Lab exam ii

How many biogeoclimatic zones make up BC?

14

Coastal Western Hemlock (CWH) biogeoclimatic zone

Vancouver's biogeoclimatic zone: The area is characterized by significant precipitation, mild winters and warm summers, and includes areas below ~300m in elevation.

what vegetation dominates the cash biogeoclimatic zone?

Western Hemlock and Western Red Cedar, although Douglas Fir can be abundant in the drier areas of this zone

Evergreen

plants that retain fresh, green leaves throughout the year. These plants do lose their leaves, however, it happens on a continuous basis instead of all at once.

Deciduous

plants that do not retain green leaves throughout the year. These plants generally lose their leaves all at once when the temperature drops in Autumn.

Coniferous

plants that bear cones. Not all coniferous plants are evergreen

Cones

structures that bear the microscopic reproductive parts of coniferous trees. The female cone is generally larger and woody, while the male cone is smaller, more delicate and less conspicuous

Catkins

structures that house the flowers of some deciduous trees. The male catkin is generally long and pendulous, while the female catkin may more closely resemble a small cone.

Flowers

contain the male and female reproductive structures on Angiosperms. Flowers have a great diversity of form. The colour, the number and arrangement of petals, and other features can be critical for identification purposes

Berries

these are the fertilized ovaries of flowers

Is it a tree or a shrub?

look to see if the plant has more than one main stem that holds up the plant. If it has a single stem, or an obvious trunk, then it may be a tree. If there are several main stems, it may be a shrub. In general, trees are larger than shrubs. Answering this question can lead you to the part of the guidebook that is going to be useful.

two category of leaves

broad leaves or needle-like leaves. Broad-leaf plants may be deciduous or evergreen. Needle-like leaves indicate that the tree is likely evergreen and coniferous.

Deciduous leaf texture

soft and delicate

evergreen plant texture

waxy, stiff leaves

Two possible orientations of leaves on stems

opposite and alternate

Fronds

the large leaf-life structures that make up the fern

pinnate

leaf with one main vein

Coniferous Trees list

douglas fir, western hemlock, western red cedar, shore pine

Evergreen shrub list

salal, Oregon grape,

deciduous tree list

White birch, red alder, vine maple, broadleaf maple, black cottonwood

Deciduous shrub list

Salmon berry, red huckleberry, trailing blackberry

Ferns List

Sword fern, deer fern

introduced species list

himalayan blackberry, English ivy, English holly

What are boundaries between natural habitats?

Edges

Natural edges

sub-alpine to alpine, coastal forest to interior forest, taiga to tundra

Artificial edges

forest to cornfield, forest to subdivision

How deep into the forest can artificial edges affect biodiversity

100m

Characteristics of edge habitat

sunnier, drier, warmer, and windier

Importance of interior habitat

This increasingly rare interior habitat is a refuge for certain forest-dependent wildlife (eg. thrushes, salamanders, and martens). For example, ornithologists suspect that habitat fragmentation harms many woodland birds by increasing their susceptibility to predation and nest parasitism.

Which forests have the greatest amount of interior? Least?

Large, square.

Small, narrow (may have no true interior)

Plants found in interior vs edge habitat

Edge: more ground cover and deciduous trees, more invasive species

Interior: more coniferous trees, less invasive species

Benefits of transect sampling method

3X20m rectangle can capture changes along a varying landscape or habitat.

Benefits of quadrat sampling method

10x10m square is good for looking at a small habitat in detail.

wren silhouette

upright tail, longlegs, compact body

Woodpecker silhouette

chisel-like beaks, and stiff tails

Steps to bird indentification

recognize silhouette, location, habitat, field markings