explain with example how the temperature can affect the type of vegetation
- Weather and climate influence key environmental conditions that greatly influence vegetation such as rainfall/precipitation, humidity, temperature etc which define the type of environment the area is.
- Different types of plants prefer different conditions for optimal survival. For example, low precipitation and high temperatures in deserts only allow certain plants that tolerate this conditions such as cacti to survive.
- On the other hand, vegetation on tropical rainforests depend on high precipitation to thrive.
- Some plants are specialists are can only survive if certain environmental conditions are met. On the other hand, some are generalists and can be found in a multitude of habitats.
- The plant community in an area is the most sensitive indicator of climate. Areas with moderate to high temperatures and abundant rainfall throughout the year are heavily forested (unless humans have cleared the land for agriculture!). Areas with somewhat less rainfall are mainly grasslands, which are called prairies in North America. Humans have converted grasslands into rich agricultural areas around the world.
- Even in areas with high yearly rainfall, trees are scarce if there is not much rainfall during the warm growing season. Regions with not much rainfall and scarce vegetation are called deserts, or arid regions. Areas with somewhat greater rainfall are called semiarid regions.
- The problem with semiarid regions is that when humans use them for agriculture, the loss of natural vegetation can cause the areas to become deserts.