Ecology and Environment - Fleming College 2026-27

What are the three physiographic regions on Ontario?

Hudson Bay Lowlands, Precambrian (Canadian) Shield, St Lawrence Lowlands

What type of bedrock is present in the Hudson Bay Lowlands and St Lawrence Lowlands?

Sedimentary Rocks (Limestone, Shale)

What type of bedrock is present in the Precambrian Shield?

Igneous and Metamorphic (Gneiss, Granite)

How does bedrock impact soil?

Bedrock provides soil its base mineral building blocks which determines soil chemistry.

What is a Physiographic region?

An area which has broad-scale consistent bedrock geology, soils, slope and morphology.

What is Sedimentary Rock?

Rocks formed by the compaction of sediments.

What is Volcanic Rock?

One of two types of Igneous rock. Fine-grained and formed by cooling lava on the surface.

What is Plutonic Rock?

One of two types of Igneous rock. Coarse grained and formed by cooling magma below the surface.

What is Metamorphic Rock?

Rocks formed when igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rock types are exposed to HEAT and PRESSURE which changes the chemistry of the rock.

When does Lithification occur?

Lithification occurs when pressure compacts and cements fragments of other rocks that have weathered off to form new sedimentary rocks.

What four components of the Function Scale form the realm of Ecology?

Ecosystem, Community, Population, Organism

What is an Organism?

Any form of life.

What is Ecology

Study of how living organisms interact with their ecosystems.

What is an Ecosystem?

Geographic area where biotic and abiotic components work together to form a bubble of life.

What is the balance of an Ecosystem based on?

Continuous change.

Abiotic

Non-living.

Biotic

Living.

What 3 things drive Ecosystems?

Energy Cycling

Nutrient Cycling

Time

What percentage of the water on earth is Fresh Water? Of that, how much is frozen?

3% fresh water, of which 70% is frozen.

What is in the Hydrosphere? What is the subsection of the Hydrosphere?

All forms of water - Ice, Liquid, Vapor. Subsection is the Cryosphere.

What is the Atmosphere?

Thin layer of gas that envelops the earth.

Soil is ____?

Alive

What are the functions of soil?

Plant growth and root stabilization, recycling organic nutrients and wastes, water filtration and storage

How quickly is soil being washed away?

10 - 40 times faster than that at which it is being replenished.

How much of the food we eat comes from soil?

95%

What is Weathering?

Chemical or physical process where larger rock fragments are broken into smaller fragments.

What are the types of Physical Weathering?

Frost wedging, water abrasion, gravity, glaciers

How does Biological Weathering occur?

Plants produce weathering agents that increase rates of chemical weathering of soil by releasing acidic components such as organic acids and carbon dioxide.

What is Oxidation (chemical weathering)?

Oxygen reacts with minerals causing rust which weakens the rock structure.

What is Soil Texture?

The look and feel of the mineral portions of soil (sand, silt, and clay)

What is Parent Material?

The underlying bedrock and/or loose sediments from which soil horizons develop.

What impacts the PH of soil as it is being created?

Parent bedrock and weathering processes.

Limestone bedrock creates which PH of soil?

Alkaline

Granite bedrock creates which PH of soil?

Acidic

How is temperature a soil-forming factor?

Temperature determines the rate of chemical reactions and the intensity of biological activity.

How does wind influence soil formation?

Directly (erosion or deposition) and by influencing the effectiveness of precipitation.

How is vegetation a soil forming factor?

Vegetation helps to hold parent material in place, allowing time for soil formation to occur.

How does vegetation modify microclimates?

By slowing wind speeds, shading the soil surface, and retaining moisture.

How does Topography influence soil formation?

Shape of the land surface influences the redistribution of the water receives as precipitation.

What is the general rule for land surface height (related to soil formation)?

Higher, sloping surfaces lose water by runoff, leading to drier, less developed soils on sloping surfaces. More Moist areas have deeper, more strongly developed soils.

What are the major mineral horizons?

A (Surface), B (Subsoil), C (Substratum)

What are the major organic components?

L,F,H (Terrestrial), O (Wetland)

What is the composition of the A horizion?

Minerals (45%), Air (25%), Water (25%), Organic material (5%)

Generally, the larger the sediments, the 1.______ tightly they pack, resulting in pore(void) spaces becoming 2._______ connected.

1. less

2. well

What is the L in the Terrestrial horizon?

Leaf litter

What is the F in the Terrestrial horizon?

Partially decomposed leaf and twig material (folic material)

What is the H in the terrestrial horizon?

Humic material; decomposed organic materials with no original structures evident

What is Humus?

Detritus created by soil critters which is sticky and binds with mineral soil to form aggregate clumps to retain moisture.

What is Nutrient Biogeochemical Cycling?

The cycling of nutrients through ecosystems via food chains and food webs, including the exchange of nutrients between the biosphere and the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere.

How does the weathering of rocks input nutrients into the ecosystem?

Weathering rocks provide essential nutrients like calcium, magnesium, potassium, silicone, iron, and sodium.

What is atmospheric nitrogen fixation?

Lightning creates nitrogen oxides which get injected into the soil as nitrates by rain.

What is biological fixation?

Species able to extract inert elements and form useable molecules.

What is immigration (context of nutrient inputs)?

Nutrients of organisms released when they die or where they are deposited in a new area.

What are the INPUTS of nutrients into an ecosystem?

Rock weathering, atmospheric, biological fixation, immigration

What are the OUTPUTS of nutrients into an ecosystem?

Soil erosion, leaching, gaseous losses, emigration and harvesting.

What is soil erosion?

Soil lost through wind and water erosion when soil is left barren and water has been removed.

What is leaching?

Important nutrients lost when the downward movement of water through the soil transports dissolved nutrients with the water.

What does anaerobic mean?

without oxygen

What are gaseous losses?

in wet, anaerobic soil conditions, compounds are chemically reduced to a gas from a soil

What is the Ecological Land Classification (ELC)?

A tool certified by the MNR to define areas of Ecological units based on differences in bedrock, climate, physiography, and vegetation.

How does soil fertility effect human population?

Population increases with soil fertility due to reliance on consistent food source (agriculture).

What is an Ecozone?

A very large area defined by a distinctive bedrock domain (physiographic regions)

What are the dominant forces of change in the central and northern parts of the Ontario Shield Ecozone?

Fire, insects and wind.

What are the dominant forests in the central and northern parts of the Ontario Shield Ecozone?

Coniferous forests composed of black spruce, balsam fir, jack pine and tamarack.

What are the dominant forces of change in the Mixedwood Plains Ecozone?

Beavers, gap-phase dynamics, major wind events and insect outbreaks.

What are Gap-Phase Dynamics?

The cycle of death and regeneration within a forest that allows different species to move into 'gaps' and secure a foothold.

What is Hydrology?

The study of the distribution of groundwater in the soil and rocks as it flows through the pore spaces and/or fractures.

Porosity.

The amount of void space in a rock or other earth material. (How much water a material can hold).

Permeability.

How easily water flows through a material.

What determines amount of void space?

Sediment size.

Infiltration.

The process by which water enters the soil surface.

Evapotranspiration.

The process where water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere by evaporation from the soil and other surfaces and by transpiration from plants.

Autotraugh.

Self-nourishing.

What four inputs are required by plants to perform photosynthesis and grow?

Solar Energy, Water, Carbon Dioxide, Mineral/Organic Nutrients

What are the five organs of a plant?

Roots, Stems, Leaves, Flowers, Fruits

Graminoid.

Grass-like morphology

Forbes.

Herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid and is not aquatic.

Aquatics.

Plants that can only grow in fully saturated soil or can occur at the water's surface.

Mosses.

Flowerless plants that typically grow in dense green clumps or mats.

Five factors that affect plants in their local environments:

1. Climate

2. Light Availability

3. Nutrient Access

4. Water Access

5. Herbivory

What are the two most important climate variables which affect plants?

Temperature and Precipitation.

Succession is the process of...

environmental modification by organisms

Describe the principle of tolerance.

Different species of trees have differing abilities to tolerate extended period under a closed canopy.

What are the 4 steps of succession?

1. Disturbance/Nudation

2. Colonization

3. Competition

4. Climax Community

What is Distrubance?

A chance in an ecosystem/community

What is Nudation?

A new area or new surface previously without life becomes exposed or usable.

What is Colonization?

Pioneer species rapidly grow in the disturbed/nudated area.

What defines a pioneer species?

Excellent dispersal, Excellent recovery from stress, Shade-intolerant

What is Competition?

Plants/animals that are better suited to the environment will out-compete and replace existing species.

What is a Climax Community?

A stable community in a successional seies.

What is Primary Succession?

Succession occurring through nudation, where exposed rocks begin to weather and form soil.

What is Secondary Succession?

Occurs on a previously occupied site after a form of disturbance.

What are the six basic requirements of an aquatic ecosystem?

Water, sunlight, co2, o2, nutrients, growing temperatures

What is a Lentic freshwater ecosystem?

Slow moving freshwater body like a lake or a pond.

Defining factors of a lentic ecosystem

Sunlight dependent, varying temperatures, oxygen limited

How does light interact with lentic water?

It is reflected at the surface and scattered by particles in the water.

How does depth impact light availability in water?

Availability decreases with increasing depth

What is the Photic Zone?

Layer where light is available

What is the Aphotic Zone?

Layer where there is no available light

Where does photosynthesis occur in lentic ecosystems

Photic Zone.