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Ch. 6 EMS VOC 3-4
Chapter 6 - Mr. Pasone's Enviornmental Science
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Biome | A grouping of ecosystems with similar abiotic and biotic factors and/or conditions |
| Climate | The average conditions, including temperatures and precipitation, over long periods in a given area |
| Weather | The day-to-day conditions in Earth's atmosphere |
| Climatograph | A diagram that shows an area's average temperature and precipitation |
| Net Primary Producer | The organic matter, or biomass, that remains after cellular respiration |
| Canopy | The dense covering of trees, 50 to 80 meters above the ground, in a rain forest |
| Emergent Layer | The few tall trees that extend above the canopy in a rain forest |
| Understory | The shorter trees and plants found in a tropical rain forest |
| Epiphyte | A plant that grows on other plants instead of in soil |
| Deciduous | A tree that loses it's leaves and stops photosynthesis during part of the year |
| Estivation | The deep sleep-like state that an animal enters when conditions are dry |
| Coniferous | A tree bearing cones that typically does not lose it's leaves |
| Hibernation | The deep sleep-like state an animal enters for most of the winter |
| Permafrost | Permanently frozen solid |
| Salinity | A measurement of the amount of salts dissolved in water |
| Phonic Zone | The uppermost layer of an aquatic ecosystem, where there is enough sunlight for photosynthesis to occur |
| Aphonic Zone | The layer below the photic zone in an aquatic ecosystem, where no sunlight penetrates so photosynthesis cannot occur |
| Benthic Zone | The bottom layer of an aquatic ecosystem |
| Littoral Zone | The shallow near-shore portion of the photic zone |
| Limnetic Zone | The portion of the phonic zone that is farther from the shore than the littoral zone, no rooted plants are found in this zone |
| Wetland | An area of land that is flooded with water at least sometime during the year |
| Flood Plain | an area alongside a river that periodically floods |
| Estuary | Body of water, partly enclosed by land, that occurs where fresh water meets the water of an ocean or inland sea |
| Upwelling | The flow of cold, nutrient-rich water toward the surface of the ocean |