Component 3 - Topic 7

Question 1

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 1

The study of the living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) aspects of an environment such as a woodland where the living things interact between each other and also with the non-living environment they are found within

Question 2

What is a biome?

Answer 2

A large scale ecosystem found across the globe; each biome has its own group of plants and animals and climate which make it unique and distinctive

Question 3

Why do places closer to the poles have the coldest temperatures, least amount of sunlight and most variation in their seasons?

Answer 3

• They have the least sunlight as the sun’s rays are spread out over a wider area and come at a smaller angle
• They have colder temperatures as they receive less warmth from the sun because of the way the rays are spread
• The seasons are very different as in the winter, the sun’s rays have to travel even further than in the summer, making it colder

Question 4

Explain where forests (both tropical and temperate) are found

Answer 4

Forests are always found in zones with low pressure as these zones have clouds. These clouds are required to bring rain to the forests and so are essential for the forests

Question 5

Explain where deserts are found

Answer 5

Deserts are found in areas of high pressure. This is because high pressure zones have no clouds and so there is no precipitation. This is because by definition deserts are are places with an absence of precipitation

Question 6

How does altitude affect biomes?

Answer 6

As altitudes increase the temperature drops by 0.5 - 1 °C for every 100m in height. As well as this slopes become steeper and the soil becomes thinner. Mountain sides also have high winds and high ,evens of precipitation. All of these factors mean that traditional biomes will be stunned and replaced with more resistant and harder grasses.

Question 7

How does soil type affect biomes?

Answer 7

If soils become more alkaline it means that they become drier as their permeability increases. This means that in the U.K for example the dominant tree type can change from oak to beech or in some cases can stop tree growth all together.

Question 8

How do rock types affect the drainage of soils?

Answer 8

Certain rock types create Sandy soils. Water usually drains through these soils quickly due to there being lots of air gaps in the soil and so make them dry.

Other rock types create clay soils. These soils have fewer air gaps and so means that water takes longer to drain through the soil. This means that these soils are a lot wetter/ more moist that sandy soils.

Question 9

Wha are the biotic parts of an ecosystem?

Answer 9

The biotic parts of an ecosystem are all the living things. These include:

• Trees
• Insects
• Birds
• Rodents
• Animals
• Worms
• Bacteria/fungi

Question 10

What are the abiotic parts of an ecosystem?

Answer 10

The abiotic parts are all the non-living parts of an ecosystem. These include:

• The temperature
• The light
• CO2
• Water
• Soil

Question 11

What are the 4 ways the value of rainforest is split up in to?

Answer 11

• Provisioning services (goods): The products obtained from the ecosystem e.g timber
• Supporting services: They keep the ecosystem healthy and so support it e.g. The nutrient cycle and photosynthesis
• Regulatory services: They link to other physical services and keep the ecosystem and planet healthy e.g. Storing carbon and emitting oxygen helps keep the atmosphere in balance
• Cultural services: These are the benefits that people get from visiting or living in a healthy ecosystem E.g. recreation and tourism

Question 12

How do local tribes often use the biosphere?

Answer 12

• They use it for building and fire wood
• They gather food from plants and animals in the rainforest
• They use the plants from the forest as medicine

Question 13

What is exploitation?

Answer 13

The action of making use of and benefiting from resources. In the rainforest this could be the wood, the water and fossil fuels

Question 14

What is a carbon sink and what is carbon sequestration?

Answer 14

• A carbon sink is the taking in and storing of carbon from the atmosphere
• Carbon sequestration is the process of storing the carbon in the carbon sink

Question 15

How does the biosphere help maintain a healthy planet?

Answer 15

• Regulates gasses in the atmosphere through processes like photosynthesis
• Keeps the soil healthy by spreading the nutrients around by the nutrient cycle and by keeping the soil together in the first place
• Regulates the water cycle

Question 16

Why has the demand for food, energy and water increased over time?

Answer 16

• The world’s population has increased which means that more and more people require resources and so the demand has increased
• Wealth has increased over time meaning that more and more people can afford more food and more items which all require energy to create

Question 17

How has Urbanisation and industrialisation in developing and emerging countries increased resource consumption?

Answer 17

• Urban areas often use lots more energy through things like public transport and infrastructure
• Urban aras can hold larger numbers of people and so individual demand for resources also increases
• Industrialisation means that more energy is used up as factories require lots of energy and water to run

Question 18

What is the Malthus theory?

Answer 18

It is a pessimistic approach that says that the human population would outgrow the food supply and so result in famine, reducing the human population to a more manageable level

Question 19

What is the Bosrup theory?

Answer 19

It is optimistic and says that as the human population increases there would be new technologies and inventions that would be able to increase the amount of food