HOW DO

NATURAL FACTORS
AND VEGETATION
INTERACT?
Natural factors such as moisture, temperature,
and soil affect vegetation. In turn, vegetation
affects these natural factors. They interact.
Why should you care about this? As you
read in Chapters 1 and 2, Earth is a place of
change. Its climate and landforms change over
time. Natural vegetation changes too. Earth’s
systems are interconnected. A change in one
system can lead to changes in the others.
When we learn about how plants grow,
how they interact with the environment
around them, and how they affect us
and the planet, we gain a better overall
understanding of Earth and our place on it.
First, let’s look at how three natural
factors affect vegetation. Two main factors
are moisture and temperature, which are
part of the climate system. The third main
factor is soil.

MOISTURE FIGURE 3.8 Fog (evaporation) surrounds

Plants need moisture to survive (Figure 3.8). The moisture this mixed forest. The trees take in moisture
through their roots.
in a region depends on the amount of precipitation and
evaporation that occurs there. I wonder how much moisture a mixed
forest needs compared to a grassland?
PRECIPITATION
The amount of precipitation, moisture that falls to the
ground, such as rain or snow, differs from region to region.
Plants adapt to the amount of precipitation in their region.
Grasses can survive with low amounts of precipitation. Trees
need more water than grasses do. This is why grasslands How does
are more common than forests in hotter, drier areas. This is precipitation affect
also why forests grow best where moisture is available year plants?
round, especially during the growing season.

84 UNIT 1: Physical Patterns in a Changing World NEL

READING
THEMATIC MAPS
A thematic map shows one topic or theme
within a geographic area, such as the Annual Precipitation Rates in North America
Global Natural Vegetation Regions map on
180˚W 160˚W 140˚W 120˚W 80˚W 60˚ W 40˚ W 20˚ W
page 77 (Figure 3.2). The topic or theme 100˚W

is identified in the legend. Thematic maps

ARCTIC
use symbols and colours to help users “see” OCEAN
patterns and find important geographic irc
le
cC

60
relationships. The purpose of these symbols cti

˚N
Ar
or colours is identified in the legend. Often
thematic maps include some location
N 60˚N
information, such as lines of latitude
and longitude. On some maps, water
bodies and places may have name labels,
PACIFIC
depending on the theme. Thematic maps
OCEAN
will also include a scale and north arrow. 40
˚N
Figure 3.9 is one example of a thematic
N
Precipitation 40˚
map. It uses colours to represent the (mm)
different values shown on the map. 0–100
100–200
Precipitation rates vary from place to
200–400 ATLANTIC
place. By using a thematic map to show 400–600 OCEAN
the annual rates of precipitation across 600–800
an area, we are able to quickly see any 800–1200

patterns or interrelationships.
1200–1600 Tropic of Cancer 20˚N
1600–2000
2000–3000
3000–4000
4000–6250 0 700 km
FIGURE 3.9 This map shows total yearly 100˚W 60˚W

precipitation, measured in millimetres.

HOW TO READ A THEMATIC MAP

Review Figure 3.9. Read the title. What is the

theme or topic? What is the location? Explain the STEP 1
meaning of the topic to another person.

Read the legend. Identify the colours on the map.

Geography 7 SB STEP 2 How does the legend show the colours? What units
0-17-659048-X of measurement are used in the legend?
Look for patterns you can see on the map. What
factors might explain theFN
patterns?
C03-F10-GO7SBSTEP 3
(redo) Most precipitation maps use blue as a colour.
CO Crowle Art Group Can this be an exception to the rule?
Make connections. What other natural systems
STEP 4 might show similar patterns?
Pass 3rd pass
Approved
Identify how precipitation rates
Not might affect
Approved STEP 5
patterns of natural vegetation around the world.

NEL CHAPTER 3: Changing Patterns of Natural Vegetation 85

EVAPORATION
Plants are affected by the amount of moisture that evaporates from the
ground. Places with high temperatures have high evaporation rates. The
moisture leaves the soil more quickly in these regions than in regions with
lower temperatures. Plants in hot regions will not grow as well as plants in
places with less extreme temperatures.

TEMPERATURE
Plants are affected by the amount of solar energy or heat in a region. During
photosynthesis they use sunlight for energy. Also, the amount of heat that
plants receive depends on their location and the temperatures there.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Plants use energy from the Sun during photosynthesis. The photosynthesis
of a plant increases as the temperature rises. Plants do not usually start
growing until the daytime temperature reaches 6 °C. Plants usually
grow well at temperatures of around 20 °C. At very high temperatures,
photosynthesis slows down, and plants do not grow as well. treeline  an area or region
beyond which trees do not
LATITUDE AND ELEVATION grow because of dry or cold
conditions
Temperatures are higher near the equator and lower near the poles. As a
result, vegetation changes as the latitude changes. FIGURE 3.10 In this photo of
a mountain in Alberta, you
As you learned in Chapter 2, air is colder at higher elevations. This affects can see exactly where the
the natural vegetation, such as trees, that grows on mountainsides. The treeline begins.
treeline is the transition zone where a forest ends because the climate has What differences would
become too cold or too dry (Figure 3.10). I notice if I were standing
at the treeline?

86 UNIT 1: Physical Patterns in a Changing World NEL

 Look at Figure 3.11. What types of trees can grow where it is colder? How
are they different from other types of trees? The answers give clues about
how trees adapt to colder temperatures.
Temperature and Precipitation Ranges of
Natural Vegetation Regions
FIGURE 3.11 This figure shows –15
how types of vegetation adapt
to ranges of temperature and tundra and high-
precipitation levels. –10
mountain vegetation

–5 needleleaf evergreen
or boreal forest

Decreasing temperature (°C)

0
mixed

cold desert
forest
5

mid-latitude
grassland
10
broadleaf
15 deciduous forest
subtropical
broadleaf
20 tropical forest
grassland
hot desert

tropical
25 Mediterranean broadleaf
semi-desert forest
scrub forest
30
500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500
Increasing precipitation (mm)

SOIL
Soil is an anchor for a plant. As the plant grows, its roots grip the soil. Soil
plays a key role in the health of most plants. Plants need nutrients to grow,
and they absorb these from the soil. In agriculture, if the soil does not have
enough nutrients for crops to grow, farmers may use fertilizers, which add
nutrients to the soil.

HOW VEGETATION AND CLIMATE INTERACT

Geography 7 SB You have read about the ways in which the climate, including moisture and
0-17-659048-X
temperatures, and soil affect natural vegetation. Natural vegetation has an
effect on the climate, too. In fact, natural vegetation and the climate affect
FN C03-F02-G07SB
each other. Here are two examples:
CO Crowle Art Group
• It rains in a mid-latitude grassland. Plants take in the water through
their roots. They use some of it for photosynthesis to grow and reproduce.
Pass 4th pass
They return what they do not use to the air. As the plants continue to
Approved
grow larger, they use more and more of the moisture and return less
Not Approved
to the air. This makes the overall climate in that particular region drier
over time.
• Leaves absorb sunlight, which is energy from the Sun, to use in
photosynthesis. This cools the air. When the air is cool, less moisture is
evaporated, and more moisture is available for plants, which helps them
live and reproduce.

NEL CHAPTER 3: Changing Patterns of Natural Vegetation 87

HOW VEGETATION, CLIMATE, AND
SOIL INTERACT
Vegetation, climate (moisture and temperature), and soil interact with one
another, too. Here are three examples:
• Plants and animals decay on the surface of the ground and become
humus (Figure 3.12). Humus is full of nutrients. Rainfall carries the humus  decaying plant and
nutrients down into the top layer of the soil. Here, they are available to animal matter found in the
top layer of soil
the roots of living plants. Warm temperatures encourage plant growth.
Eventually these plants die and decompose. As a result, warm, moist
places, such as a broadleaf deciduous forest vegetation region, generally
have excellent soils for plants.

FIGURE 3.12 This diagram

shows how plants,
precipitation, and soil interact.

Older plants die.

Dead plants decay to humus,

which contains nutrients.
Living plants use nutrients
from humus to grow.

Precipitation moves the humus into

the soil. The humus is further decomposed
by organisms such as earthworms.

• When rain washes away the top nutritious layer of the soil, the soil loses
fertility, making it more difficult for plants to grow. If there are plants
growing in the soil, however, they can help prevent this. The roots of the
plants anchor the soil. The plants’ leaves stop raindrops from hitting the
ground hard enough to wash away the soil particles.
• A growing amount of evidence suggests that the Sahara Desert was
created over time by interactions between the climate, the natural
vegetation, and the soil. Read the timeline, Figure 3.13, to find out more
about how grasslands changed to desert.

88 UNIT 1: Physical Patterns in a Changing World NEL

 FIGURE 3.13 This timeline describes how
Grasslands cover what is now the Sahara Desert. People 7000 the Sahara Desert, in the northern part of
live in the area with grazing animals. BCE Africa, may have been created by climate and
vegetation interactions. Note that BCE means
before the Common Era.

The climate becomes hotter and drier due to natural

causes. With less moisture available, grasses do not
grow well.

5000
BCE

As the grasses die, more soil is exposed to sunlight.

The soil dries and starts to crack.

A severe desert environment is created.

4000
BCE

CHECK-IN
1. INTERRELATIONSHIPS Create an ideas web 3. SPATIAL SIGNIFICANCE Use Figure 3.2 (page 77)
that shows some of the interactions between and a political map of the world to locate
vegetation, climate, and soil. a community in two of these types of
2. INTERRELATIONSHIPS In some parts of Canada, vegetation regions:
such as in the mixed forest regions of Ontario, • mixed forest
the soil is deep and fertile. In other places, such • tundra and high-mountain vegetation
as the tundra regions, soil is thin and poor. What • tropical grassland
factors help to create soils? What role does
natural vegetation play in creating soils? Create a
diagram or a chart to show your ideas.

NEL CHAPTER 3: Changing Patterns of Natural Vegetation 89