ecosystems and tropical rainforests Flashcards

Question

location of coniferous forest

Answer 1

roughly 60 degrees north

Answer 2

- cold and dark winters - quite warm summers - coniferous trees are cone-bearing and many are evergreen so that they can photosynthesise immediately after the winter

Answer 3

roughly 50 degrees north the natural ecosystem for the uk and much of western europe

Answer 4

- deciduous trees shed their leaves in winter to retain moisture - the climate is more moderate, with mostly mild and moist conditions and a few extremes of temperature

Answer 5

roughly 30 degrees north and south of equator close to tropics of cancer and capricorn

Answer 6

- sinking air in these latitudes suppresses rain formation, leading to arid conditions - hot in daytime but cooler at night, due to lack of cloud cover, allowing heat to escape - plants and animals have to be very well adapted to cope with these harsh conditions

Answer 7

roughy 40-45 north of the equator

Answer 8

- hot and dry summers - wet and mild winters - vegetation includes citrus fruit trees, oaks and olives

Answer 9

arctic and antarctic and high latitudes, such as canada and siberia

Answer 10

- extremely cold throughout the year in polar regions - cold winters but quite warm, brief summers in tundra regions - limited precipitation - very fragile and easily damaged by human activities

Answer 11

close to equator wide-spread across asia, africa, and south america

Answer 12

- concentrated energy from sun heats the moist air, which rises to produce heavy rainfall - this, combined with high temps means the conditions are ideal for plant growth - rainforests cover 6% of the earths surface and over 50% of the worlds animals and plants live in this ecosystem

Answer 13

between 15-30 degrees north and south of equator

Answer 14

- tropical climates in these latitudes is characterised by distinct wet and dry seasons - fires are common in the dry season, usually ignited by lightning strikes - herds graze in these areas, along with predators such as lions

Answer 15

- cover 6% of earths surface - found in a broad belt close to equator - south america, west africa, southeast asia, australia

Answer 16

- thrive in equatorial climate - experience high temps of about 27 degree celsius - high rainfall of very 2000mm per year -> climate creates ideal growing conditions and accounts for the lush vegetation growth

Answer 17

- rainforests have highest levels of biodiversity in the world - birds live in the canopy, feeding on seeds + nectar from flowering plants - mammals, such as sloths + monkeys, are well-adapted to life in the trees - snakes use trunks of trees as vertical highways from forest floor to canopy’s above - animals such as deer + rodent browse on vegetation from forest floor

Answer 18

- most experience a distinct wet season, with high rainfall -> during this time there is excess water on the ground, sometimes causing flooding

Answer 19

- rainforests soils are not very fertile - nutrients are concentrated in the upper topsoil and are very quickly taken up by plants as they grow -> trees and plants have shallow roots to maximise their use of these nutrients - intense leaching removes nutrients from the topsoil + redeposits them further down the

Answer 20

- traditional tribes living in the rainforest live in harmony with the natural environment, gathering only what they need to survive - increasingly people are exploiting rainforest for commercial gain -> this is extremely harmful to the rainforest ecosystem + reduces biodiversity as habitats are destroyed

Answer 21

decomposers thriving in the warm and wet conditions quickly break down dead leaves and branches

Answer 22

thick arrows

Answer 23

the climate conditions - for example, warm and wet conditions promote chemical weathering

Answer 24

in the biomass (mainly the trees)

Answer 25

- contains few nutrients -> as only nutrients released by decomposers are quickly absorbed by the trees + plants or leached into the soil by the heavy rainfall

Answer 26

- light - food - shelter - nutrients - space - water

Answer 27

emergents canopy understorey ground layer

Answer 28

a small number of trees break through the general level of the forest, reaching heights of over 30m

Answer 29

continuous, dense tree cover protects the ground from heavy rainfall and reduces the amount of light to areas below

Answer 30

woody plants and shrubs grow in the humid, calm conditions with limited sunlight

Answer 31

largely made up of decomposed material broken down by the hot, humid conditions. this level consists of scattered plants and fungi, used by insects as a source of food

Answer 32

woody vines which climb up trees to reach sunlight so their leaves can grow in the canopy

Answer 33

bend upwards when it rains so their force of rain doesn’t make it snap

Answer 34

spread out over wide areas to absorb more nutrients from the thin soil layer

Answer 35

- if they eat poisonous insects, they absorb the toxins in their mucus - feet have extra-strong suction cups to climb and hold slippery branches

Answer 36

- extra vertebrae to be able to turn their neck 270 degrees to check for predators above/below - can swim in floods (high rainfall=surface runoff) - grown green algae in fur to camouflage

Answer 37

all parts of the TRFs are dependent on each other, for example: 1) the warm and wet climate helps fungi and bacteria on the forest floor to decompose dead plant material rapidly. this makes the surface soil high in nutrients, meaning plants can grow easily 2) plants pass on their nutrients when eaten by animals. the dense vegetation provides lots of food, so animal populations are high. when the animals die, their nutrients are transferred back to the soil, making it richer and encouraging lots of vegetation

Answer 38

- medicines - water - energy from HEP - wild meat and fish - native food crops - building materials - food - spices - timber - resources - minerals - anti-cancer - indigenous tribes - employment -> construction -> mining -> tourism -> farming

Answer 39

- 20% of world oxygen - biodiversity - climate - evaporation cools air - water cycle - absorbs carbon dioxide - roots bind soil - 20% of fresh water from amazon basin

Answer 40

a measure of how many different species live in an ecosystem

Answer 41

they have a constant hot and wet climate - ideal for plant growth

Answer 42

- slash + burn agriculture, creating commercial plantations - unsustainable timber harvesting - mining + subsequent pollution of water supplies from toxic metals - development of roads and settlements

Answer 43

- change to one part of the ecosystem can have a knock on effect on the whole ecosystem. eg, deforestation can contribute to climate change - trees intercept and take up lots of water, and release it back into the atmosphere, providing moisture for further rainfal. reducing tree cover may increase the risk of drought, affecting the plants and animals that live in the rainforest ecosystem - trees stabilise soil with their roots and provide some nutrients when they drop their leaves. with fewer trees, the soil would have less protection from heavy rainfall, the few nutrients present would wash away more easily and plants would struggle to grow

Answer 44

amazon rainforest

Answer 45

8 million km^2

Answer 46

brazil, peru, colombia, venezuela, ecuador, bolivia, guyana, suriname, french guiana

Answer 47

almost 18 million hectares

Answer 48

- commercial farming - subsistence farming - commetcial logging - other: mineral extraction, energy development, population growth, road building

Answer 49

- forest is cleared to make space for cattle grazing or huge plantations - cattle ranching is the main cause of deforestation in the amazon - in brazil, there are around 200 million cattle on about 450,000 km^2 of pasture - soy is another commercially farmed crop - up to 250,000 km^2 of former forest has been used for its production. rice, corn and sugar cane are also grown

Answer 50

- forest is cleared by small-scale farmers who need land to grow food for themselves and their families - many indigenous people are subsistence farmers

Answer 51

the amazon is full of valuable hardwood trees such as mahogany, which makes logging extremely tempting to both legal and illegal businesses

Answer 52

- gold, iron ore and copper are mines and exported to help boost countries development - explosives are sometimes used to clear earth, and deep pits have to be dug to reach the mineral deposits

Answer 53

- building hydroelectric dams floods large areas of forests - the construction of the Balbina dam (near manaus, brazil) flooded 2400 km^2 of rainforest

Answer 54

population growth and migration in the area is putting pressure on the amazon rainforest, especially as the brazilian gov offers land to poor people from overcrowded cities, eg. many farmers have been settled along the Trans-Amazonian Highway

Answer 55

- the 4000km Trans-Amazonian highway connects the brazilian coast to peru, colombia and ecuador, through the amazon - new roads built for logging have opened up areas that were previously too hard to get to, destroying and threatening more of the forest

Answer 56

- the water cycle is disrupted by deforestation as the loss of trees means less evapotranspiration, so less moisture is returned to the atmosphere, meaning fewer clouds are formed, and making the local climate drier - recycling water acts as a cooling system, so without this the climate gets warmer - this is a severe issue as it does not have a quick fix and as it continues happening, the impacts will get more severe - in the long term the impacts can become more severe, like droughts

Answer 57

- chopping down trees leaves the thin top soil exposed, which is quickly removed by heavy rainfall - without the top soil layer it is very hard for any vegetation to grow - soil erosion also leads to the silting up of river courses, which has an impact on marine ecosystems and increases the risk of flooding - even if the soil is protected, it quickly loses the fertility it had when it was covered by trees - even more nutrients are removed when land is used for grazing or crop plantations, so farmers have to abandon the patch on land they had been working on to move onto new pastures, which leads to further forest clearance and soil degradation - this is a severe issue because it means vegetation can’t grow so it can affect farmers and buyers - in the long term we could run out of space to grow food, leading to a food shortage

Answer 58

- gold mining not only causes deforestation but it also leads to polluted waterways as mercury is used to separate gold, which then seeps into the ground -this leaking mercury poisons fish, as well as inhabitants of nearby settlements, particularly through contaminated drinking water supplies - rivers are also being polluted by silt from soil erosion - this is a severe issue as it causes water to become polluted - in the long term because could get ill due to contaminated water and species of fish could go extinct

Answer 59

- indigenous tribes are affected more negatively than any other group as deforestation threatens their homes, food supply and traditional way of life - in the amazon, indigenous tribes have declined in number from 330 to 240 tribes, as logging, the construction of roads, the creation of ranches, plantations and reservoirs, and the opening of mines have forced them all off their land - many displaced indigenous tribes end up in towns and cities - this is a significant issue as they can become unwell from being exposed to external viruses - in the long term their culture and way of life is lost forever

Answer 60

- the TRF is significant at a global level as it is often referred to as the lungs of the earth as they absorb large amounts of CO2 and release large amounts of O2 - the canopy is able to absorb CO2 until it is chopped down - once that happens the stores CO2 is released back into the atmosphere - deforestation is a main contributor to the greenhouse effect and therefore climate change - fire is often used to clear large areas of the rainforest, which releases CO2

Answer 61

- deforestation means a loss of habitat for many animals in the tropical rainforest biome - this threatens individual species, with them becoming endangered, with the threat of extinction - current estimates suggest that 137 plant, animal and insect species are lost everyday because of deforestation - that’s 50,000 a year - this loss of species also means that that many cures for life threatening diseases are also lost - by 2030 parts of the amazon could have lost 30-45% of their main species

Answer 62

- selective logging - replanting - ecotourism - education - conservation - reducing debt - international hardwood agreements

Answer 63

- only some trees (like old ones) are felled - most trees remain - this is less damaging to the forest than clearing a whole area -> if only a few trees are taken from an area the overall forest structure is kept - the canopy remains and the soil isn’t exposed. this allows the forest to regenerate - the least damaging forms are ‘horse logging’ and ‘helicopter logging’ - dragging felled trees out of the forest using horses or removing them with helicopters instead of huge trucks

Answer 64

- this is when new trees are planted to replace the ones that are cut down - it’s important that the types of trees replanted match those that were cut down - in some countries there are laws to make logging companies replant trees when they clear a forested area

Answer 65

- ecotourism minimises damage to the environment and benefits local people - only a small number of visitors are allowed into an area at a time and rules are imposed to minimise the environmental impacts (eg. litter is disposed of correctly) - it provides a source of income for local people (eg. they can act as guides and provide accommodation and transport). it can also raise awareness of conservation issues and bring more money in to protect rainforests - if local people are employed in tourism, they don’t have to log or farm to make money, meaning fewer trees are cut down

Answer 66

- educating the international community about the impacts of deforestation can encourage people to buy products from sustainable sources - local people may damage the forest (eg. by logging illegally) to overcome their poverty, without realising the long-term effects of their actions - educating the local people about the impacts of deforestation can help to reduce damage to rainforests - teaching local people about alternative ways to make money that don’t damage the environment as much, means they wont be dependent on unsustainable options in order to make a living

Answer 67

- many countries have set up national parks and nature reserves within rainforests -> in these areas damaging activities, eg. logging are restricted. however a lack of funds can make it difficult to police restrictions - as a result, some countries have set up funds which overseas govs and business can invest in -> the countries get the money in exchange for rainforest conservation -the money can be used to police restrictions and promote sustainable use of rainforests

Answer 68

- many TRFs are found in LICs which often borrow money from wealthier countries or organisations - this money must be paid back with interest, so poorer countries log, farm and mine in the rainforests to make money to pay back the debt - reducing debt means they don’t have to do this and rainforests can be conserved - debt can be cancelled by countries or organisations, but there’s no guarantee that the repayment money will be spend on conservation - a better solution is a conservation swap, where part of a countries debt is paid off in exchange for a guarantee that the money will be spend on conservation

Answer 69

- hardwood is a general term for wood from certain tree species (eg. mahogany or teak). the wood tends to be dense and hard, so is often used to make furniture - high demand for hardwood comes from consumers in richer countries means some of the tropical hardwood trees are becoming increasingly rare as more are cut down - the are international agreements in place to try prevent illegal logging, and to promote the used of hardwood from sustainably managed forests