climate and natural veg Flashcards
What factors influence climate?
Latitude
Altitude
Ocean currents
Winds
Distance from the sea
What are the four layers of a rainforest?
Emergent layer
Canopy layer
Understory layer
Forest floor
What are the characteristics of a tropical rainforest?
Hot and humid climate
High rainfall
Diverse vegetation
Poor soil quality
What are the characteristics of a desert?
Low rainfall
High temperature during the day, low at night
Sparse vegetation
Dry soil
What are the causes and impacts of deforestation?
Causes: logging, agriculture, mining, urbanization, fires
Impacts: loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, climate change, flooding, displacement of indigenous peoples
climate characteristics of hot deserts:
Temperature: high temperatures during the day and low temperatures at night due to low humidity levels.
Precipitation: Hot deserts receive very little rainfall, due to the dry, descending air of high-pressure systems
Humidity: Hot deserts have low humidity levels, due to the lack of moisture in the air
Sunshine: 4,000 hours of sunshine per year. This is due to the lack of cloud cover
Wind: strong winds that can cause sandstorms and dust storms
Evaporation: Hot deserts have high rates of evaporation due to the high temperatures and low humidity levels.
Soil: sandy soils that are low in nutrients and organic matter. The soil can also be salty due to the high rates of evaporation.
climate characteristics of equatorial regions:
Temperature: high temperatures throughout the year
Precipitation: high levels of rainfall
Humidity: high levels of humidity,
Sunshine: high levels of sunshine
Wind: light and variable winds,
Clouds: Equatorial regions are often cloudy
Vegetation: high level of biodiversity.
factors influencing climate in hot desert
Latitude
Topography:
Air masses
Ocean currents
Pressure systems
Wind patterns
factors influencing climate in Equatorial
-atmospheric circulation
-vegetation
-altitude
-ocean currents
-latitude
