vocabulary review ch 21 ecosystems. a large region characterized by a specific type of climate and...
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Vocabulary Vocabulary ReviewReview
Ch 21Ch 21
EcosystemsEcosystems
A large region characterized by a
specific type of climate and
certain types of plant and animal
communitiesBiome
A treeless plain that is located in the Arctic or Antarctic and that is
characterized by very low winter temperatures;
short, cool summers; and vegetation that consists of grasses, lichens, and
perennial herbs
Tundra
In arctic regions, the permanently
frozen layer of soil or subsoil
Permafrost
A region of forest or jungle that is located near the equator and that is characterized by large amounts of
rain and little variation in temperature
Tropical Forest
The layers of treetops that
shade the forest floor
Canopy
A plant that uses another plant for support, but not for nourishment
Epiphyte
A tree belonging to a group of tree species that bear
their seeds in cones and tend to
be evergreen
Coniferous Tree
A tree that sheds and regrows its
leaves in response to seasonal
changes
Deciduous Tree
A region of forest that has pronounced seasons, moderate temperatures,
and moderate precipitation;
characterized by trees that shed their leaves in
the fall
Temperate deciduous
forest
A plain full of grasses and scattered trees and shrubs; found in
tropical and subtropical habitats
and mainly in regions with a dry climate, such as East Africa
Savanna
A type of vegetation that includes broad-
leafed evergreen shrubs and that is
located in areas with hot, dry summers and
mild, wet winters
Chaparral
A region that has little or no vegetation, long periods without rain,
and extreme temperatures; usually
found in warm climates
Desert
The deeper parts of the ocean,
where there is so little light that plants cannot
carry out photosynthesisAphotic zone
The area of an aquatic system that receives
enough light for photosynthesis to
occur
Photic zone
An area along ocean shorelines that lies between
low and high water lines
Intertidal zone
A shallow marine environment that is
near the shore or over the continental shelf
and that is rich in minerals and nutrients
produced by biotic activity
Neritic zone
The regions of the open sea that lie
beyond and between the continental
shelves
Oceanic zone
The upper, central, or open region of a
body of water
Pelagic zone
The bottom region of oceans and bodies of fresh
water
Benthic zone
The mass of mostly microscopic
organisms that float or drift freely in the waters of aquatic (freshwater and
marine) environmentsPlankton
An area where fresh water from rivers mixes with salt water from the
ocean; the part of a river where the tides
meet the river currentEstuary
A lake that contains a large
amount of decaying organic matter and lacks
oxygen as a result
Eutrophic lake
A lake that lacks organic nutrients and, as a result,
contains high levels of dissolved oxygen in its lower
layerOligotrophic
lake
An area of land that is covered in fresh water for at least part of each
year
Freshwater wetland