Chapter Concepts1. An ecosystem is the functional unit of the environment; it includes interactions between organisms and the physical and chemical components of the environment.
2. Biomes are large terrestrial regions recognizable by their characteristic vegetation and shaped by climatic conditions; major biomes include grasslands, forests, and deserts.
3. The policy of extractive reserves is a strategy to maintain natural areas for the extraction of economically valuable, yet renewable, products with minimal environmental degradation.
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2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education