Adaptations to Terrestrial Habitats

Parent Material

Layer of bedrock that underlies soil and determines what soil will be made

Leaching

The process where a liquid passes through a solid material and dissolves soluble substances inside it, and carries them away

Weathering

The physical and chemical alteration of rock material near earths surface

Water Potential

The measure of the potential energy in water that tells us which direction water will flow

Matrix Potential

The potential energy generated by the attractive forces between water molecules and soil particles

Field Capacity

The amount of water remaining in the soil after excess water has drained away by gravity

Wilting Point

The minimum level of water in the soil that a plant needs to avoid drooping and dying

Soil Nutrients

Ammonium, Nitrate, Phosphate, and Calcium

Soil Salinization

The process of repeated irrigation, which causes increased soil salinity

Cohesion

Mutual attraction among water particles

Transpiration

The process where a plant absorbs water through its roots and releases it as water vapor through tiny pores in its leaves

Tension

The pulling force or negative pressure created inside a plant's water-carrying tubes when water evaporates out of the plant

Animal Osmoregulation

The releasing of nitrogen by either urea or uric acid

Radiation

The emission of electromagnetic energy by a surface

Conduction

The transfer of heat between substances that are in contact with one another

Convection

The transfer of heat by the movement of liquid and gases

Evaporation

The transformation of a liquid to a gas with the input of heat energy

Thermal Inertia

The resistance to a change in temperature due to a large body volume

Bergmann’s Rule

Warm-blooded animals living in cold climates tend to have larger, bulkier bodies than the same or related species living in warm climates

Blood Shunting

When blood flows through an abnormal or alternative path, completely bypassing the normal tissues or organs where it is supposed to go