Conditional boundaries of large natural complexes of Australia. Lesson Natural areas of Australia lesson plan in geography (grade 7) on the topic

A characteristic feature of Australia is the uniqueness of the organic world, which consists in a large number of endemic species. At the same time, it should be noted that the wild vegetation of Australia did not produce a single plant that would play a noticeable role in agriculture. Among plants, the share of endemics reaches 75%. These include casuarinas with leafless thread-like branches, and grass trees, and tree ferns; there are also many species of acacias, palm trees, various herbs and shrubs.

Australia is completely unthinkable without evergreen giants - eucalyptus trees, of which there are more than 300 species - from giant ones (up to 150 m in height) to low-growing ones and shrubs. Eucalyptus trees They grow quickly. In 20 years, one hectare of eucalyptus forest can produce up to 800 m 3 of valuable wood. For comparison, none of the known tree species can produce such an amount of wood even in 120 years. Despite the paradox - eucalyptus grows on the driest continent, the most important property of this tree is its amazing ability to drain the soil, which is why eucalyptus is called the “pump tree”. It’s not surprising that under the eucalyptus you won’t even see another tree, you won’t even see a blade of grass.

Among animals, the proportion of endemics is even greater - about 90%. This is the symbol of Australia, the kangaroo, d other marsupials: unusually cute marsupial bear - koala, wombat, mole, marsupial wolfetc. Such ancient animals as primitive oviparous mammals: the platypus and the echidna are well known. So many various birds: emu, birds of paradise, cassowaries, lyrebird, black swans, weed chickens, parrots, etc. The Australian world of reptiles is also rich: there are especially many poisonous snakes and lizards.

On the mainland natural areas are distributed in concentric circles. In the center there are deserts and semi-deserts, they are surrounded by tropical forest-steppes - savannas and woodlands. The northern and northeastern parts of the continent are characterized by humid and variable-humid forests. Various types of palms, laurels, ficus and tree ferns intertwined with vines grow here on red ferrallitic soils. On the eastern slopes of the Vodorazdelnyi Range they are common eucalyptus forests. Above 1000 m you can find separate tracts of ancient coniferous species - Araucaria.

IN savannahs common species are eucalyptus, acacia and casuarina on red-brown and red-brown soils. Kangaroos and emus live here. In the extreme southwestshrub steppes give way hard-leaved forests and shrubs, in the southeast - subtropical moist mixed forests with evergreen beeches on red-yellow ferrallite soils.

In semi-deserts and deserts you can find completely impenetrable thickets consisting of hard-leaved, thorny, densely intertwined shrubs (shrub forms of eucalyptus and acacia) - scrub s. In the western and central parts of the continent, large areas are occupied by sandy deserts - Bolshaya, Victoria, Simpson. They are characterized by long ridges, sometimes occupied by tall, tough grasses (“reed grass”). Among the animals found here are giant kangaroos, wombats, emus and the dingo dog, which is a wild domestic animal. In deserts, the soil cover is poorly developed, and in some places special desert soils, painted red.

Altitudinal zone can be found only in the Australian Alps, where the forests on the peaks give way to alpine-type meadows.

Due to Australia's arid climate, there is much less arable land than pasture. However, grazing pressures in many areas of the continent are so great and intense that they have led to a noticeable change in its flora and fauna. A lot was brought to Australia from other continents. different types trees, shrubs and herbs. Many introduced animals (foxes, rats, rabbits) pushed aside or greatly exterminated local species of animals. Almost every year, Australian forests suffer greatly from numerous fires.

Natural area	Climate type	Climate Features			Vegetation	Soil	Animal world
		TJan.	TJuly	Precipitation amount
Permanently wet forests	Tropical humid continental and subtropical monsoon				Eucalyptus, palm trees, tree ferns, pandanus, flindersia, orchids, araucaria.	Red-yellow ferralite	koala , couscous , tree kangaroo, marsupials: wombat, pademelons, marsupial tiger cats and pygmy possums.
Savannas, woodlands and shrubs	Subequatorial continental and tropical continental				Eucalyptus woodlands, grasses, acacias, casaurines	Brown, red-brown and brown savannas	Marmot, echidna, kangaroo mice, giant kangaroo, wombat, marsupial mole, emu.
Deserts and semi-deserts	Tropical continental				Mitchell's grass, triodia, plectrahne, shuttlebeard	Desert sandy and rocky	emu, frilled lizard, snakes, kangaroo, dingo dog
Stiffleaf evergreen forests and bushes	Subtropical Mediterranean climate				Low-growing species of eucalyptus, thickets of thorny acacias, saltwort, saltpeter, quinoa	Brown

In Australia, landscape zoning is well defined. Natural areas gradually replace one another as temperature and precipitation patterns change. This is facilitated by the flat nature of the continent's topography and the absence of distinct orographic boundaries on it.

The main part of Australia lies in tropical latitudes, so natural zones of the tropical zone are widespread on the mainland. Among them, zones of tropical deserts and semi-deserts have received the greatest development. In the north, semi-deserts give way to zones of savannas, woodlands and shrubs.

In the south, the zone of tropical deserts is framed by a zone of subtropical deserts. In the southwest there is a zone of Mediterranean dry forests and shrubs, in the southeast there is a zone of humid sub tropical forests.

Along the windward slopes of the Great Dividing Range stretch forest areas tropical and subtropical zones.

Thus, in tropical Australia natural zones are located in semi-concentric arcs around a tropical desert zone occupying the extra-arid regions of inland Australia.

On Saturday tropical zone zones extend submeridianally, and their set is quite wide (from east to west): the zone of wet subtropical forests, forest-steppes and steppes, semi-deserts and Mediterranean.

In Australia, all types of soils are common, characteristic of equatorial-tropical space and subtropical geographical zone. In the area of ​​tropical rainforests in the north and especially in the northeast, red-yellow ferrallitic soils and their variations along the slopes of the ridges are developed.

In wet savannas they are replaced by red ferrallitic soils, and in drier places by red-brown soils. Tropical black soils formed on the weathered lavas of the Great Dividing Range, and mountain-meadow varieties formed in the Australian Alps. Primitive soils of tropical deserts, often saline, are also widespread. In semi-deserts, under thickets of thorny bushes and low-growing trees with small leathery foliage, red-brown soils are developed.

In the southwest of the continent, brown and gray-brown soils predominate. And in the forests of the southeast, brown and yellow-brown forest soils are common.

The flora of the mainland belongs to the Australian plant kingdom. The beginning of the formation of flora dates back to the Mesozoic. From the middle Cenozoic era Australia found itself isolated from other continents. On the territory of Australia there were 2 centers of flora formation: Western and Eastern, between which there was a sea before the beginning of the Anthropocene. Currently, there are more endemics in the east (New South Wales) and north-west (Queensland). In the flora of the west and east of the continent, only 10% of the species are common.

The first feature of the Australian flora is its antiquity, a high percentage of endemics. Australia is the birthplace of eucalyptus trees, there are 600 species of them, phyloid acacias - 280 species, casuarinas (desert oak) - 25 species.

The second feature of the flora is its strong xerophytic character.

The third feature is that Australia has produced few cultivated plant species.

Australian floristic kingdom. It includes Australia and the neighboring island of Tasmania, as well as some smaller islands. The Australian kingdom occupies a completely isolated position. It is separated from the rest of the land by more or less extensive sea areas.

The flora of Australia is very rich (about 15 thousand species), extremely distinctive, original and contains many ancient plants. The original core of the flora arose as a result of the transformation of elements of the ancient flora distributed on the continent of Gondwana.

Australia has very high endemism at all levels. There are more than 10 endemic families (family Cephalotaceae; 1 species is an insectivorous herbaceous plant whose hunting shells resemble small pitchers). From other families: Brunoniaceae, Davidsoniaceae, Tremanderaceae, Biblidaeaceae, Acaniaceae.

There are 570 endemic genera. These include several large genera from the Proteaceae family: Hakea, Verticordia, Conospermum, etc.

The species endemism of the Australian flora is very high. The share of endemic species in general reaches 75-80%.

The Australian flora contains many characteristic families. Among them, we can primarily name the Proteaceae family (most of the species of this family - more than 700 are concentrated here). Rose-grevillea, hakea, banksia. Representatives of this family have a very peculiar, often bizarre appearance.

The Australian flora contains many representatives of the myrtle family. Species of the genus Callistemon attract attention with their original bright red fluffy cylindrical inflorescences (they look like a bottle brush).

The most characteristic genus of Australia, eucalyptus, also belongs to the myrtle family. There are about 600 species of eucalyptus here. Most of them are trees, but there are also shrubs. Almost all eucalyptus trees are evergreens. Life forms eucalyptus trees are very diverse, for example, the height of a giant eucalyptus is 100 m, its root system goes 30 m into the ground. The leaves of most eucalyptus trees, with their edges towards sunlight, form a crown that does not shade the soil. However, many eucalyptus trees have the generally spaced foliage and crown characteristic of our deciduous tree species. The bluish-green foliage of eucalyptus trees gives (even the evergreen subtropical forests in south-eastern Australia) a somewhat lifeless color; they do not have the bright and fresh color of European forests.

No less characteristic of the landscapes of the mainland are acacias (the legume family) - there are 500 species of them, or half of the species of this genus on Earth.

Acacia grows in a wide variety of conditions: in humid forests and deserts. Up to half of Australian acacia species have phyllodes, that is, the petioles have taken on the shape of leaves (flat green petioles of various shapes instead of true leaves). Acacias are evergreen plants. Their inflorescences usually look like small fluffy yellow balls and consist of extremely small individual flowers, almost invisible to the naked eye; these are false mimosa, from which they are distinguished by a larger number of stamens.

One of the reasons for the peculiarities of the flora of the Australian kingdom is the absence of some plant families and larger taxa widespread on other continents. There are no horsetails, bamboos, representatives of the apple subfamily, Rosaceae, heather, begoniaceae, valerian, or tea families. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as “flora defect”.

Tropical rainforests are the kingdom of dicotyledonous plants. They are most luxurious between 14-19° S. Their luxuriously developed foliage forms a dense forest tent that shades the soil. Characteristic feature The tree species of this forest are plank-shaped roots (buttresses) that support the trunk of the plant, as well as cauliflory, that is, the development of flowers and inflorescences on trunks and old branches.

The forests of Queensland contain many Malayan types, namely figs, pandanus, palms, acorns and many epiphytic ferns and orchids (the southern limit of the distribution of palms is the July temperature of + 25 ° C). The Malayan character of the flora is especially pronounced in the northernmost region of Cape York Peninsula, where many genera absent in the rest of Australia can be found, namely pitcher plants (cycads); palm trees of the genus Caryota (areca); vines (ranunculaceae, lily (wild pepper), rattan palm); epiphytes (ferns).

Among the most remarkable Australian trees are conifers from the genus Araucaria. Some species in Queensland form significant forests.

The coastal region of New South Wales has almost the same type of vegetation as Southern Queensland, but tropical species become less abundant, and the number of species of such true Australian genera as acacias and eucalypts increases significantly. However, tropical rainforests, with tall palm trees, tree ferns and vines, still retain a typically tropical appearance.

In New South Wales, as elsewhere in Australia, there are many representatives of the family Proteaceae, which reach their maximum development on the mainland. The most common genera are banksia and hakea. Banksias are trees with hard, toothed leaves and large, elongated flower heads.

Further inland, dense tropical rainforests are replaced rare eucalyptus forests with an undergrowth consisting of a variety of small trees and shrubs. All of them have a more or less pronounced xerophytic character.

In Australia deciduous tropical forests almost not represented. Tropical seasonally dry areas are occupied by eucalyptus and acacia woodlands. During the dry season, the well-developed grass cover dries out, but the eucalyptus retains its green foliage.

With further aridization, acacias with phyllodes, that is, with expanded leaf petioles that perform the function of photosynthesis, become more and more noticeable.

Casuarinas with green young shoots and reduced tiny leaves also become landscape plants. These shoots photosynthesize. Outwardly they look like pine needles. The similarity with conifers is complemented by the peculiar “cones” of casuarina. However, these plants belong to one of the oldest representatives of the dicotyledonous family.

In the northeast of the continent, dry acacia woodlands transform into groups that are characterized by the presence of various low-growing trees with swollen thick trunks called brachychitons ( bottle trees). Under the canopy of trees, the shrub layer grows densely; there is no grass cover. But there are numerous bulbous and tuberous plants, including many beautiful orchids (there are also terrestrial ones) and lilies, which in the spring, together with the abundance of brightly flowering shrubs, present a magnificent picture.

In the interior areas, which are relatively humid, lie savannas—Australian grasslands (grass country). In the land of grasses, the trees with their gray-green foliage are scattered alone. The eucalyptus trees are mixed with acacias Mulga and Glacuccia, as well as casuarina, and in the north-west there are peculiar “bottle trees” that have a thick trunk that stores water in the tissues. The savannah soil scorched during the dry season after the first rain into an ocean of fresh grassy vegetation, stirred by the wind like grain fields.

Here grow kangaroo grass, alang-alang, bearded grass, blue grass, Mitchell grass and other grasses, which serve as excellent food for herds of sheep and cattle.

Vast areas of inland Australia (mainly watersheds) are covered with scrub thickets, consisting of thorny, densely intertwined, sometimes completely impenetrable evergreen shrubs. Eucalyptus scrub - Mallee scrub consists primarily of low-growing species of eucalyptus and is distributed from south-west Australia to the southern Murray Basin. The thickets have a deathly bluish-green color. The leaves of the mallee scrub are hard and stand on an edge (they do not provide shade). The soil under the scraper is covered with sparse tufts of dry-loving grasses. This scrub is brightened only by a variety of immortelle plants from the Asteraceae.

Much more impassable and even dangerous for a traveler is the “mulga-scrape”, consisting of continuous thickets of thorny acacias reaching 4 m in height. This is a typical scrub of the desert zone of Australia, where no more than 250 mm of precipitation falls per year. It occupies vast areas to the north of the distribution of the mallee scrape. Interspersed with other plant associations, mulga scrub extends from western Australia to the eastern lowland drainage plains region. It has almost no grass cover; gray saltworts occasionally grow under it.

In the eastern part of the continent, between the 20th and 33rd parallels, they alternate with light eucalyptus forests of the so-called "Brigalow Scrub"- small forests consisting of acacias with silver-bluish foliage, mixed with low eucalyptus trees.

The Great Sandy Desert, the rocky and sandy Gibson Desert and the monotonous Victorian Sandy Desert are covered with bushy thickets of spinifex - a holly, prickly grass whose stems lift from the soil to form wind-blown tumbleweeds. Spinifex, growing on shifting sands, anchors them. Thickets of this grass, rising in bushes up to 0.5-1.5 m in diameter, thanks to their prickly leaves, sometimes make movement in deserts extremely difficult. Triodia grass is common in the west. Species of the genus Triodia have very strong and spiny needle-shaped leaves and grow in the form of rather large rounded cushions. These plants are called “hedgehog grass.”

Subtropical deserts of Australia: spinifex and triodic. The Nullarbor Plain in the south of the mainland in the subtropical zone, as the name itself (“treeless”) indicates, has absolutely no woody vegetation. The soil is covered with quinoa bushes or solyanka, forming an open cover reaching 1-1.5 m in height. This is the so-called saltwort bush or blue bush, as it has a bluish tint. This vegetation is readily eaten by sheep.

In the most arid regions of Australia, the Great Britain, rains fall rarely and are not confined to any particular season of the year; communities of subshrubs belonging to family of gonopods. Dominated by 2 subshrubs - quinoa vesica And Kochia sedum-leaved. Both plants usually form clean thickets. Kochia grows better in areas with a more humid climate. Due to its greenish-blue color, the plant is locally known as "blue bush".

The vegetation of southwestern Australia is peculiar - Mediterranean zone- This is a land of endemics. It is dominated by light forests of eucalyptus, herbaceous tree (xanthorrhoea), casuarina and proteaceae.

In the wettest areas the forest is formed eucalyptus multicolored, which is locally called "curry". This tall tree(up to 70-80 m) with a loose crown and a variegated trunk (orange-pink spots are scattered on a grayish-white background). The karri forest is very light, bushes grow luxuriantly under the trees, and a thick herbaceous cover develops on the soil.

In drier areas the forest is dominated by eucalyptus fringed, or "jarrah", which is also called "mahogany". Its height is much less - usually 15-40 m (maximum 40 m). This is primarily a forest of endemics: 82% of the plants that form its undergrowth are found nowhere else. There are no palm trees in these forests. They are especially rich in species of Proteaceae (376 species), which produce bright, variedly colored flowers that decorate these forests. The eucalyptus forests of southwest Australia contain a wide variety of acacias and members of the Proteaceae family, especially various types rodabanksia.

Not uncommon here grass trees. Typical representatives of the undergrowth of these forests are: tree lily ( Xanthorhoea). It has a dense dark lignified stem from 6 to 9 m in height, on which rises a bunch of narrow and long coarse herbaceous leaves, exceeding 1 m in length. Its inflorescence (cob) reaches 3 m in height. For Western Australia characterized by an abundance of beautiful terrestrial orchids, typical Australian genera, many species of sundews.

It is noteworthy that most trees and shrubs of the local forest can reproduce by seeds only after fires. Thus, the woody fruits of banksias that fall to the ground open only after exposure to fire, and herbaceous trees do not bloom until the fire passes.

In Australia subtropical rainforests are located in a narrow strip on the southeastern coast of the continent and in the lower belt of the mountains of the Great Dividing Range (up to an altitude of 1200 m). Various species of eucalyptus trees are abundant in these forests. Some of them are like eucalyptus almond, reach a height of 70-80 m; other species up to 150 m, with a trunk diameter of 10 m.

Trees from the genus have a smaller height Eugenia australis, fan palm, southern Levistona.

The plant life inside the eucalyptus forest is extremely rich. There are many tree ferns (their greenery is patterned, bright, fresh), including bearded fern. The trees of the lower tiers are often intertwined with vines.

The trunk and branches of eucalyptus trees are covered with epiphytes, among them the most striking staghorn fern, some of the wide fronds of which look like bowls where humus and rainwater accumulate. Many epiphytes bloom with bright flowers, such as orchids.

Antarctic species already take part in the formation of the vegetation cover of Tasmania. The main plant background here is formed by eucalyptus trees; some of these species were transferred to Europe. Antarctic species include evergreen southern beech and conifers (phylocladius, rhodocarpus). These forests are decorated with tree ferns, which are an essential element of the vegetation cover of Tasmania. On the trunks and branches of trees there are thickets of epiphytes, evergreen mosses and ferns. Flowering epiphytes are almost absent

Australia's fauna is exceptionally unique. The fauna of the mainland is also distinguished by its great antiquity and endemism and has a pronounced relict character (90% of them are found only in Australia). However, the diversity of animal species is small. They form Australian faunal region. The most characteristic feature fauna of Australia - a wide distribution of low-organized mammals: monotremes, or cloacals (families of platypuses and echidnas); marsupials

Marsupials gave an extraordinary diversity of convergent (having similar characteristics) species corresponding to the biological types of higher mammals (marsupial predators, rodents, climbers, insectivores, herbivores). Especially numerous and diverse are kangaroos, which have been greatly exterminated by humans and the dingo dog, which came to Australia with humans and went wild.

Also characteristic couscous, marsupial bear koala, marsupial wombat, mole, badger and anteater. The fauna of reptiles and insects is unique in Australia.

Birds are endemic Australian ostrich emus, cassowaries, weedy (big-legged) chickens, honey plants; also live lyrebirds, various parrots, variegated and brightly colored birds of paradise.

The ponds are home to Australian crocodiles and turtles. Many different snakes and lizards.

References.

1. Physical geography of continents and oceans: training manual for students higher ped. textbook establishments / T.V. Vlasova, M.A. Arshinova, T.A. Kovaleva. - M.: Publishing center "Academy", 2007.
2. Mikhailov N.I. Physiographic zoning. M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1985.
3. Markov K.K. Introduction to the physical geography of Moscow: graduate School, 1978

Lesson topic : Nature Australia.

Goals and objectives of the lesson:

To acquaint students with the features of the nature of Australia, the main endemic representatives of the organic world of the continent;

- form ideas about the location of natural areas;

To consolidate and deepen knowledge about the basic law of geography - latitudinal zonation using the example of natural areas of Australia;

Develop the ability to work with geographical map, establish cause-and-effect relationships;

Bring up careful attitude to nature;

Develop cognitive interest.

Equipment : atlases, map of natural areas of the world,presentation, handout, fragment of the film "Australia".

Lesson type: lesson in the formation of new knowledge and skills

Teaching methods: explanatory-illustrative, receptive, elements of the problem.

Lesson progress

№ p/p

PROGRESS OF THE LESSON

Organizational moment. Checking readiness for the lesson. Greetings.

Activation and motivation educational activities students. (Slide 1.)

Today we continue our study of Australia.One of the heroes of Jules Verne's book, Jacques Paganel, said: “... I swear to you that this is the most bizarre, most illogical country that has ever existed.” We have already studied with you the features of the GP, relief, climate and inland waters of Australia. What do you see as its quirkiness and illogicality?Lesson topic, goals and objectives . (Slide 2.) Today, having studied the natural areas of the mainland, we will learn some more amazing features of Australia.To do this, let's remember:Question : "HWhat is a natural area?

Answer: “This is a large PC with commonality temperature conditions, moisture, soils, flora and fauna."

Question : « PWhy is a natural area a natural complex?” Answer: " Because all components are interconnected.”Question: "HWhat is the main factor in the formation of natural areas?” Answer: " Climate. Amount of heat and moisture» (Slide 3.)Question : « What pattern stands out when placing natural areas?”

Answer: " Latitudinal zonation, i.e. change of natural zones from the equator to the poles.”

Question : “What is altitudinal zonation and does it manifest itself in Australia?”

Answer: “This is a change in natural zones in the mountains from the foot to the top. Yes, because in the southeast of the mainland the mountains are high.”

Question: “Using a map of Australia, name what natural areas there are on the mainland.”Answer: Open the atlas and answer the question: savannas and woodlands, deserts and semi-deserts, tropical rainforests, hard-leaved forests and shrubs, mixed forests in Tasmania.Now our task is to find out the features of Australia's PP. When studying new material, we will fill out the “Natural Areas” table.(Slide 4.) Table on the board. Draw a table layout in a notebook. The table is filled in stages.

Natural area

Learning new material

Organic world Australia is unique and unique: 75% of plant species, 95% of animals and 67% of birds in Australia are endemic.(Slide 5.)

Australian mainland for a long time, starting from Cretaceous period(about 135 million years ago), was isolated from other continents of the planet. Nowhere else can one find such a diversity of animals and plants, rarely found on other continents, which is why Australia is often called the “reserve continent”.

Endemic is an animal or plant that is found only in a given area. In Australia there are marsupials, but there are no monkeys or ungulates, there are no plants with juicy fruits, and there is not a single domesticated plant or animal. Oviparous and milk-feeding organisms live in Australia and are not found anywhere else on Earth. The tallest tree grows here and it is one of the fastest growing plants - eucalyptus.

As we move from the coast of Australia to its center, tropical and subtropical rainforests are replaced by dry and light eucalyptus forests with hard foliage of an unusual gray-bluish or greenish-gray color. These forests do not form a continuous forest tent; they are sparse. Then there are savannas, and in the very center of Australia there are deserts and semi-deserts with shrubby vegetation. Vast areas of inland Australia are occupied by the so-called scrub, consisting of thorny, intertwined and, at times, completely impenetrable bushes. And finally, the sands and rocks of deserts, in which only cushions of yellow grasses are found.

Deserts and semi-deserts of Australia.

Deserts in Australia occupy a third of the continent. Australian deserts have their own characteristic color - they are red. ( Slide 6.) The red desert of the deserted middle part of the mainland and the red sand dunes, the red rocks and piles of rubble, the red mesas. N. N. Drozdov, who traveled around Australia, writes in his book “The Flight of the Boomerang”: “Under your feet there is amazingly bright red sand, loose and fine. This unique color is given to it by the film of iron oxides that covers each individual grain of sand.”

Deserts are always hot and very dry. ( Slide 7.) The vegetation is extremely sparse - spinifex - holly grass, low-growing acacias and eucalyptus - scrub thickets . (Slide 8.) In semi-deserts, wormwood, saltwort, and thickets of shrubs of thorny desert acacias and strongly branching hard-leaved eucalyptus trees (malli) appear. The soils in semi-deserts are red-brown and reddish-brown. Representatives of the fauna include lizards, snakes, and monitor lizards. ( Slide 9.) Goans, as sand monitors are called in Australia, stay near campsites and are extremely friendly to tourists. True, not entirely disinterested: they rummage through the garbage, swallowing meat and fish bones and other scraps; but sometimes, just like that, out of completeness of feeling, they run up to the children and lick their bare feet. Goanas repel snakes, and since the poisonous copperhead snake lives here, residents are very happy when such a monitor lizard settles near their house.

Savannas and woodlands.

Eucalyptus forests give way to savannas - a land of grasses. Savannas are located in the southwestern corner of the continent and in the north, south of eucalyptus forests. Vegetation Australian savannas It is amazingly rich and diverse, with about 6,000 plant species. Moreover, 80% of them are unique. (Slide 10.)

In the land of grasses there are single trees with gray-green foliage. Mixed in with the eucalyptus trees are acacias, the aromatic peach tree, casuarinas with their leafless, thread-like branches, and in the northwest, peculiar bottle trees that accumulate water in their thick trunks. (Slide 11.)

There is little rain here; during the dry season, the grass is burned by the sun and the soil dries out. But as soon as the rain falls, the savannah turns into an ocean of grasses, agitated by the wind, like our grain fields. Among these grasses the plumes of “kangaroo grass” rise high (Slide 12.), blue grass and other cereals that serve as food for Australia's many sheep and cows.(Slide 13.)

An amazing symbol of Australia is the kangaroo. (Slide 14.) The smallest of them are only 23 cm tall, while the male giant kangaroos - large and gray - reach a height of 2 meters. They move at speeds of up to 20 km per hour on exceptionally developed hind limbs.Other marsupials characteristic of Australia are wombats, cuscuses, possums, and the marsupial anteater.(Slide 15.)

The most common birds are the emu and cassowary.. Crocodiles live in the rivers of Northern Australia, and lungfish ceratodes live in southern waterswith one lung, whose ancestors lived at the beginning of the Mesozoic era.(Slide 16-20.)

Early spring in South Western Australia is warm with clear on sunny days and the savannah is covered with a sea of ​​wild flowers. Nature at this time is so attractive and beautiful that tourists from all over Australia come here to the city of Perth. People come to admire not only the flowers, but also the birds, such as blue and glossy wrens, red-headed pikas, white-eyes, honeyeaters, king parrots, cockatoos, and white-breasted flycatchers. Many of them sing well.

“Southwestern Australia,” wrote the famous biogeographer Alfred Russel Wallace, “is much less extensive than its southeastern part. Its soils and climate are not so varied, there are no majestic mountains, and many sandy deserts: yet, oddly enough, its flora is just as rich, and maybe even richer, and there are many more specific species and genera of plants.”

Australia's variable rainforests

Forest in Australia occupies2% area of ​​the country. Forests form a narrow strip between the mountains and the ocean in the east and south of the continent.

Tropical rainforests are common in the northeast of the continent. The trees in this forest are up to 40-50 m high and they grow so close to each other that their foliage forms a dense canopy that blocks access sun rays. (Slide 21.)

There is an extraordinary abundance of epiphytes (vines, orchids), tree ferns, kauri pine, araucaria, red cedar, maple, Australian walnut and the grass palm xanthorea (Slide 22.) , palm liana – rattan. Among the most interesting trees of the tropical rainforest is the banyan tree. (Slide 23.) Its seeds, which are scattered by birds, get stuck in the branches and germinate, putting out roots that cling to the host tree. First, a woody, potato-shaped tuber with a leafy sprout develops. Then he lowers the root to the ground. Other roots follow, intertwining with each other, and the host tree becomes entangled in a dense network of banyan roots. Eventually the tree is smothered and the banyan tree takes its place and sometimes grows up to 25 m tall.

There are at least five hundred species of eucalyptus in Australia. (Slide 24.)

This is perhaps the most characteristic tree of the mainland. Some of the eucalyptus trees are very tall, the almond eucalyptus rises to the sky 150 m, and the thickness of its trunk can be more than 10 m. Such trees compete in height with the famous Californian redwoods. In some species of eucalyptus, the bark covering the trunk is shaggy, hanging down in clumps; in others, on the contrary, it is smooth, “stocking-like”. There are eucalyptus trees with “iron”, corrugated bark. The bluish-grayish or greenish-gray foliage of eucalyptus gives a somewhat lifeless appearance to such forests. They do not have the lush greenery and freshness of our forest, which is to some extent compensated for by the bright colors and greenery of tree and forest ferns. Blue eucalyptus trees grow in the coastal valleys of New South Wales, especially in the Thunder Valley in the Blue Mountains. (Slide 25.)

Botanists call the eucalyptus forests of Australia sclerophyllous, that is, hard-leaved.

This is how the famous zoologist and naturalist Gerald Durrell describes the eucalyptus forest in the book “The Way of the Little Kangaroo”: “Huge old eucalyptus trees stood in elegant poses, wrapped in tattered shawls of peeling bark, and interspersed between them were powerful, squat tree ferns; their long leaves rose in a lush green fountain above the hairy brown trunks. The forest was dark with fog, every sound echoed loudly, as if in an empty cathedral.” During the most severe droughts, these trees do not shed their leaves. The leaves turn their edges towards the sun.

It is always light in eucalyptus forests because the leaves of this tree turn parallel to the falling rays of the sun. This helps the tree retain moisture. Specially planted “pump trees” very quickly drain swamps, which helps the development of new lands. Eucalyptus leaves contain 3-5% aromatic essential oil, killing bacteria. This oil is used for colds and pneumonia. For all the amazing properties of these trees in Australia, the homeland of eucalyptus, local residents call them “trees of miracles”, “diamonds of forests”.( Slide 26.)

The rainforests of Australia are very picturesque. Mountains with clear streams and waterfalls, slender palm-lined coastlines, blue lagoons and bays with coral reefs combined with gloomy rain forests covered with climbing plants, provide birds with a wide variety of living conditions. For residents of the temperate climate zone, these forests look unusual. Tree trunks, like buttresses, support board-shaped roots; the trunks themselves are entwined with flowers and vines. Flowers grow directly on tree trunks and on their branches. They are thrown from tree to tree in lush garlands - from ficus to ferruginous tree, from there to eucalyptus, laurel tree, palm tree. Perhaps the most characteristic feature of tropical forests is their diversity. Half a hectare of forest may contain 150 different plant species. This richness of species also applies to tree-clad epiphytes (flowers and vines that live on the host tree). On just one trunk of a fallen tree you can sometimes count up to fifty different types of epiphytes.

In the northern tropical forests of Australia, the humid, hot summer lasts three to four months (October-December), and during this time there is sometimes heavy rainfall (up to 1500 mm of precipitation).

But the rest of the time it rarely rains here.

The fauna is represented by amazing animals: platypus, echidna, kangaroo, koala. (Slide 27-28.) There are numerous birds: lyrebird, cassowary, parrots, kookaburra.

Hard-leaved forests and shrubs.

Eucalyptus trees predominate in hard-leaved forests. Along the rivers grows a casuarina acacia with a knotty trunk and drooping needle-like foliage. In some places there is a turpentine tree, Acacia is numerous. There are species of acacia that bloom in autumn, winter, spring and summer, so the abundance of their pale yellow flowers constantly enlivens the forests. Indeed, the flowering of these acacias in late winter makes such an unusual impression that on the first of August, schools celebrate Acacia Day. The shrub layer is one of distinctive features hard-leaved forests. Telopea is beautiful with shiny dark red flowers measuring about 13 cm. Banksia - longleaf acacia, variegated grevillea, and yellow peas color the lower tier of the forest with bright colors.

Koalas do not drink at all, so the name of this animal is translated as not drinking water.

Koalas have always been the first victims of fires and merciless deforestation. And then the real extermination of the animal began: the fashion for its fur came - thick, warm, extremely wearable. Now there are about 250 thousand animals left. At birth, a koala baby is incredibly small - its weight is 5-6 g. The baby immediately moves into its mother’s pouch, where it stays for about a month and a half. During this time, it greatly increases in size and becomes overgrown with fur. Up to a year, the cub does not part with its parent, moving from branch to branch on its mother’s back.

An adult koala reaches 4.6-5.5 kg, height - 60-80 cm. Koalas feed exclusively on the foliage of certain types of eucalyptus trees. It is not surprising that the first koalas caught in captivity died very quickly: no one knew how to feed them properly.

The forest fauna is represented by: koalas, thylacines (possums), marsupial squirrels, rats, tree kangaroos (wallabies). The world of birds is rich: parrots (cockatoos), lyrebirds, birds of paradise, pelicans, black swans.

Mixed forests Tasmania.

Most of Tasmania is covered in forest. The typical tree species is the southern beech. The most ancient trees are atrotaxis - some ancient individuals are more than 2000 years old and represent a relict of the forests that covered Gondwana. In some places there are thickets of eucalyptus, the most tall plant in the world, form a forest canopy at a height of 90 m. (Slide 29.)

The separation of Australia from Gondwana gave rise to unique fauna marsupials and monotremes, and the subsequent separation of Tasmania from Australia created the conditions for the emergence of endemic species of animals, birds and plants. Fauna: Tasmanian devil, marsupial rat, red wallaby (tree kangaroo), kiwi bird, parrots.

Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest ecosystem because it is a colony of coral polyps. The development of this ecosystem depends on the conditions prevailing in shallow, sunlight-rich waters near the coast. Coral islands rise above the surface, formed over millions of years from the remains of coral polyps. More than 400 species of corals live here. The Great Barrier Reef is home to about 1,500 species of marine fish. The number of only massively occurring species of true reef fish, maximally adapted to life in this particular ecosystem, is about 500. It lives here largest fish on land - a whale shark, many species of parrotfish, boxfish, butterfly fish, moray eels and many others. The waters around the reef are home to several species of whales (minke whale, humpback whale), as well as many dolphins, including killer whales. The waters around the reef are a breeding area for humpback whales, which are often seen here from June to August.The South Reef Islands are a breeding ground for sea turtles. Six of the seven species are found in the reef's waters, all of which are endangered. A huge number of crustaceans also live here: crabs, shrimp, lobsters and lobsters. (Slide 30.)

Australians take care of the flora and fauna as the wealth of their country, carefully study and protect it. Every major city in Australia must have its own botanical garden or national park. Each state of the Commonwealth of Australia has its own botanical emblem.

Some of its representatives are depicted on Australian coins: the echidna on the 5-cent coin, the lyrebird on the 10-cent coin, and the platypus on the 20-cent coin. Extremely popular on the mainland, the emu and kangaroo are depicted in state emblem countries. (Slide 31.)

The choice of these two animals is not accidental: they symbolize progress, movement forward, since neither emu nor kangaroo can move backward.

Unfortunately, many of the Australian animals have been little studied, and it is unlikely that this can be done, since they have become extremely rare or have completely disappeared, like the marsupial wolf of Tasmania. Currently, 27 species of mammals and 18 species of birds are threatened with extinction.

There are many reasons for the unfavorable status of Australia's many wonderful animals. First of all, these representatives of the ancient fauna are very easily vulnerable and cannot compete with the “invaders”. The dingoes brought here, and later the foxes and rats, pushed aside or exterminated the primitive local species. This applies not only to animals, but also to birds. Thus, sparrows and starlings brought from Europe to Australia almost completely replaced local birds from gardens and parks. Rabbits imported from Europe have brought countless disasters to Australia; they destroyed vegetation over vast areas, depriving local species of animals and birds of food and shelter.

In the Commonwealth of Australia there are now more than 1000 protected areas - reserve parks and state parks, occupying in total slightly more than 3% of the country's territory. (Slide 32.) Australians have adopted a number of laws to save and protect their rare animals: they have banned their export, kept them in captivity, and limited or completely banned hunting of certain species.

Conclusion:

The organic world is poor, but very unique.

The unique nature of Australia is explained by its long isolation from other continents.

Endemics and relicts predominate.

PZs change from north to south, largest area occupy deserts and dry savannas, since Australia lies in tropical latitudes.

Consolidation of the studied material.

Test tasks

Summing up the lesson, reflection. DZ.

§ 37 Creative task: Create a page for Australian records.

(Slide 33.)

Application

Test tasks

1. In what natural zone do they live? poisonous snakes?

Savannah

Semi-deserts and deserts

2. What bird is depicted on the coat of arms of Australia?

Lyrebird

Cassowary

Ostrich

3. In what natural area does the echidna live?

Savannah

Semi-deserts and deserts

Variably moist forests

4. In what natural area do ferns grow?

Savannah

Variably moist forests

Hardleaf evergreen forests

5. The marsupial devil lives in:

Savannah

Semi-deserts and deserts

Forests of Tasmania

6. What plant do locals call the “diamond of the forests”?

Fern

acacia

Eucalyptus

7. In what natural area does the frilled lizard live?

Savannah

Semi-deserts and deserts

Variably moist forests

8. In what natural area do palm trees grow?

Savannah

Semi-deserts and deserts

Variably moist forests

9. In what natural area does the bottle tree grow?

Savannah

Variably moist forests

Deserts and semi-deserts

10. Which Australian animal has completely disappeared?

Marsupial devil

Marsupial wolf

Marsupial squirrel

Natural areas of Australia (7th grade) - this is one of the most interesting topics school geography. Indeed, this continent, despite its small size, is characterized by a very rich natural diversity. This article provides a brief description of all the natural zones of the mainland.

What is a natural area? Formation of natural areas

A natural (or physical-geographical) zone is a part geographic envelope, which is characterized by its own set of natural components and conditions. Any natural area includes a number of structural components, namely:

• climate features;
• landforms;
• inland waters;
• soil;
• flora and fauna.

All these components are in close interaction with each other, and the nature of these connections will be different for each of the natural zones.

The main factor that influences the formation and distribution of natural zones on the planet is the ratio of moisture and heat received. This ratio will vary depending on the latitude of the area. Natural zonation is also influenced by other factors (for example, the nature and complexity of the relief, proximity to the ocean, etc.), but the key factor is still the climatic one.

Each of the continents of our planet has its own set of natural zones. Australia is no exception here. The natural zones of this continent, namely their distribution, differ significantly from the sublatitudinal one. The reason for this is the small size of the continent, as well as the presence of a powerful mountain system stretching from north to south in the east of the continent of Australia.

The natural areas of the mainland, as well as their territorial distribution, are displayed on the following map:

Natural areas of Australia: table

In order to visualize the physical and geographical zoning of Australia, we bring to your attention the following table.

Natural zoning of mainland Australia

Natural areas	Climate type	Typical representatives of the flora	Typical representatives of the fauna
Zone permanently rain forests	Tropical. Monsoon.	eucalyptus; araucaria; ferns; orchids; palm trees	wombat; koala; tiger cat
Zone of evergreen hard-leaved forests	Subtropical (Mediterranean)	eucalyptus (low growing); various cereals; solyanka; acacia	various types of snakes and lizards; wombat; Dingo dog.
Savanna and woodland zone	Subequatorial and tropical	acacia; cereals; casaurins.	echidna; kangaroo; wombat; ostrich Emu.
Desert and semi-desert zone	Tropical (continental)	herbs and some grains; Blackbeard	Emu ostrich; various types of snakes and lizards; kangaroo.

Australia: natural areas and their brief characteristics

The largest area in Australia is the zone of deserts and semi-deserts, located in the tropical zone. This zone is characterized by low precipitation and extremely high evaporation. Therefore, the vegetation of Australian deserts is very poor. Quite often one can observe here extensive salt crusts covering large areas.

To the east, the zone of deserts and semi-deserts is replaced by more wet zone savannah and tropical woodlands. In this natural zone, the plant world is already much richer, but the lack of moisture is noticeable here too.

The eastern outskirts of Australia are known to be occupied by mountain system- The Great Dividing Range is the most important landscape barrier on the mainland. It was on its slopes that two natural zones were formed forest type. Between the 15th and 28th degrees of south latitude there is a zone of evergreen forests, and north of the 15th degree there is a zone of constantly humid forests. Altitudinal zone on this continent it is clearly visible only in the Australian Alps.

In conclusion

So, we found out that within the smallest continent of the planet there are four natural zones.

The natural zones of Australia are the zone of permanently moist forests, the zone of evergreen hard-leaved forests, the zone of savannas and woodlands, as well as the zone of deserts and semi-deserts. Each of them is distinguished by its geographical features (soil, flora, fauna).

Australia, along with Africa, is a continent on which natural zonation is clearly expressed. When moving from north to south, natural areas of Australia are gradually replaced. This is due to the change temperature regime, as well as with changes in the amount of precipitation.

The open woodlands and savannas of Australia correspond. On ferrallitic red soils, as well as on red-brown soils, not only grass grows, but also eucalyptus, acacia, bottle trees, as well as casuarinas - shrubs and trees with thread-like branches without leaves. Due to the fact that small branches of this plant fall off throughout the year, a conifer-like cover is formed under them, hence the similarity of this plant to coniferous trees.

In the east of the continent there are humid and variable-humid tropical forests, this is due to the conditions of uniform moisture. Eucalyptus trees, palm trees, ficus trees, etc. grow there. This climate zone is inhabited by: wombats, kangaroos, marsupial anteaters. A large number of birds live along the shores of numerous lakes.

The largest area, of course, is occupied by deserts and semi-deserts. In this zone there are scrubs - these are thickets of dry bushes and low-growing thorny acacias. You can also find eucalyptus trees and small-leaved grasses in this area. Some desert areas that are covered with spinifex, an evergreen perennial tough grass, and shrubs are used as pastures. giant kangaroos, echidnas and a large number of reptiles.

In the south of the mainland there are subtropical forests, most of which are occupied by evergreen beech, eucalyptus, etc.

The most are deserts. This is where an amazing animal lives, Australian spiny lizard- Moloch. The second name for Moloch is “prickly devil.” Its peculiarity is that its entire body, from the nose to the tip of the tail, is covered with powerful spines. When threatening appearance, the dimensions of the lizard are quite small, it reaches 10-12 cm in length, and its weight does not exceed 100 grams.

The color of the body of the Australian spiny lizard can change depending on external conditions. This happens for camouflage, and the spikes to some extent serve the same purpose. If a predator manages to notice a lizard, it can swallow a large amount of air and swell up like a ball covered with large spines. This transformation often scares off predators, allowing the lizard to survive.