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Groundcovers
Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought. In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as the herbaceous layer. The most widespread ground covers are grasses of various types. In ecology, groundcover is a difficult subject to address because it is known by several different names and is classified in several different ways. The term groundcover could also be referring to “the herbaceous layer,” “regenerative layer", “ground flora” or even "step over." In agriculture, ground cover refers to anything that lies on top of the soil and protects it from erosion and inhibits weeds. It can be anything from a low layer of grasses to a plastic material. The term ''ground cover'' can also specifically refer to landscaping fabric which is like a breathable tarp that allows water and gas exchange. In gardening jargon, however, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vinca Major1
''Vinca'' (; Latin: ''vincire'' "to bind, fetter") is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, native to Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. The English name periwinkle is shared with the related genus ''Catharanthus'' (and also with the common seashore mollusc, ''Littorina littorea''). Description ''Vinca'' plants are subshrubs or herbaceous, and have slender trailing stems long but not growing more than above ground; the stems frequently take root where they touch the ground, enabling the plant to spread widely. The leaves are opposite, simple broad lanceolate to ovate, long and broad; they are evergreen in four species, but deciduous in the herbaceous '' V. herbacea'', which dies back to the root system in winter.Blamey, M., & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. Hodder & Stoughton.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening'' 4: 664-665. Macmillan. The flowers, produced through most of the growing season, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biomass (ecology)
The biomass is the mass of living biological organisms in a given area or ecosystem at a given time. Biomass can refer to ''species biomass'', which is the mass of one or more species, or to ''community biomass'', which is the mass of all species in the community. It can include microorganisms, plants or animals. The mass can be expressed as the average mass per unit area, or as the total mass in the community. How biomass is measured depends on why it is being measured. Sometimes, the biomass is regarded as the natural mass of organisms ''in situ'', just as they are. For example, in a salmon fishery, the salmon biomass might be regarded as the total wet weight the salmon would have if they were taken out of the water. In other contexts, biomass can be measured in terms of the dried organic mass, so perhaps only 30% of the actual weight might count, the rest being water. For other purposes, only biological tissues count, and teeth, bones and shells are excluded. In some appl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Senecio Tropaeolifolius Flowering
''Senecio'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. Variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus ''Senecio'' is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Description Morphology The flower heads are normally rayed with the heads borne in branched clusters, and usually completely yellow, but green, purple, white and blue flowers are known as well. In its current circumscription, the genus contains species that are annual or perennial herbs, shrubs, small trees, aquatics or climbers. The only species which are trees are the species formerly belonging to '' Robinsonia'' occurring on the Juan Fernández Islands. Chemistry Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are found in all ''Senecio'' species. These alkaloids serve as a natural biocides to deter or even kill animals that would eat them. Livestock generally do not find them palatable. ''Senecio'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microstegium Vimineum
''Microstegium vimineum'', commonly known as Japanese stiltgrass, packing grass, or Nepalese browntop, is an annual plant, annual grass that is common in a wide variety of habitats and is well adapted to low light levels. Despite being non-native in the United States, it serves as a host plant for some native satyr butterflies, such as the Carolina satyr ''Hermeuptychia sosybius'' and the endangered Mitchell's satyr ''Neonympha mitchellii''. Owing to its invasive potential, the plant has been put on the European list of invasive alien species. This means the plant can no longer be imported into or traded in the European Union. Distribution It is native in much of South Asia, East Asia, and parts of Southeast Asia, and has since moved to the United States. Description It typically grows to heights between and is capable of rooting at each Node (botany), node. The plant flowers in late summer and produces its seeds in the form of a caryopsis shortly thereafter. It is quite simi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flowering; and to the shedding of ripe fruit. The antonym of ''deciduous'' in the botanical sense is evergreen. Generally, the term "deciduous" means "the dropping of a part that is no longer needed or useful" and the "falling away after its purpose is finished". In plants, it is the result of natural processes. "Deciduous" has a similar meaning when referring to animal parts, such as deciduous antlers in deer, deciduous teeth (baby teeth) in some mammals (including humans); or decidua, the uterine lining that sheds off after birth. Botany In botany and horticulture, deciduous plants, including trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials, are those that lose all of their leaves for part of the year. This process is called abscissio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season. Evergreen species There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs. Evergreens include: *Most species of conifers (e.g., pine, hemlock, blue spruce, and red cedar), but not all (e.g., larch) *Live oak, holly, and "ancient" gymnosperms such as cycads *Most angiosperms from frost-free climates, and rainforest trees *All Eucalypts * Clubmosses and relatives *Bamboos The Latin binomial term , meaning "always green", refers to the evergreen nature of the plant, for instance :'' Cupressus sempervirens'' (a cypress) :''Lonicera sempervirens'' (a honeysuckle) :''Sequoia sempervirens'' (a sequoia) Leaf longevity in evergreen plants varies from a few months ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wren
Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonly known simply as the "wren", as it is the originator of the name. The name ''wren'' has been applied to other, unrelated birds, particularly the New Zealand wrens (Acanthisittidae) and the Australian wrens (Maluridae). Most wrens are visually inconspicuous though they have loud and often complex songs. Exceptions include the relatively large members of the genus ''Campylorhynchus'', which can be quite bold in their behaviour. Wrens have short wings that are barred in most species, and they often hold their tails upright. Wrens are primarily insectivorous, eating insects, spiders and other small invertebrates, but many species also eat vegetable matter and some eat small frogs and lizards. Etymology and usage The English name "wren" deriv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Micromys Minutus
The harvest mouse (''Micromys minutus'') is a small rodent native to Europe and Asia. It is typically found in fields of cereal crops, such as wheat and oats, in reed beds and in other tall ground vegetation, such as long grass and hedgerows. It has reddish-brown fur with white underparts and a naked, highly prehensile tail, which it uses for climbing. It is the smallest European rodent; an adult may weigh as little as . It eats chiefly seeds and insects, but also nectar and fruit. Breeding nests are spherical constructions carefully woven from grass and attached to stems well above the ground. History The genus ''Micromys'' most likely evolved in Asia and is closely related to the long-tailed climbing mouse (''Vandeleuria'') and the pencil-tailed tree mouse (''Chiropodomys''). ''Micromys'' first emerged in the fossil record in the late Pliocene, with ''Micromys minutus'' being recorded from the Early Pleistocene in Germany. They underwent a reduction in range during glacial peri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reed Warbler
The ''Acrocephalus'' warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Acrocephalus''. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler family Acrocephalidae. They are sometimes called marsh warblers or reed warblers, but this invites confusion with marsh warbler and reed warbler proper, especially in North America, where it is common to use lower case for bird species. These are rather drab brownish warblers usually associated with marshes or other wetlands. Some are streaked, others plain. Many species breeding in temperate regions are migratory. This genus has heavily diversified into many species throughout islands across the tropical Pacific. This in turn has led to many of the resulting insular endemic species to become endangered. Several of these species (including all but one of the species endemic to the Marianas and two endemic to French Polynesia) have already gon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Appalachian Region
{{Disambiguation ...
Appalachian may refer to: * Appalachian Mountains, a major mountain range in eastern United States and Canada * Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail in the eastern United States * The people of Appalachia and their culture ** Appalachian Americans, ethnic group native to Appalachia ** Appalachian English, the variety of English native to Central and Southern Appalachia ** Appalachian music * Appalachian State University, in Boone, North Carolina See also * Appalachia (other) * * Appellation (other) An appellation in general is a name, title, designation, or the act of naming. Specifically it may refer to: * Appellation :# a verbal or written designation of an individual, e.g. ''Lord'', or ''Prince'' :# a verbal or written designation of a u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhododendron Maximum
''Rhododendron maximum'' — its common names include great laurel, great rhododendron, rosebay rhododendron, American rhododendron and big rhododendron — is a species of ''Rhododendron'' native to the Appalachians of eastern North America, from Alabama north to coastal Nova Scotia. Description ''Rhododendron maximum'' is an evergreen shrub growing to , rarely , tall. The leaves are long and broad. The flowers are diameter, white, pink or pale purple, often with small greenish-yellow spots. The fruit is a dry capsule long, containing numerous small seeds. The leaves can be poisonous. Leaves are sclerophyllous, simple, alternate, and oblong (10 to 30 cm long, 5 to 8 cm wide). It retains its waxy, deep-green leaves for up to 8 years, but once shed are slow to decompose. It produces large, showy, white to purple flowers each June and July. Range Rosebay rhododendron is the most frequently occurring and dominant species of ''Rhododendron'' in the southern Appalachia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Impact On The Environment
Human impact on the environment (or anthropogenic impact) refers to changes to biophysical environments and to ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources caused directly or indirectly by humans. Modifying the environment to fit the needs of society is causing severe effects including global warming, environmental degradation (such as ocean acidification), mass extinction and biodiversity loss, ecological crisis, and ecological collapse. Some human activities that cause damage (either directly or indirectly) to the environment on a global scale include population growth, overconsumption, overexploitation, pollution, and deforestation. Some of the problems, including global warming and biodiversity loss, have been proposed as representing catastrophic risks to the survival of the human species. The term ''anthropogenic'' designates an effect or object resulting from human activity. The term was first used in the technical sense by Russian geologist Alexey Pavlov, and it w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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