Forests Under Threat Flashcards
Emergent layer
At the top where trees have broken tbrough the dense canopy layer
Canopy layer
Home to trees smakes and birds
Understorey layer
Contains young trees and large leaves to capture sunlight
Forest floor
Mamalls here
How does the nutrient cycle work
Nutrients added to ecosystem by precipitaion and weathering
Then removed by runoff
Then taken up from the soil as plants
They then are returned when they dje
Where are most the nutrients in tye tropical rainforest stored
In biomass
What are effects if forest goes through deforestation
Litter snd soil easily eroded by heavy rains
Land cannot be farmed for long as rainforest soils contain few nutrients
What is the basic energy source for all food webs
Sunlight
Why is productivity low in the taiga
Dont reveive enough sunlight, high temperaturesand precipitation
What are direct threats
Deliberate cutting down of trees for timber
what is an indirect threat
Comes from pollution, global warming or disease
What are the reaons for deforestation
Poverty
Debt
Economic development
Demand for resources
What happens if climate increases by 3 degrees
20-50% of land species face extinction
Where are tar sands foumd
Under an area of taiga
What can tar sands hold
Estimated 1.7 trillion barrels of oil
Describe the taigas climate
Short, wet summers of 3 months (20 degrees)
Long cold, dry winters
Low precipitation
Snow on ground for many months
Why is biodiversity Low in the Taiga
As plants and animals can only survive if they are specially adapted to the cold climate
What do CITES do to protect rainforests
Stop the buying and selling of endangered species to try stop illegal hunting and collecting
Advantages of CITES
Many countries have signed up
Protected species include a wide variety of species
Disadvantages of CITES
Protects species, not ecosystems, so does not prevent deforestation
Global warming could undermine its success
What is REDD
projects whose purpose is to stop deforestation
How do national parks help protect the taiga areas
Conservation takes priority over exploitation of resources by having privately owned land and legal protection
What are reasons to conserve the taigas biodiversity
Culturally important to many indigenous people
Exploitation causes deforestation and pollution
One of the last untouched bio,we
What are reasons to why the taiga should be exploited
Brings jobs and income to isolated areas
Resourced can be exported boosting national GDP
Some exploitation is renewable such as hydroelectric power
