3b) Humans and Their Environment Flashcards
Why is deforestation done?
Provide timber for building material
Clear more land for farming
Produce paper from wood
What is happening to the worlds population?
Rapidly increasing
Exponential growth
What problems arise from deforestation?
More methane in the atmosphere
More carbon dioxide in atmosphere
Less carbon dioxide taken in
Less biodiversity
What are bogs?
Areas of land that are acidic and waterlogged
How do human use land?
Buildings
Farming
Dumping waste
Quarrying for metal ores
Where can carbon dioxide be sequestered (stored) ?
Oceans, lakes and ponds
Green plants that remove CO2 from the atmosphere
Peat Bogs
How do greenhouse gases cause global warming?
Gases released get trapped in the ozone layer of the atmosphere
Act as an insulating layer
Absorb most of the heat normally radiated out into space
Re-radiate heat back to Earth
Earth is heated up
Why does deforestation mean there will be more methane in the atmosphere?
Forests cleared to rear cattle - more cattle means more methane
More decomposers from crops that produce methane
Why does deforestation mean there will be more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?
Carbon dioxide released when trees are burnt to clear land
Microorganisms feed on dead wood can release carbon dioxide when respiring
Why don’t plants that live in pray bogs fully decay?
There’s no enough oxygen
How does destroying peat bogs add more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?
When the peat bogs are drained it starts to decompose
Carbon stored in plants are released
Why are peat bogs drained?
Are can be used for farmland
Peat is cut up and dried to use as fuel
Peat sold as compost
What are some of the problems that global warming will cause?
Melting of ice caps - rising sea levels - flood risks
Changed weather patterns - more extreme weather like hurricanes
Biodiversity reduces - unable to survive in change in climate
How can biofuels be made?
Fermentation of natural products
What is fermentation?
When bacteria or yeast break down sugars using anaerobic respiration (without oxygen)
How is ethanol made?
Yeast using anaerobic respiration to break down sugar
What is gasohol?
Mixture of ethanol and petrol
Where can we get sugar from to make ethanol?
Sugar cane juices
Glucose can be derbies from maize starch using carbohydrase enzyme
How is biogas made?
Anaerobic fermentation of waste martial