ecosystems

Question 1

ecosystem

Answer 1

a living community of plants and animals sharing an environment with non-living elements such as climate and soil

Question 2

biome

Answer 2

a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups, which are adapted to that particular environment

Question 3

biotic

Answer 3

living things in a natural environment

Question 4

abiotic

Answer 4

non-living or chemical things in a natural environment

Question 5

what is the nutrient cycle

Answer 5

biomass, litter soil

Question 6

what does the nutrient cycle consist of

Answer 6

consumers, producers and decomposers

Question 7

what do the consumers do in the nutrient cycle

Answer 7

the consumers eat sugars or other minerals produced by the producers

Question 8

what do the producers do in the nutrient cycle

Answer 8

convert energy in their environment into sugars

Question 9

what do the decomposers do in the nutrient cycle

Answer 9

the decomposers break down waste into nutrients

Question 10

food chain

Answer 10

shows links between producers and consumers

Question 11

forest floor

Answer 11

bottom layer
covered with ferns and deep litter of fallen leaves and branches

Question 12

shrub layer

Answer 12

small trees and shrubs especially near rivers
above forest floor

Question 13

under canopy

Answer 13

limited sunlight
saplings wait for larger plants and trees to die, leaving a gap in the canopy which they can grown into
above the shrub layer

Question 14

canopy

Answer 14

dense layer
trees 20, 30m tall
includes hard woods and mahogony

Question 15

emergent layer

Answer 15

50m tall trees
trees normally have support buttress roots

Question 16

epiphytes

Answer 16

plants that grow on other plants for support
found in the canopy

Question 17

buttress roots

Answer 17

shallow roots that stick out above ground to provide stability

Question 18

drip tip leaves

Answer 18

leaves that are long and sharply pointed to allow water to quickly flow off it

Question 19

economic gains for deforestation

Answer 19

development of farms which provide income and create jobs
dams and HEP stations built to provide cheaper more plentiful energy
useful minerals and ores that have high market value

Question 20

economic losses of deforestation

Answer 20

• water can pollute water and cause water shortages
• fire used to burn down trees release gas and ash
• deforestation would deter tourist
• ## deforestation leads to rising temperatures which contribute to global warming

Question 21

goods of the amazon rainforest

Answer 21

• timber provided by the trees
• rubber can be extracted from trees
• minerals and ores found from trees

Question 22

services of the amazon rainforest

Answer 22

• provides habitats
• helps to prevent flooding
• lungs of the earth

Question 23

statistics about the amazon rainforest

Answer 23

• 2000 species of fish found
• create 20% of oxygen
• 20% of all birds found
• most food and materials from the rainforest

Question 24

remember TEA

Answer 24

Trends - is it increasing? decreasing?
Example - specific years/rate
Anomalies - any points that don’t fit

Question 25

why is nutrient cycling very rapid in tropical rainforests

Answer 25

hot and wet, faster enzyme reactions