most of the reactions are mediated by biological activities. Such a chemical environment means that the rate of decomposition of organic matter is relatively slow. The reduced carbon in the organic matter of saturated soils is the source of energy and electrons to drive the redox reactions (Schipper et al, p. 923). Under slightly reducing conditions, the process of denitrification breaks down nitrate (NO3-) into N2 "through intermediates including nitrite (NO2) and N2O" (McBride, p. 265). Under strongly reducing conditions, some of the N2 is transformed into NH4- through plant enzyme-catalization in a process called nitrogen fixing. Reducing conditions also change sulfate (SO42- ) into H2S a noxious smelling gas. Much of the hydrogen sulfide is dissolved and dissociated in the water where the sulfide interacts with Fe2+ form iron sulfides. In more moderately reducing conditions the iron can be contained in siderite (Fe CO3). In both instances the solubility of iron is greatly reduced (McBride, p. 266). Saturated soils tend to decompose organic matter slowly, transform nitrates, and reduce the solubility of metals such as iron. The reduced iron results in gleying (greyish-green coloration) of the soil and in the case of fluctuating water levels mottles

Franck and Brownstone define biological diversity as 'the variety and variability of living organisms and the biological communities in which they live' (36). Decades of progress in both the scientific and political arenas have advanced environmental legislation to protect biodiversity at not only the ecosystem level, but for specific species and genetic material as well. Research has shown the importance of every organism and their role in the global ecosystem, and legislation has gradually matured to protect not only species which may become endangered, but the habitats they need to survive as well. Growing consciousness surrounding environmental issues has enabled these protections to be