Environmental Science set 2 Flashcards
What is a Savanna?
A Savanna is a low lying grassland, with low/tall grass and low-lying shrubs
What are the five types of savannas?
Tropical and subtropical savannas, Temperate savanna, Mediterranean savanna, flooded savannas, montane savannas
What savanna is found near the equator and bordered by tropical rainforest/deserts?
tropical and subtropical savannas, such as the Serengeti in Africa
What savanna is found in mid-latitude regions
Temperate savannas such as Southeast Australia
What savanna is found in mid-latitude regions but in the Mediterranean?
Mediterranean savanna such as the Alentejo region in Portugal.
What savanna is found in the tropics?
the flooded savannas are found in the tropics, such as the Pantantal in South America
What savanna is found in high altitude regions?
The Montane savannas are found in high altitude regions like the mountains of Angola in equatorial Africa
What would you see if you climbed a tree on a savanna?
You could see land covered in grass and small shrubs for miles around
What is a key characteristic of the savanna biome?
On a savanna, trees are never close enough together to create a closed canopy, like in a rainforest.
What is the rainfall like in a savanna?
In the winter, no rain falls on a savanna, so it is very dry. In the summer, it rains a lot.
What is it called when it rains only one time a year?
Rain one time a year is called ‘seasonal rainfall’
How are savannas related to forests and grassland?
Savannas are transitional zones between forests and grasslands.. in between zones.
How is a savanna like a rainforest but also like a desert?
It is very dry like a desert sometimes, but very wet like a rainforest at other times.
What kind of animals like to live on savannas?
Grazing animals such as herds of wildebeest, impalas and zebras.
What is an ungulate?
An ungulate is a hoofed mammal
What is unusual about the sub-Saharan African savanna?
The sub-Saharan savanna has the highest variety of ungulates in the world
How do you know there are lots of rodents (rats/mice) living in a savanna?
There are lots of holes in the ground for rodents’ homes.
What is a rodent hole called?
Rodents live in burrows
What are feline and canine creatures?
Feline – cats, canine – dogs. Lions, cheetahs, African wild dogs
How is the feline and canine colouring changed for savanna life?
The creatures have colouring that helps them blend in – camouflaged
How can birds live in the savanna when everything is camouflaged?
Birds have adapted excellent eyesight so they can see their camouflaged prey.
What often happens in the hot season on a savanna?
Wild fires burn the grasses/bushes.
how have savanna plants adapted to these fires?
Savanna plants are adapted to thrive after fires
How do humans destroy savannas?
By setting fires on purpose or by accident, the savanna cannot regrow quickly enough
How is farmland problematic for savannas?
Farmland clears trees, removes homes for creatures, farm animals graze taking food away from wild animals, over grazing harms natural plants.
How else do humans affect wildlife?
Humans hunting (poaching – illegal hunting) wildlife is a major threat.
Which animals are often poached?
Elephants and rhinoceros are hunted illegally for their ivory
What happens when these large animals are killed?
The loss of these large grazing animals endangers the herd, plus it can destroy the ecosystem that relies on their presence.
How is climate change a threat to savannas?
Climate change is heating up the savannas, droughts (extremely dry periods) are severe.
How has human use of savannas affected them?
Savannas may be more susceptible to floods and fires due to human use
How can sustainable farming help savannas?
growing more than one crop on a piece of land so less space is used, using natural species instead of cutting them down, feed animals in stalls rather than grazing in the wild
What are governments doing to protect savannas?
Governments are working to stop illegal poaching
What is a desert?
A desert is a region that gets less than 25 cm of rain a year.
Where are the majority of the world’s deserts found?
The majority of the world’s deserts are found along the Tropic of Cancer (30 degrees North), and the Tropic of Capricorn (30 degrees south)
What happens at these latitudes?
At the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer dry air from the equatorial regions dries out the land.
What is the difference between coastal deserts and land locked deserts?
Land locked deserts are not bordered by an ocean.
Which is the largest desert in the USA?
The Great Basin Desert is the largest desert in the USA
How are coastal deserts created?
As cool air moves from West to East it can create cold foggy weather instead of rain.
Name two coastal deserts.
Atacama Desert in South America, and Namib Desert in southwestern Africa
Are deserts always very hot?
No, some deserts can be very cold.
What defines a desert?
A desert is defined by rainfall, not temperature.
Even if a desert gets rain, what happens to it?
The rainfall in a desert evaporates quickly.
Describe a desert.
few plants, little water, and extreme swings in daily temperature.
What happens to soil in deserts?
Desert soil tends to be rocky or sandy and has little organic matter (dead plants).
What are desert soils called?
Desert soils are called aridisols
How windy is in a desert?
It can be very windy in the desert
How can plants live in the desert when it is so harsh?
Plants have adapted to living in the desert
What are some ways plants have adapted to the desert?
Adaptions include small leaves and waxy cuticles (coverings) to stop water evaporation,
Why do desert plants not need a lot of leaves?
Because the sunlight is so intense they don’t need big leaves to do photosynthesis, and some plants only grow them after a rainfall.
What do cacti have instead of leaves?
Cacti have hairs or spines, which discourage evaporation and also stop animals from eating them.
How do cacti store water?
Cacti store water in their tissues so they can use it later.
When do most desert animals come outside?
Desert animals are active at night
Why do rodents burrow underground?
Underground is cool in the daytime, so they come out at night.
What nasty creature hunts at night?
The desert scorpion hunts at night.
What is an example of a desert rodent?
A ground squirrel spends day time underground away from heat and predators, and comes out at nighttime.
What are some impacts of humans?
Humans allowing farm animals to graze on savannas is turning them into deserts.
What is desertification?
desertification is when another biome is turned into a desert
How is global warming affecting deserts.
They are getting even hotter and drier
How does development affect deserts?
Off road atvs, oils and gas production and urbanization (people living there) are damaging desert plants.
How long does it take for the saguaro cactus to get full grown?
It takes 200 years for the saguaro cactus to be full grown.
What is xeriscaping?
xeriscaping is replacing lawns with native desert plants that do not require watering.
How are people trying to protect the desert?
People are trying to get off-road vehicles to use trails, digging ditches to store water and seeds, and changing landscape methods.
