Temperature. Abiotic environmental factors include humidity, light, radiant energy, air and its composition and other nonliving natural ingredients. Temperature is an environmental factor.
Based on body temperature, all living organisms are divided into poikilothermic (with a changing body temperature depending on the temperature of the environment) and homeothermic (organisms with a constant body temperature).
To the poikilothermic group include plants, bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, fish, arthropods, etc.
To the homeothermic group include birds, mammals and humans. These organisms regulate body temperature regardless of temperature environment.
Based on their tolerance to low temperatures, plants are divided into heat-loving and cold-resistant. Heat-loving ones include grapes, peach, apricots, pears, etc., and cold-resistant ones include mosses, lichens, pine, spruce, fir.
For each individual organism there is a temperature limit. Some organisms are resistant to temperature fluctuations. For example, fish live at a temperature of -52°C, bacteria - at -80°C. Some blue-green algae can withstand -44°C.
Temperature deviations from a constant level cause a slowdown in metabolism and the destruction of biochemical reactions in protein and gradually lead to crystallization of cells and a complete stop of life.
Plants have developed various adaptations to fluctuations in environmental temperature:
1. In autumn, the amount of water in the cell cytoplasm plants, its organelles (glycerol, monosaccharides, etc.) thicken, thereby adapting to low temperatures and entering a dormant state.
2. In winter, plants enter a dormant stage in the form of spores, seeds, tubers, bulbs, roots, and rhizomes. And large trees shed their leaves, it thickens cell sap. Thanks to this, they are able to survive harsh wintering conditions.
3. Poikilothermic animals with unfavorable conditions hibernate (state of suspended animation). Anabiosis is a temporary slowdown in metabolism and energy, when everything is almost completely absent visible manifestations life. Hibernation in some organisms (bears) is associated with a lack of food.
Homeothermic animals protect themselves from low temperatures different ways:
1. Movement of animals from cold areas to warm ones (birds, some mammals).
2. Storage of large amounts of fat and thickening of the coat (wolf, fox, predators, birds, seals, wild boars, etc.).
3. They hibernate (marmot, badger, bear, rodents).
Humidity. Humidity also affects organisms as
environmental factor, most often depends on climate, temperature and natural areas. Sometimes humidity acts as a limiting factor. Lack of moisture affects plant yield. A particularly lack of moisture is observed in desert areas, and in forests and swamps, on the contrary, there is an excess of it. Operates depending on humidity zonal pattern on the ground.
Flora and fauna change according to the relief across geographical zones: tundra, forest-tundra, taiga, forest-steppe, tropics, equator. The classification of zones depends on temperature and humidity.
Among the plants we can distinguish environmental groups:
1. Xerophytes(Greek xerox - “dry”, phytos - “distance”) - plants of arid habitats (desert, semi-desert, steppe). Xerophytes are adapted to modifications of leaves and stems (saxaul, zhuzgun, wormwood, ephedra, teresken, feather grass, solyanka).
2. Succulents(Latin succulentus - “juicy”) - a form of light-loving xerophytes. The leaves and stems are thickened and modified into spines.
3. Mesophytes(Greek mesos - “intermediate”) - grow in relatively humid areas. The leaves are large (birch, pear, meadow grass).
4. Hygrophytes(Greek hygros - “wet”) - plants growing in conditions of excess humidity. These are reed, rice, water lily.
5. Hydrophytes(Greek hudor - “water”) - aquatic plants immersed in water. These include elodea and algae.
Humidity also plays a role important role in the life of animals. They are divided into terrestrial, aquatic and amphibious. In turn, terrestrial animals are divided into forest, steppe, and desert.
Aquatic animals are fish, aquatic mammals (whales, dolphins), arthropods, sponges, mollusks, worms.
Terrestrial animals - mammals, birds, reptiles, insects.
Amphibians - frogs, sea turtles, etc. Due to the warming of the Earth's climate in Lately there are evidence of an increase average temperature. An increase in temperature can lead to a decrease in humidity in natural areas and the transformation of ecosystems into deserts. This is especially noticeable in dry areas Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Asia Minor, Africa, where it is possible to increase the volume of anthropogenic landscapes.
Of course, this will lead to significant socio-economic damage to these countries.
1. Among a biotic factors Temperature and humidity play a major role.
2. Ecological groups of plants and animals are formed accordingly.
3. Great influence on formation geographical zones Humidity and temperature affect the Earth.
1. Is temperature necessary for living organisms?
2. What ecological groups are animals divided into depending on body temperature? Give examples.
3. Name the ecological groups of plants and give examples.
4. How are plants classified by humidity?
1. Name the plants of arid places and explain their morphological features.
2. A camel can survive without water for 40 days. What explains this?
How is the nutrition of organisms in a state of suspended animation regulated?
How does the respiration of organisms change depending on humidity?
Name the ecological groups that depend on biotic factors and interactions between organisms.
Abiotic environmental factors include the substrate and its composition, humidity, light and other types of radiation in nature, and its composition, and microclimate. It should be noted that temperature, air composition, humidity and light can be conditionally classified as “individual”, and substrate, climate, microclimate, etc. - as “complex” factors.
The substrate (literally) is the site of attachment. For example, for woody and herbaceous forms of plants, for soil microorganisms this is soil. In some cases, substrate can be considered synonymous with habitat (for example, soil is an edaphic habitat). The substrate is characterized by a certain chemical composition, which affects organisms. If the substrate is understood as a habitat, then in this case it represents a complex of biotic and abiotic factors, to which this or that organism adapts.
Characteristics of temperature as an abiotic environmental factor
Temperature is an environmental factor associated with the average kinetic energy movement of particles and expressed in degrees different scales. The most common scale is in degrees Celsius (°C), which is based on the expansion of water (the boiling point of water is 100°C). The SI adopted an absolute temperature scale, for which the boiling point of water is T bp. water = 373 K.
Very often, temperature is the limiting factor that determines the possibility (impossibility) of living of organisms in a particular habitat.
According to the nature of body temperature, all organisms are divided into two groups: poikilothermic (their body temperature depends on the ambient temperature and is almost the same as the ambient temperature) and homeothermic (their body temperature does not depend on the temperature external environment and is more or less constant: if it fluctuates, it is within small limits - fractions of a degree).
Poikilotherms include plant organisms, bacteria, viruses, fungi, single-celled animals, as well as animals with relatively low level organizations (fish, arthropods, etc.).
Homeotherms include birds and mammals, including humans. A constant body temperature reduces the dependence of organisms on the temperature of the external environment, making it possible to spread across more ecological niches both in latitudinal and vertical distribution across the planet. However, in addition to homeothermy, organisms develop adaptations to overcome the effects of low temperatures.
Based on the nature of their tolerance to low temperatures, plants are divided into heat-loving and cold-resistant. Heat-loving plants include plants of the south (bananas, palm trees, southern varieties of apple trees, pears, peaches, grapes, etc.). Cold-resistant plants include medium-sized and northern latitudes, as well as plants growing high in the mountains (for example, mosses, lichens, pine, spruce, fir, rye, etc.). IN middle lane In Russia, varieties of frost-resistant fruit trees are grown, which are specially bred by breeders. The first great successes in this area were achieved by I.V. Michurin and other folk breeders.
The norm of the body's reaction to the temperature factor (for individual organisms) is often narrow, i.e. a particular organism can function normally in a fairly narrow temperature range. Thus, marine vertebrates die when the temperature rises to 30-32°C. But for living matter as a whole, the limits of temperature influence at which life is preserved are very wide. Thus, in California, in hot springs there lives a species of fish that normally functions at a temperature of 52 ° C, and heat-resistant bacteria living in geysers can withstand temperatures up to 80 ° C (this is the “normal” temperature for them). Some people live in glaciers at a temperature of -44°C, etc.
The role of temperature as an environmental factor comes down to the fact that it affects metabolism: at low temperatures the rate of bioorganic reactions slows down greatly, and at high temperatures it increases significantly, which leads to an imbalance in the course of biochemical processes, and this causes various diseases, and sometimes death.
The influence of temperature on plant organisms
Temperature is not only a factor determining the possibility of plants living in a particular area, but for some plants it influences the process of their development. Thus, winter varieties of wheat and rye, which during germination did not undergo the process of “vernalization” (exposure to low temperatures), do not produce seeds when grown in the most favorable conditions.
To withstand the effects of low temperatures, plants have various adaptations.
1. B winter period the cytoplasm loses water and accumulates substances that have an “antifreeze” effect (these are monosaccharides, glycerin and other substances) - concentrated solutions Such substances freeze only at low temperatures.
2. The transition of plants to a stage (phase) resistant to low temperatures - the stage of spores, seeds, tubers, bulbs, rhizomes, roots, etc. Woody and shrubby forms of plants shed their leaves, the stems are covered with cork, which has high thermal insulation properties, and antifreeze substances accumulate in living cells.
The effect of temperature on animal organisms
Temperature affects poikilothermic and homeothermic animals differently.
Poikilothermic animals are active only during temperatures that are optimal for their life. During periods of low temperatures, they hibernate (amphibians, reptiles, arthropods, etc.). Some insects overwinter either as eggs or as pupae. The presence of an organism in hibernation is characterized by a state of anabiosis, in which metabolic processes are very inhibited and the body can long time go without food. Poikilothermic animals can also hibernate when exposed to high temperatures. Thus, animals in lower latitudes are in burrows during the hottest part of the day, and the period of their active life activity occurs in the early morning or late evening (or they are nocturnal).
Animal organisms hibernate not only due to the influence of temperature, but also due to other factors. Thus, a bear (a homeothermic animal) hibernates in winter due to lack of food.
Homeothermic animals are less dependent on temperature in their life activities, but temperature affects them in terms of the availability (absence) of food supply. These animals have the following adaptations to overcome the effects of low temperatures:
1) animals move from colder areas to warmer ones (bird migrations, mammal migrations);
2) change the nature of the cover (summer fur or plumage is replaced by a thicker winter one; they accumulate a large layer of fat - wild pigs, seals, etc.);
3) hibernate (for example, a bear).
Homeothermic animals have adaptations to reduce the effects of temperatures (both high and low). Thus, a person has sweat glands that change the nature of secretion at elevated temperatures (the amount of secretion increases), the lumen of blood vessels in the skin changes (at low temperatures it decreases, and at high temperatures it increases), etc.
Radiation as an abiotic factor
They play a huge role in both the life of plants and animals. various radiations, which either fall on the planet from the outside (sun rays) or are released from the bowels of the Earth. Here we will mainly consider solar radiation.
Solar radiation is heterogeneous and consists of electromagnetic waves different lengths, and therefore have different energies. Rays of both visible and non-visible light reach the surface of the Earth. visible spectrum. Rays of the invisible spectrum include infrared and ultraviolet rays, and rays of the visible spectrum have seven most distinguishable rays (from red to violet). radiation quanta increases from infrared to ultraviolet (that is, ultraviolet rays contain quanta of the shortest waves and the highest energy).
The sun's rays have several environmentally important functions:
1) thanks sun rays on the surface of the Earth a certain temperature regime, having a latitudinal and vertical zonal character;
In the absence of human influence, the composition of the air may, however, vary depending on the altitude above sea level (with altitude, the oxygen content and carbon dioxide decreases because these gases are heavier than nitrogen). The air of coastal areas is enriched with water vapor, which contains sea salts in a dissolved state. The air of the forest differs from the air of the fields due to the impurities of compounds released various plants(for example, the air of a pine forest contains a large amount of resinous substances and esters that kill pathogens, so this air is healing for patients with tuberculosis).
The most important complex abiotic factor is climate.
Climate is a cumulative abiotic factor, including a certain composition and level solar radiation, the associated level of temperature and humidity exposure and a certain wind regime. The climate also depends on the nature of the vegetation growing in a given area and on the terrain.
There is a certain latitudinal and vertical climatic zonation on Earth. There are humid tropical, subtropical, sharply continental and other types of climate.
Repeat information about various types climate according to the textbook physical geography. Consider the climate features of the area where you live.
Climate as a cumulative factor shapes one or another type of vegetation (flora) and a closely related type of fauna. Human settlements have a great influence on the climate. Climate big cities differs from the climate of suburban areas.
Compare the temperature regime of the city in which you live and the temperature regime of the area where the city is located.
As a rule, the temperature within the city (especially in the center) is always higher than in the region.
Microclimate is closely related to climate. The reason for the emergence of microclimate is differences in the relief in a given territory, the presence of reservoirs, which leads to changes in conditions in different territories of a given area. climate zone. Even in a relatively small area summer cottage on its individual parts may occur various conditions for plant growth due to different conditions lighting.
Test "Abiotic environmental factors"
1. Signal for the beginning of the autumn migration of insectivorous birds:
1) lowering the ambient temperature 2) reducing daylight hours
3) lack of food 4) increased humidity and pressure
2. The number of squirrels in the forest zone is NOT affected by:
1) alternation of cold and warm winters 2) harvest of fir cones
3. Abiotic factors include:
1) competition of plants for light absorption 2) influence of plants on animal life
3) temperature changes during the day 4) human pollution
4. A factor limiting the growth of herbaceous plants in a spruce forest is a disadvantage:
1) light 2) heat 3) water 4) minerals
5. What is the name of a factor that significantly deviates from the optimal value for the type:
1) abiotic 2) biotic
3) anthropogenic 4) limiting
6. The signal for the onset of leaf fall in plants is:
1) increase in environmental humidity 2) reduction in daylight hours
3) decrease in environmental humidity 4) increase in environmental temperature
7. Wind, precipitation, dust storms- these are the factors:
1) anthropogenic 2) biotic
3) abiotic 4) limiting
8. The reaction of organisms to changes in day length is called:
1) microevolutionary changes 2) photoperiodism
3) phototropism 4) unconditioned reflex
9. Abiotic environmental factors include:
1) boars tearing up roots 2) locust invasion
3) formation of bird colonies 4) heavy snowfall
10. From the listed phenomena Daily biorhythms include:
1) migration of marine fish to spawn
2) opening and closing of flowers angiosperms
3) bud bursting in trees and shrubs
4) opening and closing shells in mollusks
11. What factor limits plant life in the steppe zone?
1) high temperature 2) lack of moisture
3) lack of humus 4) excess ultraviolet rays
12. The most important abiotic factor that mineralizes organic residues in the forest biogeocenosis is:
1) frosts 2) fires
3) winds 4) rains
13. Abiotic factors that determine population size include:
3) decreased fertility 4) humidity
14. The main limiting factor for plant life in Indian Ocean is the disadvantage:
1) light 2) heat
3) mineral salts 4) organic substances
15. Abiotic environmental factors include:
1) soil fertility 2) wide variety of plants
3) presence of predators 4) air temperature
16. The reaction of organisms to the length of the day is called:
1) phototropism 2) heliotropism
3) photoperiodism 4) phototaxis
17. Which factor regulates seasonal phenomena in the life of plants and animals?
1) temperature change 2) air humidity level
3) availability of shelter 4) length of day and night
18. Which of the following factors inanimate nature most significantly influences the distribution of amphibians?
1) light 2) carbon dioxide content
3) air pressure 4) humidity
19. Cultivated plants grow poorly in swampy soil because it:
1) insufficient oxygen content
2) methane formation occurs
3) excess content of organic substances
4) contains a lot of peat
20. What device helps cool plants when the air temperature rises?
1) decrease in metabolic rate 2) increase in the intensity of photosynthesis
3) decreased breathing intensity 4) increased water evaporation
21. What adaptation in shade-tolerant plants ensures more efficient and complete absorption sunlight?
1) small leaves 2) large leaves
3) thorns and prickles 4) waxy coating on the leaves
Answers: 1 – 2; 2 – 1; 3 – 3; 4 – 1; 5 – 4;
6 – 2; 7 – 3; 8 – 2; 9 – 4; 10 – 2; 11 – 2;
12 – 2; 13 – 4; 14 – 1; 15 – 4; 16 – 3;
17 – 4; 18 – 4; 19 – 1; 20 – 4; 21 – 2.
Test "Abiotic environmental factors"
1. Signal for the beginning of the autumn migration of insectivorous birds:
1) decrease in ambient temperature
2) reduction of daylight hours
3) lack of food
4) increase in humidity and pressure
2. The number of squirrels in the forest zone is NOT affected by:
1) alternation of cold and warm winters
2) harvest of fir cones
3) number of predators
3. Abiotic factors include:
1) competition between plants for light absorption
2) the influence of plants on animal life
3) temperature change during the day
4) human pollution
4. A factor limiting the growth of herbaceous plants in a spruce forest is a disadvantage:
4) minerals
5. What is the name of a factor that significantly deviates from the optimal value for the type:
1) abiotic
2) biotic
3) anthropogenic
4) limiting
6. The signal for the onset of leaf fall in plants is:
1) increase in environmental humidity
2) reduction in daylight hours
3) reducing environmental humidity
4) increase in ambient temperature
7. Wind, precipitation, dust storms are factors:
1) anthropogenic
2) biotic
3) abiotic
4) limiting
8. The reaction of organisms to changes in day length is called:
1) microevolutionary changes
2) photoperiodism
3) phototropism
4) unconditioned reflex
9. Abiotic environmental factors include:
1) boars tearing up roots
2) locust invasion
3) formation of bird colonies
4) heavy snowfall
10. Of the listed phenomena, daily biorhythms include:
1) migration of marine fish to spawn
2) opening and closing of flowers of angiosperms
3) bud bursting in trees and shrubs
4) opening and closing shells in mollusks
11. What factor limits plant life in the steppe zone?
1) high temperature
2) lack of moisture
3) absence of humus
4) excess ultraviolet rays
12. The most important abiotic factor that mineralizes organic residues in the forest biogeocenosis is:
1) frost
13. Abiotic factors that determine population size include:
1) interspecific competition
3) decreased fertility
4) humidity
14. The main limiting factor for plant life in the Indian Ocean is the lack of:
3) mineral salts
4) organic substances
15. Abiotic environmental factors include:
1) soil fertility
2) a wide variety of plants
3) presence of predators
4) air temperature
16. The reaction of organisms to the length of the day is called:
1) phototropism
2) heliotropism
3) photoperiodism
4) phototaxis
17. Which factor regulates seasonal phenomena in the life of plants and animals?
1) temperature change
2) air humidity level
3) availability of shelter
4) length of day and night
Answers: 1 – 2; 2 – 1; 3 – 3; 4 – 1; 5 – 4;
6 – 2; 7 – 3; 8 – 2; 9 – 4; 10 – 2; 11 – 2;
12 – 2; 13 – 4; 14 – 1; 15 – 4; 16 – 3;
17 – 4; 18 – 4; 19 – 1; 20 – 4; 21 – 2.
18. Which of the following inanimate factors most significantly influences the distribution of amphibians?
3) air pressure
4) humidity
19. Cultivated plants grow poorly in swampy soil because it:
1) insufficient oxygen content
2) methane formation occurs
3) excess content of organic substances
4) contains a lot of peat
20. What device helps cool plants when the air temperature rises?
1) decrease in metabolic rate
2) increase in the intensity of photosynthesis
3) decrease in breathing intensity
4) increased water evaporation
21. What adaptation of shade-tolerant plants ensures more efficient and complete absorption of sunlight?
1) small leaves
2) large leaves
3) thorns and thorns
4) waxy coating on the leaves
Abiotic factors include the various effects of nonliving (physicochemical) components of nature on biological systems.
The following main abiotic factors are distinguished:
Light mode (illuminance);
Temperature mode (temperature);
Water mode (humidity),
Oxygen regime (oxygen content);
Physical and mechanical properties of the medium (density, viscosity, pressure);
Chemical properties of the environment (acidity, content of various chemicals).
In addition, there are additional abiotic factors: environmental movement (wind, water flow, surf, rainfall), environmental heterogeneity (presence of shelters).
Sometimes the effect of abiotic factors becomes catastrophic: during fires, floods, droughts. With large natural and man-made disasters Complete death of all organisms may occur.
In relation to the action of the main abiotic factors, ecological groups of organisms are distinguished.
To describe these groups, terms are used that include roots of ancient Greek origin: -phytes (from “phyton” - plant), -phyla (from “phileo” - love), -trophs (from “trophe” - food), -phages (from “ phagos" - devourer). The root -phyta is used in relation to plants and prokaryotes (bacteria), the root -phyla - in relation to animals (less often in relation to plants, fungi and prokaryotes), the root -trophy - in relation to plants, fungi and some prokaryotes, the root - phages - in relation to animals, as well as some viruses.
The light regime has a direct effect, first of all, on plants. In relation to illumination, the following ecological groups of plants are distinguished:
1. heliophytes - light-loving plants (plants open spaces, constantly well-lit habitats).
2. sciophytes - shade-loving plants that do not tolerate intense lighting (plants of the lower tiers of shady forests).
3. facultative heliophytes - shade-tolerant plants (prefer high light intensity, but are able to develop in low light conditions). These plants have partly the characteristics of heliophytes, partly the characteristics of sciophytes.
Temperature regime. Increasing the resistance of plants to low temperatures is achieved by changing the structure of the cytoplasm, reducing the surface (for example, due to leaf fall, transforming typical leaves into needles). Increasing plant resistance to high temperatures is achieved by changing the structure of the cytoplasm, reducing the heated area, and forming a thick crust (there are pyrophytic plants that can tolerate fires).
Animals regulate body temperature in various ways:
Biochemical regulation - changes in metabolic rate and level of heat production;
Physical thermoregulation - changing the level of heat transfer;
Depending on climatic conditions, similar animal species exhibit variability in body size and proportions, which are described by empirical rules established in the 19th century. Bergmann's rule - if two closely related species differ in size, then more close-up view lives in colder conditions, and the small one lives in warmer climates. Allen's rule - if two closely related species of animals live in different climatic conditions, then the ratio of body surface to body volume decreases as one moves to high latitudes.
Water mode. Plants according to their ability to support water balance are divided into poikilohydric and homeiohydric. Poikilohydric plants easily absorb and easily lose water and tolerate long-term dehydration. As a rule, these are plants with poorly developed tissues (bryophytes, some ferns and flowering plants), as well as algae, fungi and lichens. Homeyohydric plants are able to maintain a constant water content in their tissues. Among them, the following environmental groups are distinguished:
1. hydatophytes - plants immersed in water; without water they quickly die;
2. hydrophytes - plants of extremely waterlogged habitats (water banks, swamps); are characterized high level transpiration; capable of growing only with constant intensive absorption of water;
3. hygrophytes - require moist soils and high air humidity; like plants of previous groups, they do not tolerate drying out;
4. mesophytes - require moderate moisture, can tolerate short-term drought; this is a large and heterogeneous group of plants;
5. xerophytes - plants capable of obtaining moisture when there is a lack of it, limiting the evaporation of water or storing water;
6. succulents - plants with developed water-storing parenchyma in different organs; the sucking force of the roots is low (up to 8 atm), carbon dioxide fixation occurs at night (acid metabolism of Crassulaceae);
In some cases, water is available in large quantities, but is inaccessible to plants ( low temperature, high salinity or high acidity). In this case, plants acquire xeromorphic characteristics, for example, plants of swamps and saline soils (halophytes).
Animals in relation to water are divided into the following ecological groups: hygrophiles, mesophiles and xerophiles.
Reducing water losses is achieved in various ways. First of all, waterproof body coverings develop (arthropods, reptiles, birds). The excretory organs are improved: the Malpighian vessels in arachnids and tracheal-breathers, the pelvic kidneys in amniotes. The concentration of nitrogen metabolism products increases: urea, uric acid and others. Water evaporation depends on temperature, so behavioral responses to avoid overheating play an important role in water conservation. Special meaning has water conservation at embryonic development outside the maternal body, which leads to the appearance of embryonic membranes; In insects, serosa and amniotic membranes are formed, in oviparous amniotes - serosa, amnion and allantois.
Chemical properties of the medium.
Oxygen regime. In relation to the oxygen content, all organisms are divided into aerobic (needing a high oxygen content) and anaerobic (not needing oxygen). Anaerobes are divided into facultative (able to exist in both the presence and absence of oxygen) and obligate (not able to exist in an oxygen environment).
1. oligotrophic - undemanding to the content of mineral nutrition elements in the soil;
2. eutrophic, or megatrophic - demanding on soil fertility; Among eutrophic plants, nitrophils stand out, requiring high content nitrogen in the soil;
3. mesotrophic - occupy an intermediate position between oligotrophic and megatrophic plants.
Among the organisms that absorb ready-made organic matter the entire surface of the body (for example, among mushrooms), the following ecological groups are distinguished:
Litter saprotrophs - decompose litter.
Humus saprotrophs - decompose humus.
Xylotrophs, or xylophiles, develop on wood (on dead or weakened parts of plants).
Coprotrophs, or coprophiles, develop on the remains of excrement.
Soil acidity (pH) is also important for plants. There are acidophilic plants that prefer acidic soils (sphagnums, horsetails, cotton grass), calciphilic or basophilic plants that prefer alkaline soils (wormwood, coltsfoot, alfalfa) and plants that are undemanding to soil pH (pine, birch, yarrow, lily of the valley) .