3db equates to half of the original power.

tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and shor t growing seasons. SUB CATEGORIES Arctic tundra--The word "tundra" usually refers only to the areas where the subs oil is permafrost, or permanently frozen soil.Arctic tundra occurs in the far No rthern Hemisphere, north of the taiga belt.Arctic tundra contains areas of stark landscape and is frozen for much of the year. Alpine tundra--Alpine tundra does not contain trees because the climate and soil s at high altitude block tree growth. Alpine tundra is distinguished from arctic tundra in that alpine tundra typically does not have permafrost, and alpine soi ls are generally better drained than arctic soils. Alpine tundra transitions to subalpine forests below the tree line; stunted forests occurring at the forest-t undra ecotone are known as Krummholz. Alpine tundra occurs in mountains worldwide. The flora of the alpine tundra is c haracterized by dwarf shrubs close to the ground. The cold climate of the alpine tundra is caused by the low air pressure, and is similar to polar climate. Antarctic tundra--New Hampshire, United States Antarctic tundra lacks a large mammal fauna, mostly due to its physical isolatio n from the other continents.Antarctic tundra occurs on Antarctica and on several Antarctic and subantarctic islands. Antarctic tundra occurs on Antarctica and on several Antarcti c and subantarctic islands, including South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islan ds and the Kerguelen Islands. Most of Antarctica is too cold and dry to support vegetation, and most of the continent is covered by ice fields. However, some po rtions of the continent, particularly the Antarctic Peninsula, have areas of roc ky soil that support plant life. The flora presently consists of around 300 400 li chens, 100 mosses, 25 liverworts, and around 700 terrestrial and aquatic algae s pecies, which live on the areas of exposed rock and soil around the shore of the continent. Antarctica's two flowering plant species, the Antarctic hair grass ( Deschampsia antarctica) and Antarctic pearlwort (Colobanthus quitensis), are fou nd on the northern and western parts of the Antarctic Peninsula.[12] In contrast with the Arctic tundra, the Antarctic tundra lacks a large mammal fa una, mostly due to its physical isolation from the other continents. Sea mammals and sea birds, including seals and penguins, inhabit areas near the shore, and some small mammals, like rabbits and cats, have been introduced by humans to som e of the subantarctic islands. The Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra ecoregi on includes the Bounty Islands, Auckland Islands, Antipodes Islands, the Campbel l Island group, and Macquarie Island.[13] Species endemic to this ecoregion incl ude Nematoceras dienemum and Nematoceras sulcatum, the only Subantarctic orchids ; the royal penguin; and the Antipodean albatross. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the Kerguelen Islands. The arctic tundra is located between the north pole and the coniferous forests o r taiga region. It is characterized by extremely cold temperatures and land that remains frozen year-round. Alpine tundra occurs in frigid mountaintop regions a t very high elevations. Alpine tundra can be found in high elevations anywhere in the world, even in tro pic regions. Although the land is not frozen year-round as in arctic tundra regi ons, these lands are typically covered in snow for most of the year. A forest ecosystem typically is associated with land masses covered in trees and those trees are often classified by foresters into forest cover types. A forest ecosystem is a terrestrial unit of living organisms (plants, animals an d microorganisms), all interacting among themselves and with the environment (so il, climate, water and light) in which they live. The environmental "common deno minator" of that forest ecological community is a tree, who most faithfully obey s the ecological cycles of energy, water, carbon and nutrients.

A forest ecosystem has definite boundaries and includes a forest of trees out t o the limit of tree growth. Remember that forests are not the only ecosystems. T here are hundreds of thousands of defined and undefined ecosystems that can cove r the broadest to the tiniest of areas. An ecosystem can be as small as a pond o r a dead tree, or as large as the Earth itself. SUBCATEGORIES -"Tropical forests" encompass the idyllic rainforest, the remote cloud forest, a nd the lesser-known but equally endangered dry forest, pine savanna and much, mu ch more. They are not one ecosystem, but millions of unique ecosystems. Tropical forests are both the fearsome Jungle of our fantasy and the fertile Eden of our myth. They are the central nervous system of our planet -- a hotbed of evolutio n, life and diversity. -Temperate broadleaf and mixed Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests include a substantial component of trees i n the Anthophyta. They are generally characteristic of the warmer temperate lati tudes, but extend to cool temperate ones, particularly in the southern hemispher e. They include such forest types as the mixed deciduous forests of the United S tates and their counterparts in China and Japan, the broadleaf evergreen rainfor ests of Japan, Chile and Tasmania, the sclerophyllous forests of Australia, cent ral Chile, the Mediterranean and California, and the southern beech Nothofagus f orests of Chile and New Zealand. -Tropical moist There are many different types of tropical moist forests,although most extensive are the lowland evergreen broad leaf rainforests, for example vrzea and igap fore sts and the terra firma forests of the Amazon Basin; the peat swamp forests, dip terocarp forests of Southeast Asia; and the high forests of the Congo Basin. For ests located on mountains are also included in this category, divided largely in to upper and lower montane formations on the basis of the variation of physiogno my corresponding to changes in altitude -Taiga is the Russian word for forest and is the largest biome in the world. It stretches over Eurasia and North America. The taiga is located near the top of t he world, just below the tundra biome. GRASSLAND Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae) and other herbaceous (non-woody) plants (forbs). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rus h (Juncaceae) families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all cont inents except Antarctica. In temperate latitudes, such as northwestern Europe an d the Great Plains and California in North America, native grasslands are domina ted by perennial bunch grass species, whereas in warmer climates annual species form a greater component of the vegetation.[1] Grasslands are found in most ecoregions of the Earth. For example there are five terrestrial ecoregion classifications (subdivisions) of the temperate grassland s, savannas, and shrublands biome ('ecosystem'), which is one of eight terrestri al ecozones of the Earth's surface. -Savanna Savanna is grassland with scattered individual trees. Savannas of one sort or an other cover almost half the surface of Africa (about five million square miles, generally central Africa) and large areas of Australia, South America, and India . Climate is the most important factor in creating a savanna. Savannas are alway s found in warm or hot climates where the annual rainfall is from about 50.8 to 127 cm (20-50 inches) per year. It is crucial that the rainfall is concentrated in six or eight months of the year, followed by a long period of drought when fi res can occur. If the rain were well distributed throughout the year, many such areas would become tropical forest. Savannas which result from climatic conditio ns are called climatic savannas. Savannas that are caused by soil conditions and that are not entirely maintained by fire are called edaphic savannas. These can occur on hills or ridges where the soil is shallow, or in valleys where clay so ils become waterlogged in wet weather. A third type of savanna, known as derived savanna, is the result of people clearing forest land for cultivation. Farmers

fell a tract of forest, burn the dead trees, and plant crops in the ashes for as long as the soil remains fertile. Then, the field is abandoned and, although fo rest trees may recolonize, grass takes over on the bare ground (succession), bec oming luxuriant enough to burn within a year or so. In Africa, a heavy concentra tion of elephants in protected parkland have created a savanna by eating leaves and twigs and breaking off the branches, smashing the trunks and stripping the b ark of trees. Elephants can convert a dense woodland into an open grassland in a short period of time. Annual fires then maintain the area as a savanna. EX.Samb uru Game Preserve, Kenya. -Temperate grasslands are characterized as having grasses as the dominant vegeta tion.EX.Colorado prairie -Shrubland, scrubland, scrub or brush is a plant community characterised by vege tation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. EX.Prince Edward County bird observatory shrubland. DESERT A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of preci pitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. -Hot and dry desert The four major North American deserts of this type are the Chihuahuan, Sonoran, Mojave and Great Basin. Others outside the U.S. include the Southern Asian realm , Neotropical (South and Central America), Ethiopian (Africa) and Australian. The seasons are generally warm throughout the year and very hot in the summer. T he winters usually bring little rainfall. -Semiarid desert The major deserts of this type include the sagebrush of Utah, Montana and Great Basin. They also include the Nearctic realm (North America, Newfoundland, Greenl and, Russia, Europe and northern Asia). The summers are moderately long and dry, and like hot deserts, the winters norma lly bring low concentrations of rainfall. Summer temperatures usually average be tween 21-27 C. It normally does not go above 38 C and evening temperatures are coo l, at around 10 C. Cool nights help both plants and animals by reducing moisture loss from transpiration, sweating and breathing. Furthermore, condensation of de w caused by night cooling may equal or exceed the rainfall received by some dese rts. As in the hot desert, rainfall is often very low and/or concentrated. The a verage rainfall ranges from 2-4 cm annually. -Coastal desert These deserts occur in moderately cool to warm areas such as the Nearctic and Ne otropical realm. A good example is the Atacama of Chile. The cool winters of coastal deserts are followed by moderately long, warm summer s. The average summer temperature ranges from 13-24 C; winter temperatures are 5 C or below. The maximum annual temperature is about 35 C and the minimum is about -4 C. In Chile, the temperature ranges from -2 to 5 C in July and 21-25 C in Januar y -These deserts are characterized by cold winters with snowfall and high overall rainfall throughout the winter and occasionally over the summer. They occur in t he Antarctic, Greenland and the Nearctic realm. They have short, moist, and mode rately warm summers with fairly long, cold winters. The mean winter temperature is between -2 to 4 C and the mean summer temperature is between 21-26 C. FRESH WATER Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, i ce caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as gr oundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characte rized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water although it d oes include mineral rich waters such as chalybeate springs. The term "sweet wate

r" has been used to describe fresh water in contrast to salt water. -Surface water is water collecting on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, we tland, or ocean; it is related to water collecting as groundwater or atmospheric water. Surface water is naturally replenished by precipitation and naturally lost throu gh discharge to evaporation and sub-surface seepage into the ground. Although th ere are other sources of groundwater, such as connate water and magmatic water, precipitation is the major one and groundwater originated in this way is called meteoric water.EX. Alapaha River -An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsoli dated materials (gravel, sand, or silt) from which groundwater can be extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology. Related terms include aquitard, which is a bed of low permeability along an aquifer,[1] and aquiclude (or aquifuge), which is a solid, impermeable area underlying or overlying an aquifer. If the impermea ble area overlies the aquifer pressure could cause it to become a confined aquif er.EX.Great Artesian Basin MARINE Marine regions cover about three-fourths of the Earth's surface and include ocea ns, coral reefs, and estuaries. Marine algae supply much of the world's oxygen s upply and take in a huge amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The evaporation o f the seawater provides rainwater for the land. -Oceans The largest of all the ecosystems, oceans are very large bodies of water that do minate the Earth's surface. Like ponds and lakes, the ocean regions are separate d into separate zones: intertidal, pelagic, abyssal, and benthic. All four zones have a great diversity of species. Some say that the ocean contains the richest diversity of species even though it contains fewer species than there are on la nd. -Coral reefs Coral reefs are widely distributed in warm shallow waters. They can be found as barriers along continents (e.g., the Great Barrier Reef off Australia), fringing islands, and atolls. Naturally, the dominant organisms in coral reefs are coral s. Corals are interesting since they consist of both algae (zooanthellae) and ti ssues of animal polyp. Since reef waters tend to be nutritionally poor, corals o btain nutrients through the algae via photosynthesis and also by extending tenta cles to obtain plankton from the water. Besides corals, the fauna include severa l species of microorganisms, invertebrates, fishes, sea urchins, octopuses, and sea stars. -Estuaries Estuaries are areas where freshwater streams or rivers merge with the ocean. Thi s mixing of waters with such different salt concentrations creates a very intere sting and unique ecosystem. Microflora like algae, and macroflora, such as seawe eds, marsh grasses, and mangrove trees (only in the tropics), can be found here. Estuaries support a diverse fauna, including a variety of worms, oysters, crabs , and waterfowl.EX.Mangrove roots, south Florida; ROCKS a rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of one or more minerals or miner aloids. For example, the common rock, granite, is a combination of the quartz, f eldspar and biotite minerals. The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. PORES a small space that is surrounded by rock or soil. It may be filled with water, crude oil, or natural gas. URBAN An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human featu res in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or c

onurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets. Urban areas are created and further developed by the process of urbanization. Me asuring the extent of an urban area helps in analyzing population density and ur ban sprawl, and in determining urban and rural populations. CITIES A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement.[1][2] Although there is n o agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town TOWNS A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city.SORSO GON CONURBATIONS A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area.MANILA AGRICULTURE Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured th e development of civilization Industrial agriculture is a form of modern farming that refers to the industrial ized production of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops INDUSTRIAL AGRI - industrialized production of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops. The methods of industrial agriculture are technoscientific, economic, and political. SUSTAINABLE AGRI -Sustainable agriculture is the act of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment. PRODUCTS hanging landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agr iculture or housing subdividing real estate into lots, typically for the purpose of building homes developing property or changing its purpose, for example by converting an unused factory complex into condominiums OBSERVATION