Chapter 3: Global Systems Case Studies Flashcards
- Completed Carbon Cycle, need to do water
Where is the Peatland case study?
Sebangau’s National Park, Indonesia
Which organisation has been lobbying the government since 1997?
WWF
How many animals are in the Sebangau’s National Park?
5000-9000
What 2 measures have WWF put in to mitigate the damage from the forest fires and logging?
- 800 dams to rehydrate the peatland, which had been drained by the river to start fires.
- replanted 6000 hectares of forest
What percentage of Indonesia’s carbon emissions have come from peat destruction?
40%
How do the local villagers benefit from the peat lands being protected?
They can fish, they can be guides for ecotourism, and they can get rubber from the vegetation to sell.
What is a peatland?
Thick layer of black or dark soil material
Why do peatlands store carbon?
The wet soil prevents the carbon rich plant remains from being decomposed as the anaerobic conditions limit microbial decomposition.
Give an example of when a peatland preserved remains?
‘Pete Marsh’ in Cheshire
What are the 3 types of peatland?
- Fen Peatland= form where groundwater meets at the surface, at springs or on the edge of open water
- Blanket Peatland= form on flat hilltops where rainfall is high
- Raised bogs= form in valley bottoms where souls are saturated due to frequent arrival of through flow and overland flow from the slopes above.
What is carbon offsetting?
Planting trees abs vegetation to compensate for emissions elsewhere
Why does monoculture of commercial trees impact carbon storage?
Carbon storage benefits from monoculture of commercial trees as they absorb carbon. However, as they’re all one tree type they absorb less carbon than natural forests as they lack biodiversity.
Where are the Northern and Southern Pennines?
Yorkshire, UK
Why did the N/S Pennines need restoration?
Their peatlands had been extensively drained in the past
How have erosional gullies impacted the peatland restoration?
They were blocked to raise the water table which would rehydrate the soil for the peatland- which would restore the anaerobic conditions.
How might precipitation be impacted by the rising number of greenhouse gases in the water cycle?
2007 rainfall led to £3 billion in damages due to pluvial floods (surface water) which damages houses and businesses.
What 4 things are the rising greenhouse gases causing?
- Amount, type and patterns of precipitation.
- Acidification of oceans
- Sea level rise
- River discharge
Why is it important that the long radiation is absorbed?
It enables life to form as it keeps the Earth at an average temperature of 15c which supports life. However, climate change is causing the Earth to heat due to the thick layer of Greenhouse gases which reduces the radiation being radiated away from Earth.
In what way has the energy budget changed?
It has changed as more heat is being retained rather and reflected which results in a warmer, more energetic climate.
What is the energy budget?
The state of balance between incoming solar radiation received by the atmosphere and the Earth, and the re-radiated and reflected energy.
How do ice cores affect global warming?
Over time, they have absorbed green-house gases and when they melt due to the rising temperatures, the ice melts and releases the gases stored inside.
How are coral reefs affected by the acidification of oceans, caused by changes to greenhouse gases in the water cycle?
Carbonic acid (which is created when the carbon combines with the ocean water) reacts with carbonate ions which forms bicarbonate.
Coral needs carbonate ions to from its shells (exoskeleton) and due to the lack of the ions, the shells are thinner and more fragile.
This means that they’re at risk from storms.
“High intensity rainfall can lead to overland flow. This means that soil and groundwater stores will not be restored, this leads to a flashy hydrograph”. Which impact of changes to greenhouse gases in the water cycle is this?
River Discharge
How is sea level rise affected by changes to greenhouse gases in the water cycle?
Increasing carbon emissions- which creates heavier cloud and thicker area of greenhouse gases, means that more heat is being radiated back to the ground rather than away from earth. This causes polar ice caps to melt which causes a rise in sea level.
What were the 5 steps for restoration which occurred in the Northern Pennines to restore the peatlands?
- Fences (barriers to protect the areas)
- Hydrology (stopping the flow of water)
- Slopes (speed up colonisation of growth)
4 .Heather Brash (prevents peat damage) - Revegetation techniques (speed up revegetation)
What is a key moss found in peatlands that restores water and protects the bare soil?
Sphagnum Moss
How much has the N/S Pennines Peatland restoration cost?
A. £1 million
B. £2 billion
C. £50 million
A. £1 million
True or False, 65% of the dams in the N. Pennines have been blocked or assessed as naturally regenerating.
True
What percentage of UK peatlands are in a pristine state?
20%
Rates of carbon sequation (absorption) in degraded peatlands ha reduces, they’re now becoming emitters of carbon. Is this true?
True
Why does peat get drained?
- Moorland farming
- Agricultural land
- Peatlands drained will lose CO2 and emit it through soil leaching
Plant species have been damaged by pollution in what counties? Name 2.
Manchester
Yorkshire
What percentage of Carbon is stored in plants?
20%
How is humus dispersed?
Through worms
Why do tropical rainforests have their own water cycle?
The area receives high intensity from the sun, this causes the air to rise, then the air cools which causes the air to sink and become heavy- which forms clouds. As these cloud build in size and weight, rainfall occurs.
Are rainforests a high or low pressure area?
Low and they get 2000ml annually of rain.
What are the 3 stages of the Carbon Cycle in the Tropical Rainforest?
- During photosynthesis plants absorb carbon dioxide which forms their organic body- they release oxygen as a by-product.
- When a plant respires or burns, carbon is released back into the atmosphere as the plant decomposes.
- The carbon gets released into the ground, where is is stored as sediment under rivers etc. This can eventually turn into fossils/ fuels.
What is the Gersmehl Model?
It is a way in which data is stored in proportional circles which show the amount of carbon in each biome.
What vegetation is largely found in areas of grassland?
Grasses. The grassland has minimal rain which leads to perfect conditions for grasses to grow. their long stems reduce heat in summer and their roots trap water underground to reduce evapotranspiration. Turf grasses have underground stems which play the reproductive role- but bunch grasses reproduce via seeds.
How many worms are found per 1 square metre in grassland areas.
500
What animals are limited in grassland areas?
Above ground due to the lack of vegetation.
What are the 3 types of rainfall found in the water cycle?
- Convectional= (rain= water vapour + solar radiation)
- Orographic= (rain= air masses rising over mountains)
- Frontal= (rain= two air masses meeting at low pressure)
What are the 3 outputs in the water cycle?
Evaporation= water vaporising
Transpiration= plants through stomata
Channel Flow= volume of water in river channels
What does interception do?
It is the process of plants capturing water in leaves which is absorbed by the plant through the roots/leaves.