Ecosystems - Rainforests

Question 1

Agroforestry

Answer 1

A land management approach that combines trees and shrubs with crop and livestock farming systems.

Question 2

Biodiversity

Answer 2

The range of living and non-living things in a given area.

Question 3

Canopy

Answer 3

The uppermost branches of the trees in a forest, forming a more or less continuous layer of foliage.

Question 4

Carbon Sink

Answer 4

A component of the ecosystem that absorbs CO2 for photosynthesis.

Question 5

Commercial Farming

Answer 5

Farming for a profit, where food is produced by advanced technological means for sale in the market.

Question 6

Conservation

Answer 6

Study of the loss of Earth’s biological diversity and the ways this loss can be prevented.

Question 7

Debt-for-nature

Answer 7

The partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth in exchange for no deforestation.

Question 8

Decay

Answer 8

The state or process of rotting or decomposition.

Question 9

Deforestation

Answer 9

The action of felling trees.

Question 10

Ecotourism

Answer 10

Tourism to exotic, often threatened, natural environments, intended to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife.

Question 11

FSC

Answer 11

An international non-profit organisation that promotes responsible management of the world’s forests.

Question 12

Hardwood

Answer 12

A type of wood from dicot trees.

Question 13

Humus

Answer 13

The organic component of soil formed by the decomposition of leaves and other plant material by soil microorganisms.

Question 14

Indigenous Tribes

Answer 14

Culturally distinct ethnic groups who are native to a place.

Question 15

Infertile

Answer 15

The inability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth.

Question 16

International agreements

Answer 16

Agreements to protect tropical rainforests made between different countries through debt-for-nature swaps.

Question 17

Latosol

Answer 17

Soils found under tropical rainforests which have relatively high content of iron and aluminium oxides.

Question 18

Leaching

Answer 18

Drain away of nutrients from soil by the action of percolating liquid, especially rainwater.

Question 19

Leaf Litter

Answer 19

Dead plant material that have fallen to the ground.

Question 20

Lianas

Answer 20

Vines that wrap around the trunk of another tree to reach sunlight in the upper layers of the forest.

Question 21

Monoculture

Answer 21

The cultivation of a single crop in a given area.

Question 22

Mineral extraction

Answer 22

Major resource extraction activities that provide the raw materials to support our economic infrastructure.

Question 23

Palm oil

Answer 23

Palm trees cultivated for its clustered fruit whose flesh and seeds yield oil.

Question 24

Precipitation

Answer 24

Any form of water falling through air.

Question 25

Selective logging

Answer 25

The practise of cutting down a few species of trees while leaving the rest intact and unharmed.

Question 26

Silting

Answer 26

The process of becoming filled or blocked with silt.

Question 27

Slash and burn

Answer 27

A farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest to create a field.

Question 28

Soil erosion

Answer 28

The displacement of the upper layer of soil.

Question 29

Stratification

Answer 29

Refers to the layers of the tropical rainforest.

Question 30

Subsistence farming

Answer 30

The practise of growing crops and raising livestock sufficient only for one’s own use, without any surplus for trade.

Question 31

Sustainability

Answer 31

Meeting the needs of the current population without compromising the ability of the future generations to also meet their own needs.

Question 32

Transmigration

Answer 32

Moving landless people from densely populated to less populous areas of the country.

Question 33

Weathering

Answer 33

The process of wearing or being worn by long exposure to the atmosphere.