Ecosystems Flashcards
What are the features of a tropical rainforest?
- High levels of precipitation
- High light availability
- High temperatures
- Low seasonality
What is the importance of tropical rainforests?
- High biodiversity
- Carbon sequestration
- Prevents soil erosion
- Hydrological cycle
What are the threats to tropical rainforests?
- Deforestation for urbanisation
- Deforestation for cattle farming
- Surface-level mineral extraction
- Global climate change
How can tropical rainforests be conserved?
- Designations (e.g. Alto Maues Reserve, Brazil)
- Sustainable exploitation
- Reduce fossil fuel combustion
- Debt for Nature swaps (e.g. USA and Peru - US$20 million)
What are the features of a tropical coral reef?
- High light availability
- Low turbidity (clear water)
- Constant salinity
- Symbiotic relationship between coral polyps and zooxanthellae
What is the importance of tropical coral reefs?
- Carbon sequestration
- Prevents coastal erosion
- Ecosystem interdependency (mangrove forests and seagrass meadows)
- Useful as fisheries
What are the threats to tropical coral reefs?
- Ocean acidification (reduces CaCO3 availability for coral formation)
- Agricultural runoff (eutrophication)
- Sedimentation
- Introduced species (e.g. COTS)
How can tropical coral reefs be conserved?
- Designations (e.g. MCZ, MPA)
- Control of damaging activities (e.g. bottom trawling, dynamite fishing)
What are the features of Antarctica?
- Low biodiversity on land
- High albedo (reflects insolation)
- Very low temperatures (-50°C)
- High levels of marine nutrients
What is the importance of Antarctica?
- Reflects 95% of solar radiation
- Reduces global temperature extremes
- Controls ocean currents
- Large store of water (prevents sea level rise)
What are the threats to Antarctica?
- Global climate change (melting sea ice)
- Ozone depletion
- Overfishing
- Future mineral exploitation
How can Antarctica be conserved?
- Paris Agreement (2015)
- The Antarctic Treaty (1959)
- CCAMLR (1980)
- Designations (e.g. MPA)
What are the features of a broadleaf woodland?
- Deciduous trees that shed leaves in winter
- Regular water supply
- Regular seasonality
- No temperature extremes
What is the importance of broadleaf woodlands?
- High biodiversity
- Carbon sequestration
- Prevents soil erosion
- Hydrological cycle
What are the threats to broadleaf woodlands?
- Deforestation for urbanisation
- Deforestation for agriculture
- Habitat fragmentation
- Introduced species
How can broadleaf woodlands be conserved?
- Designations
- Traditional management (e.g. pollarding, coppicing)
- Legal protection of ancient woodlands (1600)
- Reduce fossil fuel combustion
What are the features of a mangrove forest?
- High salinity
- Tropical climates
- Halophytic trees
- Low oxygen availability
What is the importance of mangrove forests?
- Interdependent with tropical coral reefs and seagrass meadows
- Prevents coastal erosion
- Safe spawning and nursery site for many tropical fish species
- Traps suspended solids and prevents coral reef sedimentation
What are the threats to mangrove forests?
- Clearance for urbanisation
- Clearance for aquaculture
- Pollution (e.g. oil spills)
- Coral reef destruction
How can mangrove forests be conserved?
- Afforestation
- Community education programmes
- Designations
- Control of damaging activities (e.g. bottom trawling)
What are the features of a deep-water coral reef?
- Up to 20,000 ft deep
- Slow coral growth (10x slower than tropical coral reefs)
- Temperatures below 0°C
- Low light availability
What is the importance of deep-water coral reefs?
- Habitat for many shark species
- Habitat for 50% of global coral species
- Research opportunities
- Fisheries
What are the threats to deep-water coral reefs?
- Destructive fishing practices (e.g. bottom trawling, dynamite fishing)
- Ocean acidification
- Oil and gas exploration
How can deep-water coral reefs be conserved?
- Designations (e.g. MPA, SAC)
- Control of damaging activities (e.g. bottom trawling, dynamite fishing)
What are the features of an oceanic island?
- High unusual biodiversity
- High proportion of EDGE and endemic species
- Isolated areas
- Few or no indigenous mammal predators
What is the importance of oceanic islands?
- New medicines
- Biomimetics
- Physiological research
What are the threats to oceanic islands?
- Sea-level rise
- Habitat change/destruction
- Introduced species
- Species exploitation
How can oceanic islands be conserved?
- Designations
- Eradication of introduced species
- Control of developments and visitors
- Prevent unloading of ballast water
