3. Chernozem in temperate grasslands. I. What is landscape ecology? A. Definition: study of patterns of land form and biota (e.g., biomes) over a broad range of spatial scales. B. Five areas of study in landscape ecology. II. What is a biome? A. Definition: broad structural classes of communities or ecosystems based primarily on the growth forms of the plants present and characteristics of climate. B. Dominant growth form = life-form of plants (viz., herbs, shrubs, trees). C. Major determinants of biome-types: precipitation & temperature. D. Trends in plant characteristics. III. What is an ecocline? A. Definition: dramatic vegetation change along an environmental gradient on a global scale. B. Ecoclines. A. Deciduous forest to desert. B. Up a mountian at the equator. C. Tropical rainforest to desert. I. Liebig”s “Law of the Minimum” = limiting factors on ecological processes (e.g., growth or reproduction).