Ecosystems Y8 Flashcards
Definition of ecosystem
A natural system made up of all living things (animals, plants, bacteria and fungi) and their non living environment (the atmosphere, rocks, water, the climate) and all the interactions between them. This could be something as big as a forest, or as small as a garden pool or under a stone.
Definition of a biome
An Ecosystem on a global scale – large bands of land, running roughly parallel to the equator, that share the same type of plants and animals because they share the same general climate
What percent of the Earths surface do tropical rainforests cover?
6%
What proportion of all the plants and animals on land live in rainforests?
Half -50%
Where are tropical rainforests usually?
In the tropics (cancer and Capricorn)
Name the four layers of the rainforest from highest to lowest
The emergents - the canopy- the under canopy- the shrub layer
What is the emergents.
These are the tallest tree is up to 60 m tall
What is the canopy ?
Is the thickest layer where most of the animals live
What is the under canopy
It has the young trees, shorter trees, and bushes
What is the shrub layer(forest floor)
Here you find ferns and other plants that grow close to the ground
How do emergents get sunlight?
They grow so that they are taller then the rest of the plants
What are lianas?
They are thick vines that reach sunlight by looping around tree branches
What are epiphytes?
They perch on high branches. They feed on rain, and nutrients from rotting keaves
Where do you find epiphytes?
In the canopy
How do plants in the shrub layer get sunlight?
The plants grow large leaves with lots of chlorophyll to trap as much sunlight as possible
What are buttress roots?
Roots that stop tall trees from falling over. The root stone grey deep into the soil instead they spread out near the surface. This way they can quickly take up the nutrients from dead leaves an animal droppings.
What are drip tips?
They are leaves that have a tip at the end so that water falls off them
Why do some leaves have thick waxy coating?
To protect against rain and insects
Why do some leaves have sharp edges?
To keep animals from eating them
How many countries have tropical rainforest ?
80 but 80% of tropical rainforests are found in just 10countries
Name major threats of tropical rainforest deforestation 
Large areas are being burnt- to clear land for farming to grow food or to build cattle ranches
Logging- cutting down trees for timber for furniture

Impacts of deforestation of tropical rainforest
-Global warming
-there will be no nutrients in the soil because there are no plants or trees shedding leaves to replace the nutrients in the soil. The soil is no longer able to support plant life
-flooding
-species may go extinct as they will no longer have homes
Strategies to reduce rates of tropical rainforest deforestation
-Buy products are certified by the rainforest alliance – means they will have been produced an ethical sustainable manner
- Buy products that have the RSPO logo or products free from palm oil
-REDD agenda -
-Ecotourism-
-National parks
What is the REDD agenda
It aims to pay rainforest countries to leave rainforest alone. If we can make conservation more profitable there will be a huge decrease in deforestation rates
How do national parks help deforestation
Rainforests in national parks stop deforestation as it is illegal to cut the trees down there. Costa Rica has 25% of the country’s land area in national parks.
What is ecotourism ?
It involves small groups of tourists visiting locations to enjoy learning about the natural world – this is a way which is sustainable and does it cause environmental damage.
Ecotourism also gives greater power to local and indigenous communities and more of the profit stay with these groups rather than going to big travel companies.
