4.b. The global implications of water and carbon management.

Question 1

What are the management strategies used to protect the global carbon cycle?

(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 1

Wetland restoration.

Afforestation.

Agricultural practices.

International agreement to reduce carbon emissions.

Cap and trade.

Question 2

State 3 features of a wetland.

(Wetland restoration)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 2

Freshwater marshes.

Salt marshes.

Peatlands.

Floodplains.

Mangroves.

Question 3

What are wetland water tables like in wetland regions?

(Wetland restoration)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 3

They all have a water table that is on or near the surface meaning the ground is permanently saturated.

Question 4

Wetlands occupy what percentage of Earth’s land surface? What percentage of the terrestrial carbon pool is this?

(Wetland restoration)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 4

Wetlands occupy 6-9% of Earth’s land surface and contain 35% of the terrestrial carbon pool.

Question 5

What 3 factors have placed huge pressure on wetland environments?

(Wetland restoration)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 5

Population growth.

Economic development.

Urbanisation.

Question 6

Apart from biodiversity loss and destruction of habitats, wetland damaged released what to the atmosphere?

(Wetland restoration)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 6

CO2 and CH4.

Question 7

Why has wetland restoration become more significant?

(Wetland restoration)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 7

More significant when considering how to combat climate change.

Question 8

Outline wetland regions in the USA and Canada.

(Wetland restoration)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 8

Wetland area in the USA has halved since 1600 and Canada’s prairie provinces have lost 70% of their wetlands.

Question 9

Wetlands can store how much carbon each year? What showed this?

(Wetland restoration)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 9

Restoration of Canadian prairie wetlands shows that wetlands can store 3.25 tonnes C/ha/year.

Question 10

How many hectares have been targeted for restoration? How much carbon would this sequester each year?

(Wetland restoration)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 10

Up to 112,000 ha have been targeted for restoration, sequestering 364,000 tonnes C/year.

Question 11

State two management initiatives aimed at restoring wetlands.

(Wetland restoration)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 11

International Convention on Wetlands.

European Union Habitats Directive.

Question 12

What is a named example of wetland restoration in the UK?

(Wetland restoration)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 12

In the UK up to 400 ha of farmland in east Cambridgeshire is being converted back to wetland.

A similar scheme is underway in Somerset.

Question 13

How are wetland areas actually restored?

(Wetland restoration)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 13

Raising local water tables to re-create waterlogged conditions.

Question 14

How can wetlands on floodplains by connected to rivers? How can coastal areas reclaim marshes from farmland?

(Wetland restoration)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 14

By removing embankments.

Coastal areas can reclaim marshes from farmland by breaching sea defences.

Question 15

What is afforestation? Is this long-term or short-term?

(Afforestation)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 15

Planting trees in deforested areas or in areas that have never been forested, reducing atmospheric CO2 levels.

This combats climate change in the medium and longer term.

Question 16

Other than combating climate change, what else can afforestation do?

(Afforestation)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 16

Reducing flood risks and soil erosion and increasing biodiversity.

Question 17

What does the UN’s REDD scheme do?

(Afforestation)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 17

Incentivises developing countries to conserve their rainforests.

Several projects are already underway in the Amazonia and the Lower Mississippi.

Question 18

How has afforestation been used in China?

(Afforestation)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 18

In China a massive government-sponsored afforestation project began in 1978 aiming to afforest 400,000km2 by 2050 (an area the size of Spain).

Large forest trees can stored around 220 tonnes C/ha.

Between 2000-09 30,000km2 was successfully planted.

Question 19

How can agricultural practices be improved?

(Improved agricultural practices)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 19

Unsustainable practices such as overcultivation, overgrazing and excessive intensification.

These often result in soil erosion and the release of carbon to the atmosphere.

Question 20

Outline ‘zero tillage’ as to how emissions of greenhouse are reduced?

(Land and crop management)
(Improved agricultural practices)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 20

Growing crops without ploughing the soil.

This conserves the soil’s organic content, reducing oxidation and the risk of erosion by wind and water.

Question 21

Outline ‘polyculture’ as to how emissions of greenhouse are reduced?

(Land and crop management)
(Improved agricultural practices)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 21

Growing annual crops interspersed with trees.

Trees provide year-round ground cover and protect soils from erosion.

Question 22

Outline ‘crop residues’ as to how emissions of greenhouse are reduced?

(Land and crop management)
(Improved agricultural practices)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 22

Leaving crop residues (stems, leaves, etc.) on fields after the harvest, to provide ground cover and protection against soil erosion and drying out.

Question 23

Outline ‘heavy machinery’ as to how emissions of greenhouse are reduced?

(Land and crop management)
(Improved agricultural practices)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 23

Avoiding the use of heavy farm machinery on wet soils, which leads to compaction and the risk of erosion by surface run-off.

Question 24

Outline ‘contour ploughing and terracing’ as to how emissions of greenhouse are reduced?

(Land and crop management)
(Improved agricultural practices)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 24

Contour ploughing and terracing on slopes to reduce run-off and erosion.

Question 25

Outline ‘ways to reduce methane’ as to how emissions of greenhouse are reduced?

(Land and crop management)
(Improved agricultural practices)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 25

Introducing new strains of rice that grow in drier conditions and therefore produce less CH4.

Applying chemicals such as ammonium sulphate which inhibit microbial activities that produce CH4.

Question 26

Outline livestock management techniques.

(Livestock management)
(Improved agricultural practices)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 26

Improving the quality of animal feed to reduce enteric fermentation so that less feed is converted to CH4; mixing methane inhibitors with livestock feed.

Question 26

Intensive livestock farming produces how much methane each year?

(Improved agricultural practices)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 26

Intensive livestock farming produces 100million tonnes/year of CH4.

Question 27

Outline manure management techniques.

(Manure management)
(Improved agricultural practices)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 27

Controlling the way manure decomposes to reduce CH4 emissions. Storing manure in anaerobic containers and capturing CH4 as a source of renewable energy.

Question 28

Other than livestock farming, methane is also released from what?

(Improved agricultural practices)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 28

Padi rice fields and uncontrolled decomposition of manure.

Question 29

Has international co-operation to solve climate change worked so far?

(International agreements to reduce carbon emissions)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 29

It has been patchy so far.

Question 30

What is the most significant recent international agreement to tackle climate change?

(International agreements to reduce carbon emissions)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 30

The Kyoto Protocol (1997).

Question 31

What was the Kyoto Protocol?

(International agreements to reduce carbon emissions)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 31

The Kyoto Protocol legally bound rich countries to CO2 reductions but developing countries and some of the biggest polluters (China and India) were exempt.

Question 32

When did the Kyoto Protocol expire? What happened as a result?

(International agreements to reduce carbon emissions)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 32

This agreement expired in 2012 but a new agreement was reached in 2015. The Paris Climate Convention was first implemented in 2020.

Question 33

What is the Paris Agreement?

(International agreements to reduce carbon emissions)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 33

The Paris Agreement aims to reduce global CO2 emissions below 60% of 2010 levels by 2050 and keep global warming below 2°C.

Question 34

Outline the issues of responsibility in global agreements to tackle climate change.

(International agreements to reduce carbon emissions)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 34

Major emitters such as China and India argue that global reductions in emissions are the responsibility of rich countries because they themselves are still relatively poor and industrialisation is essential to raise standards.

They also argue that historically, ACs are largely to blame for current levels of emissions because of their own industrialisation.

Question 35

What does cap and trade offer?

(Cap and trade)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 35

Offers an alternative, international market-based approach to limit CO2 emissions.

Question 35

How does cap and trade work?

(Cap and trade)
(Carbon cycle management)

Answer 35

Businesses are allocated a quota for emissions and if they emit less, they receive carbon credits. These are traded on international markets.

Businesses that exceed quotas must purchase additional credits or incur financial penalties.

Carbon offsets are credits awarded to countries and companies for schemes such as afforestation, renewable energy, and wetland restoration. They can be brought to compensate for excessive emissions elsewhere.

Question 36

What multinational agencies come together to help fund and protect tropical rainforest?

(Forestry)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 36

United Nations (UN) and World Bank (WB).

Question 37

UN REDD scheme and the WB’s FCPF funds over how many partner countries? Where are they located?

(Forestry)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 37

The UN’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) programme and the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) fund over 50 partner countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific and South America.

Financial incentives to protect and restore forests are a combination of carbon offsets and direct funding.

Question 38

Brazil has received support from where to protect its forests?

(Forestry)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 38

UN, World Bank, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the German Development Bank.

Question 39

The Amazon Regional Protected Areas (ARPA) programme covers an area how large? What is its target?

(Forestry)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 39

Covers nearly 128 million acres of the Amazon Basin, with a target of 150 million acres.

Question 40

Areas included in the ARPA are strictly protected. Has the scheme worked?

(Forestry)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 40

75% decrease in deforestation rates between 2000 and 2012.

Question 41

Outline 3 benefits of the ARPA scheme in Brazil.

(Forestry)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 41

Stabilising the regional water cycle.

Offsetting 1.4 billion tonnes of carbon a year.

Supporting indigenous forest communities.

Promoting ecotourism.

Protecting the genetic bank provided by thousands of plant species in the forests.

Question 42

In countries of water scarcity, governments have to make difficult decision about what?

(Water allocations)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 42

Allocation of water resources.

Question 43

What is the biggest consumer of water?

(Water allocations)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 43

Agriculture.

Globally it accounts for 70% of water withdrawals and 90% of consumption.

Question 44

How is water lost in agriculture?

(Water allocations)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 44

Evaporation and seepage through inefficient water management (e.g. over-irrigating crops).

Question 45

State 2 management techniques used to minimise water loss to evaporation.

(Water allocations)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 45

Mulching, zero soil disturbance and drip irrigation.

Question 46

How can water losses to run-off on slopes be reduced?

(Water allocations)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 46

Terracing, contour ploughing and the insertion of vegetative strips.

Question 47

State 2 ways in which farmers can increase water resources?

(Water allocations)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 47

Better water harvesting, with storage in ponds and reservoirs.

Question 48

Is water recovery and recycling doable?

(Water allocations)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 48

Recovery and recycling of waste water from agriculture, industry, and urban populations is technically feasible, but as yet little used outside the developed world.

Question 49

What are semi-arid regions of water scarcity? What must they do with regards to water allocations?

(Water allocations)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 49

E.g. Lower Indus Valley in Pakistan, and the US Colorado Basin.

They must create water agreements to divide up resources between downstream states.

Question 50

In Pakistan, what regions receive water from the Indus river? How much?

(Water allocations)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 50

In Pakistan the Punjab and Sindh receive 92% of the Indus’s flow.

Question 51

In the Colorado basin, what regions are allocated water?

(Water allocations)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 51

California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico.

Question 52

Pakistan and Colorado basin both supply water to other areas. What is most of this used for?

(Water allocations)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 52

In both regions, the vast bulk of water is used for irrigation.

Question 53

The management of water resources is most effective at what scale? Why?

(Drainage basin planning)
(Water cycle management)

Answer 53

At the drainage basin scale.

At this scale it is feasible to adopt an integrated or holistic management approach to accommodate the often conflicting demands of different water users.

Question 54

State 3 industries that generate demands that impact on water quality, river flow, groundwater levels, wildlife habitats, biodiversity and so on.

Answer 54

Agriculture, industry, domestic use, wildlife and recreation and leisure generate demands that impact on water quality, river flow, groundwater levels, wildlife habitats, biodiversity and so on.

Question 55

What are the 3 specific targets for drainage basin planning?

Answer 55

Run-off, surface water storage and groundwater.

Question 56

Outline run-off as a specific target for drainage basin planning.

Answer 56

Rapid run-off is controlled by reforestation programmes in upland catchments, reducing artificial drainage and extending permeable surfaces (e.g. gardens, green roofs) in urban areas.

Question 57

Outline surface water storage as a specific target for drainage basin planning.

Answer 57

Surface water storage is improved by conserving and restoring wetlands, including temporary storage on floodplains.

Question 58

Outline groundwater as a specific target for drainage basin planning.

Answer 58

Groundwater levels are maintained by limiting abstraction (e.g. for public supply, farming and industry) and by artificial recharge, where water is injected into aquifers through boreholes.

Question 59

In England and Wales, is drainage basin management good?

Answer 59

In England and Wales drainage basin management is well advanced.

Question 60

According to what framework have ten river basin districts been defined? State the 3 major catchments.

Answer 60

Under the EU’s Water Directive Framework, ten river basin districts have been defined.

The districts comprise major catchments, such as the Severn, Thames and Humber.

Question 61

Each district has its own River Basin Management Plan. What companies jointly publish this?

Answer 61

Environment Agency and Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

Question 62

The River Basin Management Plan set targets in relation to what factors? State 3.

Answer 62

Water quality, abstraction rates, groundwater levels, flood control, floodplain development and the status of habitats and wildlife