Our World

Class Summary for 2/7/2006

Today in class, the first thing we did was trivia, as usual. The trivia question was True or False: To get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean you must travel west. The answer ended up to be false.
After trivia, we continued taking the notes in the packet on Chapter 2. Here they are:

II. Human Impacts on Plants and Animals: The Globalization of Nature

A. Bioregion: an assemblage of local plants and animals covering a large area (e.g., tropical rainforest or grassland)
1. Includes naturally occurring flora and fauna.
2. Shaped by our domestication-and modification-of these plants and animals.
3. Today bioregions may be home to multinational conglomerates as well as to local plants,
animals, and peoples.

B. Tropical Forests and Savannas

• mostly found in equatorial climate zones
• covers around 7% of the world's land area
• 3 layered canopy
• as one moves poleward, distinct dry season forms and tropical forest becomes more open
• farther poleward, grassland and savanna replace forest

C. Deforestation in the Tropics

• Annually, an area of tropical forest the size of Wisconsin is denuded

-land cleared for wood sale, for cattle grazing, and for settlement purposes

- Native peoples who live there lose the most

D. Deserts and Grasslands

• these are large areas of arid and semi-arid climate that lie poleward (north and south) of the tropics
• comprise 1/3 of the Earth's land surface

- Desert: areas receive less than 10 inches of rainfall per year

- Prairie: North American grassland- Oklahoma, Nebraska

- Steppe: shorter, less dense grassland found in Russia and Southwest Asia

• Desertification: the spread of desert-like conditions

- caused by poor agriculture practices on marginal land, overgrazing, and build-up of salts in soil from irrigation

- UN estimates that 60% of the world's range lands are threatened by desertification

E. Temperate Forests

• large tracts of forests found in middle and high latitudes (nearer the poles)
• 2 major tree types dominate

-Conifers or evergreens (pine, spruce, fir)

- Deciduous trees that lose leaves in winter (hardwoods include elm, maple, beech, and many others)

• in many regions, these forests have been cleared for agricultural purposes
• commercial logging interests place global pressure on forests

After notes, Mrs. Hartman explained and handed out a notecard to each of us that we could write on for the test.

For the rest of the class period, we worked on our "Using the Atlas Part II" packet.

*Homework*

• read pgs. 40-43
• blog
• atlas packet due on Thursday
• notecard for test due on Friday
• study for test which is on Friday

posted by Anonymous @ 2/07/2006 05:40:00 PM