Practice.

Environmental
Factors

1.- Introduction
Every living organism presents its own combination of characteristics and
requirements to guarantee its biological success in a given environmental conditions.
Thus, it is known that exists a correspondence between organism and environmental
characteristics.

Environmental factors affecting one organism spatial distribution can be both,

either biotics or abiotics, and no every of them influences in the same way. When
studying the influence of a particular factor on the spatial distribution of a species, the
scale of study of the factors should be taken into account; the lower the scale (local) the
more important will be the factors such as orography, soil type, sunshine degree,
nutrients, etc. But the higher the scale, the more determinant rainfall and temperature
will be.

2.- Objectives
The main objective of this practice is analyzing the response of the cork oak
(Quercus suber L.) to two abiotic factors (annual rainfall and minimum temperarure) into a
regional scale, as well as discussing the importance of another facors in this tree spatial
distribution.

3.- Materials
- Cork oak distribution squared map
- A n n u a l r a i n f a l l m a p . Squared map where each type of squared has an
assigned rainfall range
- Minimum temperatures map. Squared map where each type of squared has an
assigned temperature range

4.- Process
First of all we will work with the rainfall map counting the number of squears per
range, and counting only the ones where the cork oak is present. Histograms and tables
were created with the data.
After that, same procedure will be done with the temperatures map.

5.- Questions
1. Built a chart with the precipitation values.
2.- Can it be stablished some differences on the cork oak distribution according
to the rainfall? Do you find an optimum point? Which?
3.- Built a chart with the temperatures values.
4.- Can it be stablished some differences on the cork oak distribution according
to the minimum temperatures? Do you find an optimum point? Which?
5.- When combining both optimum points for the cork oak according to your
results: Does the distribution of this species fit to the results in the squeared maps? Why
do you think this can happen?