British Isles Habitat Diversity

Question 1

Name the varying types of rocks

Answer 1

Igneous
Sedimentary
Metamorphic

Question 2

Define igneous rocks

Answer 2

Includes

• granite - silica rich, nutrient poor, acid soils, well jointed giving craggy terrains and hilltop ‘torrs’
• basalt - base-rich, sometimes nutrient rich soils but acid soils if leached by high rainfall, closely spaced joints giving steep cliffs and high plateaux

Question 3

Define sedimentary rocks

Answer 3

Include

• sandstone - dominated by Quartz, may be very nutrient poor giving acid soils or may be calcareous and more base rich
• British formations include lower greensand,mild red sandstone, millstone grit
• clays and shales - dominated by very fine grained clay minerals
• impermeable, low lying land, so poorly drained soils but may be very fertile
• Limestone and chalk - calcium carbonate often gives alkaline soils
• well joined so weathers into caves, ravines, pavements etc

Question 4

What do metamorphic rocks include?

Answer 4

Slate 
Mica schist
Gneiss
Quartzite
Marble
Serpentinite

Question 5

Define soil

Answer 5

Non-coherent mineral aggregate
Substrate for most terrestrial life
Two main types
- transported soils (beach and wind loan sands, alluvial sediments, glacial deposits)
- residual soils (developed in-situ by modification of bedrock or transported soils due to reactions with water, air and organisms)

Question 6

Define the British climate

Answer 6

Oceanic

• high rainfall
• high number of rain days
• high precipitation-evapotranspiration ratio
• mild winters
• relatively cool summers

Question 7

What is the precipitation-evapotranspiration ratio?

Answer 7

Considers precipitation and the rate at which water is lost by evaporation or by transpiration through plants
The ratio is affected by total precipitation and temperature

Question 8

Why does Britain show great habitat diversity?

Answer 8

Rocks differ in

• nutrient content
• ease of weathering (nutrient release)
• fragmentation (drainage)
• porosity (water retention)