300047 VO Ecology of the ecozones of the world (2006W)

The lecture starts with a general account on how to classify terrestrial biota from an ecological point of view. By following the biome-concept of H.Walter the different life zones of the earth are presented in the following sequence: tropical rain forest biome, tropical/subtropical semidry regions, hot desserts, mediterranean life zone, warm temperate life zone, cool temperate life zone, cold desserts and steppes, taiga life zone, tundra and polar desserts. Each biome is presented regarding climate, soils, vegetation, animal life (only marginally), and land use. The lecture focus on the dominating (zonal) natural ecosystems but considers also azonal ecosystems (e.g. mires, mountains, ecosystems on poor soils), cultivated land and urban ecosystems.