2. Composition of Soil Animal Matter living Dead Water Air Plant Matter Dead Living Mineral Particles PARENT MATERIAL

3.  How are minerals naturally added to soil?  Give three examples of how air is added naturally to soils.  Why is bacteria and organic material important in soil, and how does it get there?  Give two examples of how moisture is important in soil.

4.  Erosion and Weathering of Rock (Parent Material)  Decomposing organic material; worms, insects, animals, plant roots; erosion or earth movement…  Add nutrients for plants, and increases decomposition = adds more nutrients to soil. A plant or animal dies and decomposes to add nutrients, moisture to soil, creating the dark colour.  Moisture provides water to plants, and moves nutrients around in the soil (leaching – down, capillary action - up); water is key in erosion processes (chemical and physical)

6.  Loam is a well-balanced mixture of sand, silt and clay, plus humus.  It is good for plants because It encourages root growth It holds moisture It allows water to pass through it at a rate moderate enough to allow plants to take up nutrients.

7.  Leaching happens when precipitation high, water always goes down through the soil and dissolves chemical nutrients that plants need.  Leaching is bad for soil because it takes minerals so deep that roots cannot reach them.  A leached soil has a poor, often thin topsoil.  Leached soil can be made more productive by adding fertilizers.

8.  Calcification occurs in drier climate areas.  Water in topsoil evaporates and water rises up to replace it, bringing minerals which remain at the surface after evaporation, especially calcium.  Good: it creates topsoil rich in minerals.  Bad: in dry areas, evaporation is so great that topsoil becomes poisonous to plants, too many minerals.

9. http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps /archives/3rdedition/environment/land/ 035?maxwidth=1600&maxheight=1400& mode=navigator&upperleftx=0&upperlef ty=0&lowerrightx=4032&lowerrighty=30 40&mag=0.0625

10.  The Arctic: Tundra Soils (poorly drained, rocky, bogs)  BC and Yukon: Complex mountain soils  The Prairies: Dry Climate Soils (grassland soil)  The Rest of Canada: Wet Climate Soils (Peat and Podzolic)

11.  In order for plants to grow, there must be soil  In order for certain plants to grow there must be certain soils. For example, some plants and crops grow very well in sandy soil, while others grow very well in soil which is rich in plant matter.  The patern of natural and artificial vegetation in Canada is determined by the pattern of soils.

12. What do you think are the main factors that contribute to soil type and therefore vegetation type in a region?

13.  Temperature  Precipitation  Growing season (temperature and sun light hours)  Time  Elevation (temperature, growing season)

14.  Natural Vegetation is vegetation that grow without human interference.  Artificial Vegetation starts life in a greenhouse or laboratory. These are seeded or germinated by humans to grow in a specific way. (GMO’s, Chemically Treated, Irrigated, Fertilized, Incecticides)

15.  Coniferous Trees are needled trees with long roots and thick bark. Most Coniferous trees do not lose their needles in the winter (local exception? _________)  Deciduous Trees are broad-leaved trees with shorter roots and thinner bark. All deciduous trees lose their leaves in the water.

16.  As you travel from the south part of Canada, there is a transition in type of vegetation which you would find.  As you travel South to North how would you expect the forest types to change?

17.  North: Tundra Coniferous Forest Mixed Forest Deciduous Forest  South:

19.  As you move up a mountain, vegetation changes in much the same way as it does from south to north: Deciduous forest change to mixed forest, to coniferous forest, and then to tundra vegetation.

20.  http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/ma ps/archives/5thedition/environment/ecol ogy/mcr4182

21.  There are 7 major regions (based on major tree species, and grass species – natural vegetation species)  Tundra  Coast (West Coast Forest)  BC and the Yukon (Cordilleran Vegetation)  Boreal Forest Zone  Grassland (Prairies)  Mixed Forest (50% Deciduous and Coniferous)  Deciduous Forest

22.  Canada’s largest Vegetation Region: Boreal Forest Zone  Canada’s smallest Vegetation Region: Deciduous Forest Zone  Canada’s wettest Vegetation Region: Coastal (West Coast Forest)  Canada’s coldest Vegetation Region: Tundra Vegetation Region

23.  http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/ma ps/archives/3rdedition/environment/cli mate/030 http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/ma ps/archives/3rdedition/environment/cli mate/030  http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas /themes.aspx?id=weather&sub=weather _basics_zones&lang=En

24.  Vegetation Region – Climate Region  Tundra - Arctic Climate Regions  Coast (West Coast Forest – Pacific Maritime  BC and the Yukon (Cordilleran Vegetation) - Mountain  Boreal Forest Zone – Northern Interior/Northern Laurentian/Atlantic Maritime  Grassland (Prairies) - Prairie  Mixed Forest (50% Deciduous and Coniferous) – South Laurentian/Atlantic Maritime  Deciduous Forest – Lower Lakes

25. How would you expect a warming climate to change vegetation, soil or climate regions? How do humans change soil, vegetation, and climate?

26.  Question 1: Think about water/soil/temperature…. (dry areas get dryer, wet areas get wetter, more extremes which will change the ability of some plants to survive)  Question 2: Our text “This Earth” pg183 - pg192 (mining, farming, addition of nutrients/chemicals/ etc. that were not originally there, deforestation, increased carbon dioxide,…)

27. Community of living things and the environment or habitat in which they live. Contains Biotic and Abiotic elements

28. Systems regulate themselves, and respond to change, through feedback mechanisms.

29. NEGATIVE FEEDBACKPOSITIVE FEEDBACK  Stops things, or shuts them off  Eg. A Thermostat in your house  Eg. A population of deer expands, therefore the population of cougars will also expand.  Serves to keep systems in balance, or maintain homeostasis.  Enhances processes or switches them on.  “Positive does not mean good; it simply means that the system responds by enhancing, rather than reducing the effects of a change.”  Eg. Spinning tires in mud  Eg. Overgrazing causing desertification

30. Energy flow and chemical cycling are the two major processes that occur in ecosystems

31. Energy Cycle Flow of Energy Hydrologic (Water) Cycle Carbon Cycle Nitrogen Cycle Phosphorus Cycle Text pg. 47 - 59

32. Most of the energy that enters the Earth system is solar energy

33. The Sun’s energy, used by living things, is passed along food chains Much energy is lost at each trophic level

34. The continuous circulation of water through the hydrosphere.

35. Carbon is the building block of life.

36. Nitrogen is converted from its inert form into one that is useful in biological processes.

37. Phosphorous is a nutrient that is essential for life.

38. A major terrestrial ecosystem, with characteristic plant and animal species, maintained under particular climatic conditions