Ecosystems Flashcards
Where is Wytham Woods?
Wytham Woods is a 390 hectare area of forest in Oxfordshire
What is the geology around Wytham Woods like and what might that tell us about the dominant species of tree?
The forest covers two limestone hills so we would expect ash to dominate
How long would it take soil under new woodland to reach the complexity of soil under existing woodland?
500-600 years
Which disease wiped out a species of tree in Wytham Woods?
Dutch elm disease
How much of Wytham Woods is ancient semi-natural woodland?
35%
How much of Wytham Woods is recent plantations?
42%
How much of Wytham Woods is secondary woodland?
23%
Wytham Woods has over 1000 species of what?
Moths and butterflies
How many species of animal are there in Wytham Woods?
3800, a fifth of Britain’s fauna can be found in this particular area of woodland
Grey squirrels were introduced to the area in the early 20th Century. How do they harm the ecosystem?
They strip the bark of trees, particularly beech and oak
What is myxomatosis?
A disease used as a rabbit population control in the 1950s. In the UK the disease is thought to have killed more than 99% of the rabbit population as well as causing stoats to disappear. It took 30 years for the rabbit population to re-establish itself.
Who owns Wytham Woods now?
The University of Oxford, whose forestry department use it for education and research purposes, as well as to improve the quality and quantity of timber production
How many visitors does Wytham Woods receive each year?
20,000
How does acid rain affect Wytham Woods?
It changes the calcium content of vegetation and egg shells and may be caused by the nearby Didcot power station
Wytham management aim: to minimise major disturbances to…
…fauna
Wytham management aim: to improve quality and quantity of…
…timber
Wytham management aim: to produce a closed…
…canopy forest of native hardwoods
Wytham management aim: to allow regeneration of a range of…
…native plants
Wytham management aim: to improve range of age…
…classes of trees
Wytham management aim: to minimise adverse…
…visual impacts
What effect does putting up nesting boxes for blue tits have on a woodland?
The presence of blue tits leads to reduced caterpillar numbers and increased tree productivity
What is happening to non-native species such as scots pine and sycamore at Wytham Woods?
They are being felled to make way for native species
What was the effect of building a fence to stop deer grazing throughout different fields?
There were low deer numbers in 2009
What is the governments target regarding non-native canopy cover?
Less than 10%
Why were restrictions on chemical use in Wytham Woods put in place?
To allow sparrowhawks to breed again
How many visitors does Studland receive?
25,000 a day in peak times
What is deflation?
Erosion by wind blowing sand particles
Who manages Studland?
National Trust and English Nature
What effect do boardwalks have on a sand dune environment?
Discourages trampling whilst making walking easier for visitors
What has been replanted at Studland?
Marram grass to stabilise dunes and encourage succession
How have people been managed at Studland?
Fire beaters, hydrants and barbecue areas in areas at low risk of fires, bins
What hard engineering strategies have been implemented at Studland?
Gabions, enlarged car park to ensure visitors follow provided routes to beaches
Briefly explain psammosere succession.
Embryo dune -> marram grass -> humus for next stage of succession -> rosette plants, shrubs, small trees -> developed soil, trees
How many ridges are there at Shell Bay?
4
What are the threats to Keyhaven marshes?
The marshes are protected by Hurst Castle spit, which is receiving a reduced shingle supply due to groynes in the west
What hard engineering has been used at Hurst Castle spit?
550m of Rock armour at Milford, groynes on spit, 100m revetment
What soft engineering has been used at Hurst Castle spit?
Nourishment with 300,000 m³ of shingle, SSSI and RAMSAR protected
How have breaches in Hurst Castle spit affected the ecosystem?
Spartina in decline, leaving bare mud susceptible to erosion
How much did the National a Trust increase parking by at Studland?
800 spaces
Define coastal squeeze?
Loss of salt marshes due to erosion and rising sea levels on one side and obstructive sea defences on the other
How was Abbott’s Hall Farm established as an intertidal zone?
Essex Wildlife Trust bought unused fields, made 5 breaches in sea wall and allowed fields to flood at high tide, intertidal zone created
What benefits are there to salt marsh development?
Fuel detritus based food webs, commercially important for cockles and oysters, fish nursery
How much can a hectare of salt marsh be valued at?
£2,500 as a defence, a much higher value than the agricultural land it protects
What is the pioneer species in haloseres?
Eel grass
What is the climate like in a tropical rainforest?
Little seasonal variation, mean monthly temperatures rarely fall outside 25-28°C, annual precipitation often exceeds 2,000mm, humidity of 80-100%
How much light does the lower level of a rainforest receive?
10% hence why many plants have adapted to grow up trees and most animals live in canopy
Why are Amazonian tribes having an increasing impact on the environment?
They were moved from their settlements by mining companies and now are forced to live in a Biosphere Reserve; before they were nomadic but now their activities are concentrated
What are the three types of value of a tropical rainforest ecosystem?
Extractive (timber), indirect (flood control, carbon sink), future value (undiscovered medicines)
How much of the Earth is covered by rainforest?
7% of land
How much of the world’s species live in TRFs?
66%
What are endemic species?
Species that are adapted to only live in/on one kind of tree
How long would it take soils in tropical areas to recover after being farmed?
100 years
How could agroforestry be used in Amazonia?
Businesses could learn from indigenous tribes how to extract rubber from trees without harming them (Brazil imports rubber), polyculture
What is the Iwokrama reserve?
317,000 ha of protected TRF in Guyana, no urban development, UNDP and commonwealth expertise, basic Eco-tourism allowed
In the 1980s how fast was Amazonian TRF being destroyed?
6 football pitches a minutes, Belgium pa
How much of Brazil’s rainforest has been destroyed?
17% in 2005
What did Greenpeace Brazil do in the 1980s?
Intentionally over exaggerated the scale of deforestation to get a reaction - Rio Earth Summit 1992
What industry has accounted for 75% of deforestation in Brazil’s TRF?
Beef production; Brazil now biggest exporter of beef
Mato Grosso state accounts for ……. of the deforested area of Brazil’s TRF.
43%
What is the BR163?
A 1700km highway from southern Brazil to Santarem; the arc of deforestation follows tarmac, plans to turn into a superhighway from Cuiaba through TRF to Santarem
Why has desertification not occurred as expected in the Amazon?
Fertiliser use and climate means farmers get two harvests a year
As well as deforestation, what else has clearly followed the Tarmac on the BR163?
Population growth; population of frontier town has increased 500% since 80s
How many countries does the Amazon rainforest lie in?
9
Why is IBAMA ineffective in policing Brazilian Amazon?
50 agents police area the size of France, no power to confiscate licenses
What are carbon credits?
Businesses paying for the services of the rainforest to make themselves carbon neutral
What is the Land Alliance?
Group of farmers in Brazil wanting to sustainably manage forest, companies from around the world pay for them to conserve their land
What is the value of standing forest (Land Alliance)?
$400 per ha, 3 times that of cattle ranches and twice value of soya
What do Canopy Capital do?
London based company, pay for services of Iwokrama reserve
How much of the Australian TRF has been cleared?
75%
How did Australia deal with logging?
Banned it and compensated the industry 48million AUS$
What facilities are there in the Australian Wet Tropics for visitors?
2 visitors centres and boardwalks
How much TRF has been cleared in Cameroon?
60% of the country’s, accounting for 7% of global TRF
What were the three steps of the Korup project?
Establish National Park status (1986), establish buffer zone, encourage tourism
What were the main threats to Cameroon’s TRF?
Poaching, oil palm plantation, tourism and local resource exploitation
How much of the Korup funding was used for infrastructure?
90%
Why did management in Korup end in 2003?
Lack of funding
How was hunting in Korup managed?
Locals allowed to hunt outside park but not inside, educated on sustainable management, hunting quota
How many species of plants and animals live in Madagascar?
200,000; most of which cannot be found elsewhere in the world
Madagascar ranks ….. out of 230 countries for GDP per capita.
217th
Population in Madagascar was 4.2 million in the 1940s, now it is..
..23 million
Why do people in Madagascar use slash-and-burn agriculture?
Rice farming is a traditional industry, completely clears area, farmed for a year or two, left for four to six, soil exhausted after two or three cycles
How much can Malagasy hardwoods sell for?
$2000 a ton
How many invasive species have been found in Madagascar?
94
In the last 35 years, biodiversity in Madagascar has decreased by…
…more than 25%
How many TRF national parks were set up in Madagascar?
6, all with their own plant inventories; Ranomafana has research station
What are Savoka gardens?
Soil enriching crops planted on exhausted agricultural land, diversifies incomes and diets
How does ecotourism help locals?
50% of NP fees go to local people, 50% goes to conservation
How much of Madagascar is currently protected?
28%
What do conservation plans in Madagascar include?
Expanding protected areas, surveillance, building research facilities
What happened to Madagascar’s TRF from 1970 onwards?
Fragmentation (reduces gene pool)
