The Impact of Plants: Ecosystem Services and Biomes

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to the role of plants in ecosystems, their importance to humans, and the productivity of different terrestrial biomes.

Ecosystem Services

Resources provided by plants that enhance life and are essential for human survival.

Ethnobotany

The study of the relationships between people and plants.

Artificial Selection

The process by which humans breed plants for specific traits.

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants convert CO2 and H2O into carbohydrates and O2 using sunlight.

Biomass

The total mass of living matter in a given area, resulting from the NPP of primary producers.

Nonvascular Plants

Plants such as mosses that lack a vascular system for transporting water and nutrients.

Gymnosperms

Seed plants that produce seeds in cones, including conifers.

Angiosperms

Flowering seed plants that produce seeds enclosed in fruits.

NPP (Net Primary Productivity)

The rate at which plants produce organic matter, minus the organic matter used in respiration.

Primary Producers

Organisms that produce energy available for consumption by other organisms in the food chain.