Climate - Case Studies

Question 1

What are the causes of desertification in the Sahel?

Answer 1

• Climate change
• Population growth
• Overgrazing
• Removal of vegetation cover
• Excessive tree felling

Question 2

What are the effects of desertification?

Answer 2

• Land loses vegetation cover, contains less humus and holds less moisture
• Land is exposed to erosion
• Drought and food shortages

Question 3

What is the response to desertification in the Sahel?

Answer 3

• Plants and trees plants to form a green belt across the southern fringe
• Stone lines constructed to capture moisture
OTHER OPTIONS
• Land and water management
• Local communities -> Giving capacity to protect land
• Turning to other sources of income rather than things that cause desertification

Question 4

What is the tropical rainforest case study?

Answer 4

Amazon, Brazil

Question 5

What is the hot desert case study?

Answer 5

The Sahel, Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad

Question 6

What are the causes of destruction of the rainforest?

Answer 6

• Farming -> Slash and burn + subsistence farming + cattle ranching
• Transport -> 12000km of new road built (e.g. Trans-Amazonian highway) + 900km railway
• Resources -> Timber + minerals + hydro-electricity
• Settlement

Question 7

What are the effects of deforestation in the rainforest?

Answer 7

• Ecosystems -> Medicines + species dying out + rivers polluted
• People -> Number of Ameridians gone from 6 million to 200,000.
• Climate change
• Less oxygen

Question 8

How can the rainforest be protected?

Answer 8

• Agro-forestry
• Selective logging
• Education
• Afforestation
• Forest reserves
• Monitoring
• Reducing use of heavy machinery