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Gunniopsis Quadrifida
''Gunniopsis quadrifida'', the Sturts pigface, is a plant endemic to Australia that is within the family Aizoaceae. This family consists of a diverse array of species that inhabit arid and/or saline coastal and inland areas, with the plants displaying leaf morphology that is conducive to such harsh environments. Typical features of members of this genus that lie within this family of succulents includes the presence of fleshy-leaves that acts as a water reservoir for the plant with the habit of a smalls shrub. Description ''Gunniopsis quadrifida'', commonly known as sturts pigface, is a succulent plant in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae. It is endemic to Australia. The shrub has a divaricate, compact and rounded habit typically growing to a height of with leaves that are about long. Documented cases of the western distribution of the plant flowering have been noted to occur from August to January with the plant producing white flowers with a diameter of approximately . Southe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferdinand Albin Pax
Ferdinand Albin Pax (26 July 1858 – 1 March 1942) was a German botanist specializing in spermatophytes. A collaborator of Adolf Engler, he wrote several monographs and described several species of plants and animals from Silesia and the Carpathians. He was a professor at Wrocław University from 1893. His son Ferdinand Albert Pax (1885–1964) was a noted zoologist. Life and work Pax was born on 26 July 1858 in Dvůr Králové nad Labem, in what was then known as Bohemia, to Carl Ferdinand, a mine superintendent in Schatzlar, and Elisabeth Haas (died 1861). He graduated from the Kamienna Góra gymnasium and joined the University of Wrocław. He received a PhD in 1882 studying under Heinrich Göppert and moved to Kiel and habilitated in 1886 for studies on the Cyperaceae. He served as an assistant at the Botanical Garden and moved to Berlin in 1889 where he worked with Adolf Engler. In 1893 he became the chair of botany at Wrocław. He became a professor of botany and zoolog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl Anton Eugen Prantl
Karl Anton Eugen Prantl (10 September 1849 – 24 February 1893), also known as Carl Anton Eugen Prantl, was a German botanist. Prantl was born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, and studied in Munich. In 1870 he graduated with the dissertation ''Das Inulin. Ein Beitrag zur Pflanzenphysiologie'' (The inulin, a contribution to the plant physiology). He worked with Carl Wilhelm von Nägeli and Julius Sachs. From 1887 on, he published ''Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (''The Natural Plant Families'') with fellow botanist Adolf Engler, who completed the work in 1915.Sambamurty, A.V.S.S''Taxonomy of Angiosperms.''I. K. International Pvt Ltd, 2005: Page 15-16. Accessed on August 10, 2011 In 1877 he became a professor at the forest educational institution at Aschaffenburg, transferring to Breslau University in 1889, where he also became director of the botanical garden there. Prantl worked particularly on Cryptogams. Works *''Lehrbuch der Botanik'' (Textbook of Botany), 7 Eds., Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Western Australia
The flora of Western Australia comprises 10,551 published native vascular plant species and a further 1,131 unpublished species. They occur within 1,543 genera from 211 families; there are also 1,317 naturalised alien or invasive plant species more commonly known as weeds. There are an estimated 150,000 cryptogam species or nonvascular plants which include lichens, and fungi although only 1,786 species have been published, with 948 algae and 672 lichen the majority. History Indigenous Australians have a long history with the flora of Western Australia. They have for over 50,000 years obtained detailed information on most plants. The information includes its uses as sources for food, shelter, tools and medicine. As Indigenous Australians passed the knowledge along orally or by example, most of this information has been lost, along many of the names they gave the flora. It was not until Europeans started to explore Western Australia that systematic written details of the flora comme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunniopsis
''Gunniopsis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae. These plants are found in areas of inland Australia. ''Gunniopis'' comprises 14 species that were once members of the genera ''Aizoon'', ''Gunnia'' and ''Neogunnia''. The name of the genus honours the botanist and politician Ronald Campbell Gunn. The genus was first formally described by the botanist Ferdinand Pax in 1889 in Engler and Prantl's work '' Die Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien''. The name is derived from the Greek word ''opsis'' meaning resembling which alludes to the resemblance of the genus to the genus '' Gunnia''. Members of this genus are succulents with the habit of a small shrub or herb. The plants are widespread throughout the eremaean zones of Western Australia and South Australia with some species extending into the areas in the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales. Found in arid areas the plants are often found in shrubland area with saline soils in and around sal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phenology
Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonality, seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as environmental factor, habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples include the date of emergence of leaves and flowers, the first flight of butterflies, the first appearance of bird migration, migratory birds, the date of leaf colouring and fall in deciduous trees, the dates of egg-laying of birds and amphibia, or the timing of the developmental cycles of temperate-zone honey bee colonies. In the scientific literature on ecology, the term is used more generally to indicate the time frame for any seasonal biological phenomena, including the dates of last appearance (e.g., the seasonal phenology of a species may be from April through September). Because many such phenomena are very sensitive to small variations in climate, especially to temperature, phenological records can be a useful proxy (climate), proxy for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada, with small portions extending into Arizona and Utah. The Mojave Desert, together with the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Great Basin deserts, forms a larger North American Desert. Of these, the Mojave is the smallest and driest. The Mojave Desert displays typical basin and range topography, generally having a pattern of a series of parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is also the site of Death Valley, which is the lowest elevation in North America. The Mojave Desert is often colloquially called the "high desert", as most of it lies between . It supports a diversity of flora and fauna. The desert supports a number of human activities, including recreation, ranching, and military training. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the system through photosynthesis and is incorporated into plant tissue. By feeding on plants and on one another, animals play an important role in the movement of matter and energy through the system. They also influence the quantity of plant and microbial biomass present. By breaking down dead organic matter, decomposers release carbon back to the atmosphere and facilitate nutrient cycling by converting nutrients stored in dead biomass back to a form that can be readily used by plants and microbes. Ecosystems are controlled by external and internal factors. External factors such as climate, parent material which forms the soil and topography, control the overall structure of an ecosystem but are not themselves influenced by the ecosystem. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agricultural Expansion
Agricultural expansion describes the growth of agricultural land (arable land, pastures, etc.) especially in the 20th and 21st centuries. The agricultural expansion is often explained as a direct consequence of the global increase in food and energy requirements due to continuing population growth (both which in turn have been attributed to agricultural expansion itself), with an estimated expectation of 10 to 11 billion humans on Earth by end of this century. It is foreseen that most of the world's non-agrarian ecosystems (terrestrial and aquatic) will be affected adversely, from habitat loss, land degradation, overexploitation, and other problems. The intensified food (and biofuel) production will in particular affect the tropical regions. Most modern agriculture relies on intensive methods. Further expansion of the predominant farming types that rest on a small number of highly productive crops has led to a significant loss of biodiversity on a global scale already. More ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Development
Land development is the alteration of landscape in any number of ways such as: * Changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing * Subdividing real estate into lots, typically for the purpose of building homes * Real estate development or changing its purpose, for example by converting an unused factory complex into a condominium. Economic aspects In an economic context, land development is also sometimes advertised as land improvement or land amelioration. It refers to investment making land more usable by humans. For accounting purposes it refers to any variety of projects that increase the value of the process . Most are depreciable, but some land improvements are not able to be depreciated because a useful life cannot be determined. Home building and containment are two of the most common and the oldest types of development. In an urban context, land development furthermore includes: * Road construction ** Access ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Use
Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long history, first emerging more than 10,000 years ago. It has been defined as "the purposes and activities through which people interact with land and terrestrial ecosystems" and as "the total of arrangements, activities, and inputs that people undertake in a certain land type." Land use is one of the most important drivers of global environmental change. History Human tribes since prehistory have segregated land into territories to control the use of land. Today, the total arable land is 10.7% of the land surface, with 1.3% being permanent cropland. Regulation Land use practices vary considerably across the world. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization Water Development Division explains that "Land use concerns the produ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climate Change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global average temperature is more rapid than previous changes, and is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices increase greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide and methane. Greenhouse gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight. Larger amounts of these gases trap more heat in Earth's lower atmosphere, causing global warming. Due to climate change, deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Increased warming in the Arctic has contributed to melting permafrost, glacial retreat and sea ice loss. Higher temperatures are also causing m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invasive Species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native species that become harmful to their native environment after human alterations to its food webfor example the purple sea urchin (''Strongylocentrotus purpuratus'') which has decimated kelp forests along the northern California coast due to overharvesting of its natural predator, the California sea otter (''Enhydra lutris''). Since the 20th century, invasive species have become a serious economic, social, and environmental threat. Invasion of long-established ecosystems by organisms is a natural phenomenon, but human-facilitated introductions have greatly increased the rate, scale, and geographic range of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
