4 seasons in a year
Learning objectives
- To observe the effect of the seasons on the vegetation throughout the year.
- To understand that there is a 6-month shift in seasons between the northern and the southern hemisphere.
- To study the life cycle of living beings according to the seasons (germination of seed plants, reproduction cycle, ...).
"The seasons" from Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimbolodo is an interesting approach on the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Arcimboldo
The rhythm of the seasons is more or less marked by latitude. The suggested view is a landscape situated near Oslo (60°) (credit: Erik Solheim).
In more moderatly tempered areas, there are 4 seasons: autumn, winter, spring and summer. Each of the seasons lasts 3 months and are seperated by equinoxes and solstices. They each have different regular climates which impacts the fauna and flora of the region. Agriculture depends heavily on seasons which impacts our lifestyles, even in the city.
Hardwood trees lose their leafs in autumn. The leafs who then cover the ground become an essential organic feed for the ecosystems (see animation on Soil formation). Note the conifers on the right of the screen who do not lose their needles.
Note: The same sequence shows a landscape in the northern and in the southern hemispheres. This was achieved for pedagogical purposes and is not real.
Click on a month.
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