Ecological Factors Common to Terrestrial Habitats

Topic Content:

Factors affecting terrestrial habitats that are common to aquatic habitats have already been discussed and they include:

• Temperature
• Rainfall
• Wind
• Light
• Pressure
• pH
• Oxygen

Other EcologicalEcology is the study of organisms and how they interact with the environment around them. An ecologist studies the relationship between living things and their habitats. More Factors Common to Terrestrial Habitats are;

Relative Humidity (Atmospheric Factors):

Humidity is the amount of water vapour in the air. The humidity will be high if there is a lot of water vapour in the air. The higher the humidity, the wetter it feels outside. Relative humidity is the amount of water vapour in the air relative to the maximum amount of water vapor that the air can hold at a certain temperature. It affects the rate of transpirationPlants absorb a lot of water and transpiration is a means by which excess water is removed More from plants and evaporation from animals.

When relative humidity levels are too high or there is a lack of air circulation, a plant cannot make water evaporate (part of the transpiration process) or draw nutrients from the soil. When this occurs for a prolonged period, a plant may suffer deficiencies. The transpiration rates increase with low relative humidity levels, organisms that live in areas where humidity is low must prevent water loss from their body surfaces.

It’s also known that along with high temperatures, high relative humidity decreases