NR 603 Exam 2 Questions and Correct Answers |Already
Graded A+||Brand New Version!!!
What is disturbance? Stress? - CORRECT ANSWER --Discrete or episodic change in
environmental conditions
-Stress is chronic (long-lasting) and often cumulative. Limitation on structure or function of
ecosystem
Types of Disturbances - CORRECT ANSWER --Abiotic... fire, wind, water, earth movements,
extreme weather events, etc.
-Biotic... insects, beavers, invasive plants, disease, etc.
How do disturbances impact landscapes? - CORRECT ANSWER --History of past disturbances
influences landscape structure
-"resets the clock" --> initiates succession processes
-Alter resource availability
-Provides diverse habitat and patches of habitat
-Perform ecosystem functions (exposed seedbeds)
What are alternative stable states? - CORRECT ANSWER --A large or small change that can
shift a community or ecosystem to a new 'state'
-Natural disturbances, human actions, and keystone species can cause state changes... sea otters-
kelp-urchins... reversal of the change may not result in a return to "original state"
What is a disturbance regime? - CORRECT ANSWER --Isolated event that characterizes the
spatial and temporal dynamics of the disturbance type on the landscape
-Assumes there is a given area and time over which the type, timing, and magnitude of a
disturbance is relatively homogeneous... fire regime
, How is a disturbance regime characterized? - CORRECT ANSWER --Described by multiple
parameters... frequency, return interval, intensity, severity, extent
-Individual events may be highly variable... disturbance regimes are aggregates and are therefore
less variable and more amendable to prediction
How and why reconstruct a disturbance regime? - CORRECT ANSWER --Important to
reconstruct a disturbance because it is important to bring a landscape back to its natural state
-Methods... dendroecological (tree scars), forest age class structure, stand maps, veg surveys,
historical data, aerial photos, remotely sensed data, etc.
What is "natural"? - CORRECT ANSWER --Perceived differently over time
-Perceptions can drive management strategies and results in mismanagement
Agents of landscape pattern (different temporal and spatial scales) - CORRECT ANSWER --
Physical factors of climate, topography, and soils
-Biotic interactions
-Natural disturbances
-Human land use
Overview of human activity as an agent of landscape pattern formation - CORRECT ANSWER -
-Land cover: physical state (habitat/veg type) of land... forest, cropland, grassland
-Land cover change: reflects change in the cover type
-Land use: the manner in which humans employ the land and its resources
-Land use change: encompasses how human use of the land has changed over time
Land-use legacies - CORRECT ANSWER --ecological systems are complex and often dependent
on initial conditions or context
-Legacy effects of land-use practices can add help explain modern conditions and managing for
future conditions
Graded A+||Brand New Version!!!
What is disturbance? Stress? - CORRECT ANSWER --Discrete or episodic change in
environmental conditions
-Stress is chronic (long-lasting) and often cumulative. Limitation on structure or function of
ecosystem
Types of Disturbances - CORRECT ANSWER --Abiotic... fire, wind, water, earth movements,
extreme weather events, etc.
-Biotic... insects, beavers, invasive plants, disease, etc.
How do disturbances impact landscapes? - CORRECT ANSWER --History of past disturbances
influences landscape structure
-"resets the clock" --> initiates succession processes
-Alter resource availability
-Provides diverse habitat and patches of habitat
-Perform ecosystem functions (exposed seedbeds)
What are alternative stable states? - CORRECT ANSWER --A large or small change that can
shift a community or ecosystem to a new 'state'
-Natural disturbances, human actions, and keystone species can cause state changes... sea otters-
kelp-urchins... reversal of the change may not result in a return to "original state"
What is a disturbance regime? - CORRECT ANSWER --Isolated event that characterizes the
spatial and temporal dynamics of the disturbance type on the landscape
-Assumes there is a given area and time over which the type, timing, and magnitude of a
disturbance is relatively homogeneous... fire regime
, How is a disturbance regime characterized? - CORRECT ANSWER --Described by multiple
parameters... frequency, return interval, intensity, severity, extent
-Individual events may be highly variable... disturbance regimes are aggregates and are therefore
less variable and more amendable to prediction
How and why reconstruct a disturbance regime? - CORRECT ANSWER --Important to
reconstruct a disturbance because it is important to bring a landscape back to its natural state
-Methods... dendroecological (tree scars), forest age class structure, stand maps, veg surveys,
historical data, aerial photos, remotely sensed data, etc.
What is "natural"? - CORRECT ANSWER --Perceived differently over time
-Perceptions can drive management strategies and results in mismanagement
Agents of landscape pattern (different temporal and spatial scales) - CORRECT ANSWER --
Physical factors of climate, topography, and soils
-Biotic interactions
-Natural disturbances
-Human land use
Overview of human activity as an agent of landscape pattern formation - CORRECT ANSWER -
-Land cover: physical state (habitat/veg type) of land... forest, cropland, grassland
-Land cover change: reflects change in the cover type
-Land use: the manner in which humans employ the land and its resources
-Land use change: encompasses how human use of the land has changed over time
Land-use legacies - CORRECT ANSWER --ecological systems are complex and often dependent
on initial conditions or context
-Legacy effects of land-use practices can add help explain modern conditions and managing for
future conditions
