forests under threat

Question 1

outline the location of the tropical rainforest

Answer 1

near and surrounding the equator. found mainly between the tropic of cancer and tropic of Capricorn. mainly in south America and Brazil

Question 2

what is the climate of the tropical rainforest

Answer 2

humid, hot and wet. no seasons, 27-30 degrees all year round

Question 3

what are the four layers of the rainforest

Answer 3

forest floor, under canopy, canopy, emerging

Question 4

what are the conditions and organisms on the first layer of the rainforest (forest floor)

Answer 4

decomposing animals and plants, hot, dark and wet
soil is infertile and no nutrience becasue it is all in the biomass

Question 5

what are the conditions and organisms on the second layer of the rainforest

Answer 5

humid, dark, little growth (only shrubs), animals like sloths and monkeys

Question 6

what are the conditions and organisms on the third layer of the rainforest

Answer 6

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

Question 7

what are the conditions and organisms on the fourth layer of the tropical rainforest

Answer 7

consists of the tallest trees, some birds and insects but no animals

Question 8

explain the nutrience cycle of the tropical rainforest

Answer 8

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

Question 9

what is an epiphyte

Answer 9

a plant that grows up taking nutrience from the air and not the soil. they have no roots and grow on other trees

Question 10

what is the location of the Taiga forest

Answer 10

north of the equator, crossing from North Asia to America, can be found in Canada and Russia. sub arctic

Question 11

what is the climate of the Taiga forest

Answer 11

maximum temperature of 20 degrees lowest of -20. temp is low all year round, precipitation is low all year but higher in summer.

Question 12

explain the nutrience cycle in the Taiga

Answer 12

small transfer of nutrince as litter gets frozen on ground
majority of ground is also permafrost

Question 13

what are some plant adaptions to the Taiga forest

Answer 13

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

Question 14

what are some animal adaptions to the Taiga forest

Answer 14

large paws for movement in snow
hibernate in cold months
thick, fur coats for cold
change fur colour to camouflage in snow

Question 15

what are some plant adaptations in the tropical rainforest

Answer 15

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

Question 16

what are some animal adaptations to the tropical rainforest

Answer 16

camouflage, fast moving animals like jaguars
dart frog - bright colours signal danger
large beaks to reach taller food
sloths move slowly - camouflage

Question 17

define deforestation

Answer 17

the cutting down of trees

Question 18

define afforestation

Answer 18

the planting of trees to make up for those cut down

Question 19

what is a direct threat and give an example

Answer 19

one that has direct connection to the consequence - deforestation

Question 20

what is an indirect threat - give an example

Answer 20

when there is no direct connection to the consequence - climate change

Question 21

what are some strategies to protect the rainforest

Answer 21

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

Question 22

what is the REDD project

Answer 22

advertising scheme to advise the government on how to reduce the rate of deforestation and replant trees

Question 23

what is the CITES project

Answer 23

list of banned fauna and flora that are not allowed to be traded.
there are 35000 species under CITES protection

Question 24

what are three threats to the tropical rainforest

Answer 24

deforestation for commercial farming
deforestation for mining
climate change

Question 25

explain how deforestation for commercial farming is threatening to the tropical rainforest

Answer 25

75% of deforestation was for cattle farming as beef is a key export
also making space to grow sugarcane and palm oil which is in high demand and used instead of a fossil fuel

Question 26

explain how deforestation for mining is a threat to the tropical rainforest

Answer 26

rainforest areas are on top of valuable minerals and it is more economic to extract them, yet roads and houses are built over rainforest for workers

Question 27

explain how climate change is a threat to the tropical rainforest

Answer 27

global temperatures affect the atmospheric systems that bring wet seasons to the equatorial climates. warmer global temps means that systems would shift poleward and not bring as much rain. would be hotter and dryer

Question 28

what are three threats to the Taiga forests

Answer 28

logging, mining of minerals, pests and disease

Question 29

explain how logging is a threat to the Taiga forest

Answer 29

softwood is the main species and it is used for paper and construction. large areas are cut down and no effort is put in to replant them

Question 30

explain how mining of minerals is a threat to the Taiga forest

Answer 30

oil spills are common and damaging as drainage in forest is poor and stay in ecosystem for long time. seeps into soil and eventually kill trees

Question 31

explain how pests and disease is a threat to the Taiga forest

Answer 31

because there is little diversity, if a disease is spread through one species it can wipe out a large percentage of the forests. an example is the silkworm