12.2 Flashcards
Climate refers to?
The average weather experienced in a region over a long period, typically at least 30 years
Climate includes 3 factors:
Temperature
Wind
Rainfall patterns
Recent changes in global climate are likely to be due to a combination of 2 things:
natural and human causes
The main human cause of global climate change is:
emissions of greenhouse gases
Changes to temperature, rainfall and windfall patterns (abiotic factors) will have an affect on the species that can survive in an area as species are:
adapted to their environment
Due to changes in abiotic factors: existing species may need to migrate into new habitats to find:
favourable conditions
New species that migrate into an area may fill:
niches and out-compete existing populations
Climate change may produce:
succession on a very large scale
If climate change occurs very quickly …
some species may not be able to adapt and move quickly enough and so may not survive
Climate change affects agriculture, which may cause crops to grow in different regions, e.g.
crops normally grown in south will be able to grow further north
Climate change may also cause:
increased dryness in summer, affecting the quality and yields of the crop due to an increase in drought and heat waves
Increased dryness due to climate change, would cause and:
increase in demand for water - irrigation systems may need to be implemented so that winter rain can be stored for agricultural use in summer
Populations of agricultural pests may …
reproduce rapidly earlier in the year
If average temperature increase…
may be possible for pathogens and their carriers (vectors) to move to areas that were previously too cold for them to survive
Bacteria are more likely to survive through milder winters and this could mean that diseases caused by bacterial pathogens could become more…
widespread
