forests under threat Flashcards
outline the location of the tropical rainforest
near and surrounding the equator. found mainly between the tropic of cancer and tropic of Capricorn. mainly in south America and Brazil
what is the climate of the tropical rainforest
humid, hot and wet. no seasons, 27-30 degrees all year round
what are the four layers of the rainforest
forest floor, under canopy, canopy, emerging
what are the conditions and organisms on the first layer of the rainforest (forest floor)
decomposing animals and plants, hot, dark and wet
soil is infertile and no nutrience becasue it is all in the biomass
what are the conditions and organisms on the second layer of the rainforest
humid, dark, little growth (only shrubs), animals like sloths and monkeys
what are the conditions and organisms on the third layer of the rainforest
thickest layer with the most plant growth and animals such as monkeys, birds, snakes
there is no sunlight and plants must compete to receive it
acts like an umbrella to the rest of the forest
what are the conditions and organisms on the fourth layer of the tropical rainforest
consists of the tallest trees, some birds and insects but no animals
explain the nutrience cycle of the tropical rainforest
main store is the biomass store as trees store the nutrience as they grow
huge transfers of nutrience
small litter store as everything decomposes quickly
what is an epiphyte
a plant that grows up taking nutrience from the air and not the soil. they have no roots and grow on other trees
what is the location of the Taiga forest
north of the equator, crossing from North Asia to America, can be found in Canada and Russia. sub arctic
what is the climate of the Taiga forest
maximum temperature of 20 degrees lowest of -20. temp is low all year round, precipitation is low all year but higher in summer.
explain the nutrience cycle in the Taiga
small transfer of nutrince as litter gets frozen on ground
majority of ground is also permafrost
what are some plant adaptions to the Taiga forest
conifers have triangular shape trees to reduce breakage after snowfall, also help catch as much sunlight as possible
seeds grow in protective cases
don’t shed leaves - no waste of energy
what are some animal adaptions to the Taiga forest
large paws for movement in snow
hibernate in cold months
thick, fur coats for cold
change fur colour to camouflage in snow
what are some plant adaptations in the tropical rainforest
roots have large surface area for stability
lianas have roots in ground but grow up tree for sunlight
drip tips
trunks are tall to reach sun
what are some animal adaptations to the tropical rainforest
camouflage, fast moving animals like jaguars
dart frog - bright colours signal danger
large beaks to reach taller food
sloths move slowly - camouflage
define deforestation
the cutting down of trees
define afforestation
the planting of trees to make up for those cut down
what is a direct threat and give an example
one that has direct connection to the consequence - deforestation
what is an indirect threat - give an example
when there is no direct connection to the consequence - climate change
what are some strategies to protect the rainforest
the liana project - providing with people with jobs to cut down lianas instead of trees which can be used to produce baskets
afforestation
REDD and CITES projects
what is the REDD project
advertising scheme to advise the government on how to reduce the rate of deforestation and replant trees
what is the CITES project
list of banned fauna and flora that are not allowed to be traded.
there are 35000 species under CITES protection
what are three threats to the tropical rainforest
deforestation for commercial farming
deforestation for mining
climate change
