Vegetation of the dryland regions

Sharon E. Nicholson

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511973840.005

3 - Vegetation of the dryland regions

from Part I - The dryland environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2011

Sharon E. Nicholson

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Sharon E. Nicholson: Affiliation:
Florida State University

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Summary

Vegetation types/classification

Vegetation and climate are so fundamentally linked that the first climate classification systems were actually based on vegetation. In one sense vegetation is a response to climate, but it is far from a passive end-product. Rather, there are complex interactions and feedbacks between vegetation and climate, the intricate processes of the global energy, mass and water balances. On the space scales associated with climate, the most meaningful categories of vegetation are based on such concepts as life forms and biomes. These concepts are closely linked, both relating to the physical structure of the vegetation.

The principal life forms of plants are trees, shrubs, lianas, and herbs. Both trees and shrubs are woody and erect; lianas and herbs are not. Trees have a single, upright main trunk with branching in the upper part to form a crown. The foliage is concentrated in the crown. A shrub consists of several stems branching near the ground, such that foliage is concentrated in a mass starting close to the ground. Lianas are woody vines that climb on trees. Herbs, consisting of grasses and forbs (broad-leaved herbs), are usually small and lack woody stems.

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Type: Chapter
Information: Dryland Climatology , pp. 46 - 64

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511973840.005 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2011

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