Plants and Environmental Restoration Quiz 1

Cover crop other name

nursery crop

cover crop

annual plant that protects soil and is green manure

are cover crops usually native or exotic?

exotic

Forage

leaves, stems, etc. grazed by animals or harvested to feed animals

Is forage usually native or exotic

exotic

food plots

forage or cover crops planted as feed for wildlife

food plots are usually....

exotic annuals

Browse

woody growth of shrubs, vines, trees, etc.

Is browse native or exotic?

native

Wildlife cover

vegetation for mating/nesting/feeding/hiding

Wildlife cover is usually native or exotic?

native

Prairie

grassland with few trees or trees along streams

Savanna

grassland with scattered oak trees and shrubs

Woodland

relatively open tree stand, spreading lower limbs, light penetration, fire tolerant

Forest

Dense trees, few lower limbs, shade-tolerant shrubs and trees, fire intolerant

1 degree latitude = ____ m change in elevation

100

Ecoregions based on

climate, landform, soils

Major Land Resource Area used by

NRCS

Obligate Wetland Plant

plant that can only grow in wetlands

Plant succession

process of plant community development in a spot that was barren or disturbed

Rhizosphere effect

changes imposed by a root on the soil in its immediate vicinity. increased organism biodiversity

Thalweg

deepest and fastest flowing part of a river

Filter strip

A strip of grass, trees, or shrubs that filters runoff and removes contaminants before they reach water bodies

Riparian zone

area between body of water and land

native plant

a plant evolved for the location it is in

annual plant

completes its growing cycle in a year (not exactly calendar year)

Eutrophication

process of nutrient enrichment of a water body, leading to increased vegetation growth

intermediate stage of nutrient enrichment

oligotrophic

Do warm or cool season grasses build up organic matter faster?

warm season grasses

Warm season grass usually has ___ type photosynthesis

C4

Apical meristem

zone of cells at tip of of plant shoot where division takes place.

Are exotic plants always invasive?

no, some are beneficial for erosion control

Ecoregion

area where ecosystems and environmental resources are generally similar

Ecoregion/ Biome difference

biome refers more to biological components, while ecoregions take into account climate and topography

Virginia wildrye

grows in shade and riparian zones, resembles rye and wheat

Big bluestem

dominant grass in native prairie

Grasses, sedges, rushes

graminoids, monocots, parallel leaf veins

Forbs

broadleaves, dicots, net leaf veins

legumes

forb, fix nitrogen gas from atmosphere

nonlegume (nitrogen)

soil N: Nitrate, ammonium

Biennial

1st year vegetative, 2nd year flowers

perennial

multiyear life cycles, dormant meristems

Tiller

individual grass shoot with growing point, leaves, stem, roots, and dormant buds

meristem

point of growth (cell division and diferentiation)

terminal bud

main shoot tip

axillary bud

branch tip from upper node or crown base

crown

base of plant that joins roots and shoots

grazing tolerance

ability to persist and regrow after frequent, close grazing

intolerant of frequent, close grazing

native grasses

more tolerant of grazing

exotic grasses

herbivory

feeding on living plants

organic reserves

stored carbs, protein, and minerals that can be remobilized for growth

negatives of grazing

reduces organic reserves faster than plant can regrow, shifts nutrients from roots to shoots, removes meristems, etc.

positives of grazing

improves resource use, increase light penetration, remove old, inefficient leaves, activate dormant buds, promote spreading, increase N availability

Herbivory can actually _____ NPP

increase

carrying capacity related to grazing

graze half, leave half

factors that determine tolerance to grazing

meristem activity and location for regrowth, location of reserves, residual leaf area

are native grasses more or less tolerant to grazing compared to introduced species?

less

Native grasses better for ______ grazing or ______

infrequent, hay cutting

do introduced or native grasses have a shorter regrowth period?

introduced grasses

grazing deterrant (type and effect)

chemical - bad taste

physical - thorns

poor nutrient and water holding capacity soils can have early invaders such as _______ (shallow-rooted annual) and _____ (stoloniferous, spreading grass)

crabgrass, bermudagrass

Early succesional stages with more highly developed soil can support _____ and ____

shallow-rooted perennials and greater species diversity

Late succesional - Climax stage - grass and metabolism characteristics

deep-rooted perennial grasses

self-perpetuating

relative metabolic stability - more closed cycles

Late succesional - Climax stage nutrient characteristics

nutrient pools large, mainly in organic form

Late succesional - Climax stage diversity characteristics

high species diversity, complex food chains

roots of native grasses are usually _____ than introduced species

longer

zone of new leaf growth and eventually flower growth

terminal bud

Grassland dynamics: higher inputs usually mean _____ biodiversity

decreased

_____ usually eat longer grasses because they use their tongues to pull out the grass while ____ and ____ can graze shorter grasses closer to the soil because they cut the grass with their teeth

cows, horses and sheep

N type in native grasslands

mostly organic matter, nitrate and ammonium in very small amounts

storage carbohydrate

starch

starch made of ____

glucose

energy can be stored in starch as well as _____

sucrose

bermudagrass native to

South Africa

In climax communities, optimal stratification of aerial and subterranean space means.....

plants grow at different heights and take up different parts of the soil horizon

There are ____ level 2 ecoregions in Arkansas

3

35

South Central Plains

36

Ouachita Mountains

37

Arkansas Valley

38

Boston Mountains

39

Ozark Highlands

73

Mississippi Alluvial Plains

74

Mississippi Valley Loess Plains

South Central Plains

mix of pine and hardwood forests, 2/3 of land is forest, oil, gas, and lumber industries

Ouachita Mountains

oak-hickory-pine forest, commercial logging, sharply defined east-west ridges

Arkansas Valley

forested valleys and ridges, streams with low dissolved oxygen, 1/4 grazed and 1/10 cropland

Boston Mountains

sandstone and shale plateau, red oak, white oak, and hickory dominant vegetation, sparse population, recreation is main land use

Ozark Highlands

karst features (caves, springs), mostly forested, oak dominant, most agriculture on periphery of region

Mississippi Alluvial Plain

flat alluvial plane with river terraces, swales, and levees, a lot of soybean, cotton, and rice cropland, deciduous forest vegetation before cropland

Mississippi Valley Loess Plain

irregular plains, gently rolling hills, bluffs near M. river, agri and forest mosaic, silty soil, upland and mesophytic forests

Eastern temperate forests geology

young sedimentary coastal plains in South and East, folded/faulted rocks in Appalachia, limestone-dolomite terrain in central hills and plains

Eastern Temperate Forests glacial formations

glacial lake deposits, materials, landforms mostly in North

Eastern Temperate Forests soil

Mostly leached, nutrient poor to calcium rich

Eastern Temperate Forests general climate

warm humid temperate

Eastern Temperate Forests Precipitation

Summer or Spring maximum, but mostly evenly distributed throughout the year

Eastern Temperate Forests eliminated tree

American Chestnut

Eastern Temperate forests overall forest trees

tall broadleaf, deciduous trees, needle-leaf conifers

Eastern temperate forests mammals (big)

bobcat, black bear, white-tailed deer

Eastern temperate forests mammals (small)

white-footed mouse, gray squirrel, eastern chipmunk, raccoon, porcupine, gray fox