Chapter 23 Landscape Ecology

(and Lake succession and wetland types)

 Landscape

mosaic

A quilt-work of different habitats

Patches

Distinct communities making up the mosaic

 Edge

Where two different landscapes meet Field bordering a forest Can be caused by soil differences, fire, grazing, farming, etc

 Ecotone

Blending of two different ecosystems Trees and grasses meeting and overlapping Copy the drawing

 Edge

Effect

Typically more biodiversity around edges because of varied plant communities Example: Ruffed Grouse
Needs

a variety of plant cover for its food, nesting and courting behavior

Corridors
Strips of vegetation that connect one patch with another Function as travel lanes for organisms Usually created by humans

Shade tolerant sugar maple, beech, oak, hickory Shade intolerant trees Cherry, Birch, aspen

 Progression

of a lake into a field This does not typically occur in deep water lakes

 Starts

with the cattails, rushes and other surface vegetation growing around the shore. These die and fall into the water with other organic matter

Organic matter continues to build up and more species begin crowding the lake edge Oxygen levels drop (b/c of decomposition) and fish species decrease

 Lake

finally turns into a marsh, swamp or bog

 Marsh

Frequently flood More open water and deeper than a swamp Dominant species are grasses, reeds, shrubs, etc Fresh, salt or brackish water

 Swamp

Typically have large amounts of woody vegetation Shallow Fresh or salt water

 Bog

Fill mostly with precipitation Poor soils and a lot of sphagnum moss (acidic)
Low

decomposition Accumulate peat (dead organic matter)