Conservation

Question 1

What is conservation?

Answer 1

Conservation is the protection and management of species and habitats (ecosystems) in a sustainable way.

Question 2

What is sustainable

Answer 2

Sustainable means the enough resources are taken to meet the needs of people today without reducing the ability of people in the future to meet their own needs

Question 3

Seed Banks

Answer 3

A seed bank is a store of seeds from lots of different plant species. They act as a back up for the conservation of plant species in the wild- for example if a plant species becomes extinct or is lost from a particular habitat, stored seeds can be used to reintroduce the species

Question 4

Seed Banks disadvantages

Answer 4

Seeds have to be regularly tested to see if they are still viable. This is expensive

Question 5

Captive Breeding

Answer 5

Captive breeding programmes involve breeding animals in controlled environments. Species that are endangered or already extinct in the wild can be bred in captivity to help increase their numbers. They can then be reintroduced into the wild.

Question 6

Captive Breeding disadvantages

Answer 6

May be hard to successfully breed outside their natural habitat
Reintroducing animals may cause problems eg disease, harming other species

Question 7

Fishing quotas

Answer 7

Fishing quotas are limits to the amount of certain fish species that fisherman are allowed to catch. They help to conserve fish species by reducing the numbers of fish that are caught and killed

Question 8

Fishing quotas disadvantages

Answer 8

Limits income of fisherman
Fisherman may throw back extra fish they have caught – this is wasteful and does not contribute to conservation of species

Question 9

Protected areas

Answer 9

Protected areas protect habitats and the species in them by restricting urban development, industrial development and farming. Habitats in protected areas can be managed to conserve them

Trees can be cut down in a way that lets them grow back without replanting – coppicing. In this way some can be harvested but woodland is conserved

Question 10

Protected areas disadvantages

Answer 10

Often funded by tourists. Conflict between need to conserve and allowing tourists to visit.

Question 11

The main reasons for conservation are:

Answer 11

Ethical – other species have occupied the Earth far longer than we have and should be allowed to co exist with us. We should respect living things.

Economic – living organisms contain a gigantic pool of genes with the capacity to make millions of substances, many of which may prove to be valuable in the future.

Cultural and aesthetic – habitats and organisms enrich our lives.

Question 12

management of succession example

Answer 12

Heather moorland is a semi-natural habitat which has been managed by people ever since clearance and grazing started thousands of years ago. It is not a natural environment - like a rainforest which can sustain itself - heather has to be looked after.

If not managed,
heather grows into a dense mass of long woody stems that support very little wildlife,
has no grazing or economic value
and is very hard to walk through

This has prevented the land from reaching its climax community
Around 4000 years ago, much of lowland UK was a climax community of oak woodland, but most of this forest was cleared to allow grazing and cultivation. The many heaths and grasslands that we now refer to as ‘natural’ are the result of this clearance and subsequent grazing by animals

Since the mid-1800s, many areas of heather have been managed to produce grouse for shooting.
This has been one of the major land uses of upland ground and an important source of income for many estates.

Question 13

HOW ARE HEATHER MOORLANDS MANAGED?

Answer 13

Grazing by sheep
Burning the heather
Removal of bracken
Killing predators of the grouse.

Question 14

Sheep are helpful for

Answer 14

Sheep are helpful for
pruning the heather
and keeping it clear from snow in the winter (grouse are often found feeding where the sheep have trampled down the snow)
and they are also an essential tool in the control of tick.
Sheep form most of the hill farmers’ income, and the relationship between the sheep and the grouse is very important.

Question 15

Heather is kept young and vigorous by controlled burning

Answer 15

If left unburned, it eventually grows long and lank, reducing its nutritional value.
Burning is carried out by moor keepers between the Autumn and Spring when small sections are burned carefully on a rotational cycle

Question 16

Bracken poses many threats to upland sheep farmers and moor owners.

Answer 16

It kills other vegetation, particularly heather.

It is poisonous to economically important animals, e.g. sheep and cattle.

The spores of bracken are carcinogenic, causing cancer in animals and people.

It is one of the most preferred habitats for the sheep tick due to the thick mat layer it produces when it turns brown and dies. This layer remains moist, ensuring that the ticks don’t dry out and die.

For all the above reasons, it is vital that bracken is controlled and where necessary eradicated using a safe herbicide.

Question 17

Conservation Conflicts

Answer 17

In the UK there is a conflict of interest between the conservation of hen harriers and the commercial hunting of red grouse.
Hen harriers are partly responsible for declining red grouse numbers as they prey on their chicks.
To rear red grouse moorland has to be well managed, by grazing sheep and burning low-growing shrubs and plants that red grouse feed on are plentiful.
The money for this management normally comes from fees paid by those who want to hunt red grouse.