GEOG-5 Final Review (Winter 2025)

Did the Greeks know that the Earth was round? If so, how? (Three ways)

1) Clouds and boats on the horizon

2) Eclipse of the moon

3) The North Star rises as you walk North

The hypothesis about climate zones:

Aristotle hypothesized that there were three climate zones:

1) Frigid

2) Temperate

3) Torrid

Tundra/Alpine

Boreal/Taiga Forest (Coniferous Forest)

Temperature Deciduous Forests

Temperate Grasslands

Mediterranean Scrub (Chaperone) Grassland

Tropical Rain Forest

Tropical Dry Forest

Tropical Savannas

Hot Desert

Cold Desert

Epiphyte

A plant that grows on another plant, but is not parasitic

• Ferns, bromeliads, air plants, orchids

Orographic Precipitation

ITCZ (Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone)

How are plants adapted to the Mediterranean climate?

In the heat:

• Small leaves

• Evergreen

• Light in color

• Point up

• Smell is their defense

How are Mediterranean plants adapted to fire?

Fire is needed to open seeds; basal/crown resprouting; ribbon-like bark; turpentine in plants are flammable

Theory of Evolution: Darwin and Wallace

Species evolve with changes in genetic material and the environment

Natural Selection

Is the mechanism that causes evolution

Evidence

Physical fossils and D.N.A.

• Fossils of humans are hard to find

• D.N.A. evidence is easy to find

Origin of People and YOU

Megafauna

The large mammals of a particular region, habitat, or geological period

• Animals that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye

Paul Martin’s Overkill/Munch Hypothesis

Paul Martin hypothesized that humans hunted megafauna into extinction

What are the five Megafauna that used to be in L.A.?

1) Grizzly bear

2) California black bear

3) Tule elk

4) Pronghorn

5) California condor

New Zealand (1,000 Years Ago)

Moas: (Extinct) large, flightless birds

Mauris: Hunted the Moas

Why are native birds so endangered in Hawaii? (Three reasons)

1) Flightless

2) New animals were introduced: Rats, pigs, goats, mongoose

3) Mosquitos in 1850: Avian Malaria

World Population

Why has the world population increased? (Two reasons)

1) More people are surviving to the reproductive age

• Less infant mortality

2) People are getting older

Thomas Malthus Theory (1798)

The population was growing faster than the food supply

• Population grows exponentially

• Food grows linear

Exponential Growth

Anything that grows by the same percentage every year (or every

month, day, hour, etc.)

How many Earths would you need if you lived like an American?

5

How do family planning programs work now? (Three ways)

• Local control and more adapted to local culture

• No incentive, but access-based: Pills and condoms

• Primary target: Women

Current Status of Population: Challenging Countries (Three countries)

1) Pakistan

2) Nigeria

3) India

Current Status of Population: Okay Countries (Two countries)

1) Bangladesh

2) Egypt

Current Status of Population: Awesome Countries (Four countries)

1) Thailand

2) Malaysia

3) Burma

4) China

What is the population of California?

39.5 million

What is an age pyramid? Why is it important?

An age pyramid is a graph that shows the age and gender distribution of a population.

It is important because it visually represents a population's age and gender structure, allowing for easy analysis of demographic trends like birth rates, life expectancy, and future population growth potential within a region.

What animal(s) did Measles and Tuberculosis originate from?

Cattle

What animal(s) did the Flu originate from?

Pigs, ducks

What animal(s) did H.I.V./A.I.D.S. originate from?

Monkeys

Potato (Solanum Tuberosum)

Sugar (Saccharum Officinarum)

Cacao (Theobroma Cacao)

Tea (Camellia Sinensis)

Coffee (Coffea Arabica): Shade-Grown Coffee

Coffee (Coffea Arabica): Sun-Grown Coffee

Rubber Tree (Hevea Brasiliensis)

Cereals’ Origins and Importance: Corn (Maize (Zea Mays)

Cereals’ Origins and Importance: Rice (Oryza Sativa)

Cereals’ Origins and Importance: Wheat (Triticum Sp.)

Where are the origins of the “orange”?

Origin(s): China, The Himalayas

• Orange Countries: Spain, Florida, California

#1 Cash-Crop in California

Hemp (Cannabis Sativa)

California: Big 5 Crops

1) Almonds

2) Grapes

3) Lettuce

4) Strawberries

5) Tomatoes

California Agriculture (Vegetables and Fruits)

California supplies the United States with:

• 1/3 of all vegetables

• 2/3 of all fruits

Genetically Modified Food: Franken Food: Good Things (Four things)

• Large yield and nutrition

• Diseases and pest resistance

• Increase environmental tolerance

• Add vaccines to crops

Genetically Modified Food: Franken Food: Bad Things (Four things)

• Environmental problems

• Food safety

• Access: Terminator technology

• Long-term impact is unknown

How do you say “Hello” in Tongva (The native language of Los Angeles)?

“Miyiiha”

What is the California Sagebrush (Artemisia Californica) used for? (Two uses)

• Ceremonies

• Vision quests

What are Coast Live Oaks (Quercus Agrifolia) used for? (Three uses)

• Acorns were the primary food source for several California Native Americans

• Acorns were collected, leached with water in a stream, and basket to remove tannins (wine), and then heated with rocks for mush

• Wood was also used for bow

What are Mexican Elderberries (Sambucus Nigra) used for? (Four uses)

• Native Americans brewed flowers for fevers, upset stomachs, and flu

• One of the richest sources of vitamin C

• Stems used for arrow shafts and flutes

• Raw berries can cause nausea, but dried or cooked are okay to consume

What is the Laurel Sumac (Malosma Laurina) used for? (One use)

• Native Americans would use the leaves as mosquito repellent

What is the Toyon, Christmas Berry (Heteromeles Arbutifolia) used for? (One use)

• The red berries are not edible, but can be used for flour if properly prepared

What is the Yucca, Our Lord’s Candle (Hesperoyucca Whipplei) used for? (Three uses)

• The leaves are very strong and used for waterproof baskets

• The leaves were used as a needle and thread to make clothes and homes

• The root is used for soap

What is the Coastal Prickly Pear (Opuntia Littoralis) used for? (Two uses)

• The red fruits are edible, but watch for very small spines

• The green leaf can be cooked and eaten, and is still commonly eaten in Los Angeles

What are Black and White Sages (Salvia Sp.) used for? (One use)

• Pieces of the leaf were inserted into the nose for headaches

What is the Western Sycamore (Platanus Racemosa) used for? (One use)

• Leaves used for toilet paper (very soft)

What is the Willow (Salix Sp.) used for? (One use)

• The leaves of the willow are what make aspirin, and Native Americans would chew them for toothaches

What is the California Buckeye (Aesculus Californica) used for? (One use)

• The seeds were ground to a fine dust and put into the rivers/streams to catch fish

Grassland History

• Evolved Eocene

• 37 million years ago (New school)

• Radiation of mammal herbivores

What are native California grasses and grasslands like?

• Perennial

• Evergreen

• Color: Purple, blue

• Bunch grasses

• 70% are planted underground

What are non-native grasses and grasslands like?

• Annuals (Golden State)

• Dense grasses, not bunch grasses

• Evolved with humans

Buffalo (Bison)

• There were “Great Bison”, but they went extinct

• Pre-European: Huge Bison densities

The old Megafauna that survived: The Buffalo (Bison)

Vernal Pools

• Forms in the winter and dries in the summer

  • Historical Central Valley

  • Riverside

  • San Diego

Central Valley

• Hardpan

  • A compacted, hard layer of soil

• Depressions hold in water

• Winter rains form ponds, but dries in the summer

  • Rings of different-colored plants

  • Rainbow(s)

• 200 sp. vernal places

• ½ endemic

Oak Woodlands

Prominent species of Southern California Oaks:

• Coast Live Oaks

• Interior Live Oaks

• California Black Oaks

• Canyon Live Oaks

• California Scrub Oaks

Oaks in Grasslands

The Oak Woodlands are commonly adjacent to/intermixed with annual grasslands, chaparral, and other shrub-dominated communities:

• 20 sp. oaks

• ½ endemic

Pathogens from Other Regions

• American Chestnuts

• Elms

• Sudden Oak Death

1891 Forest Reserve Act

• Created reserves on Federal Lands Watershed

  • No plumbing

1960 Multiple Use and Sustained Use Act (Five uses)

1) Outdoor recreation

2) Range-land

3) Timber

4) Watershed protection

5) Wildlife and fish habitat

What is “Clear Cutting?” (Four things)

1) I.D. a section of the forest

2) Build a road to the site

3) Tree cut down all of the trees on the site

4) Cable logging: Drags all of the trees to the trucks

Problems with “Clear Cutting”: (Six things)

1) Soil-erosion: Thin, hard to replace

2) Water-runoff: Silting, warming of the streams

3) Herbicides: Kills weeds

4) Monoculture: Only timber trees are replaced

5) Same age

6) Decline in species: Spotted Owls

United States Department of Agriculture

National Forest Service

Department of the Interior

National Park Service

Land Ownership in the U.S.A.

Logging in the 80’s in the U.S.A.

Public lands lost $1.3 billion each year

How do non-profit organizations protect forests?

• Nature Conservancy:

  • Buys land

• Sierra Club:

  • Lobbies in California and Washington D.C.

• Green Peace:

  • Tree-sits

  • Places locks on equipment

  • Spiking

  • Suing the government to enforce their own rules

Redwoods

• Tallest trees

• Today, there are 96% left

  • 4% of them are cut

    • 2% of them are privately-owned

    • 2% of them are federally/state-owned

Sequoias

• Largest trees

Bristle Cone Pine

• Oldest trees

  • Called “Methuselah”

  • About 5,000 years old

How have forests changed in the West over the last 100 years?

Fires returned in the American West

Fire Policies

Fire Problems

• Litter build-up

• Open-to-closed forests (U.S. and Mexico)

• Regeneration (Species changes: White fir)

• Bugs and diseases

• Big fires

Fire Choices

• Thinning timber collection (Mechanical)

• Control burns (To bring the natural fire cycles back)

• Nothing (Will reset forests to equilibrium)

What are the three things that define “Old Growth Forests”?

1) Trees that are different sizes and ages

2) Snags

3) Trees that range from 200 to 500 years

Tropical Vegetation Types

• Tropical Rainforests

• Cloud Forests

• Epiphytes

• Elfin Forests

• Tropical Dry Forests

• Mangroves

Where is the Tropical Rainforest disappearing the fastest?

The Amazon at 50.4%

What have Tropical Forests lost over the last 50 years?

• Subsistence agriculture: Slash and burn

• Commercial agriculture

• Forest fires in the Tropics

• Fuel woods

• Timber

What is a “Living Fence?”

The practice of using living fence posts to attach rows of barbed wires

• Widespread in Tropical America

• Used for the production of fuelwood, fodder, and food

• Acts as windbreaks and protection for wildlife

Forest Fragmentation: Selective Extinction

1) Size of animals

• Jaguar

• Peccary

• Harpy Eagle

2) Solid forest

• Understory bird

• Mixed flocks

3) Rare species

• Low densities