forests under threat Flashcards
1
Q
what are the stratified layers of a tropical rainforest?
A
emergents, canopy, lower canopy, shrub layer
2
Q
what are some characteristics of the emergents?
A
tallest trees, straight trunks and branches and leaves are only at the top, big buttress roots
3
Q
what are some characteristics of the canopy layer?
A
it only has leaves at the top of the tree, it shades the rest of the forest
4
Q
what are characteristics of the lower canopy?
A
young trees grow but cant really survive, they fill in gaps in the canopy
5
Q
what are characteristics of the shrub layer?
A
2% light, shrubs have adapted to have large broad leaves to absorb light
6
Q
how have buttress roots adapted to help the tree survive?
A
thick roots support the height and absorb any nutrients, roots are below the surface so they are shallow
7
Q
how have thick waxy leaves with drip tips adapted to help trees survive?
A
the waxy layer makes the leaf waterproof so the water slides off and can go to the roots, the drip tips allow the water to drop off the leaf to the roots
8
Q
how does smooth thick bark help a tree survive?
A
it reduces the number of epiphytes, the straight trunk helps them to grow
9
Q
how do lianas help the tree to survive?
A
the vines use the tall trees as support to reach sunlight
10
Q
how does the gradual drop of leaves help a tree to survive?
A
it helps the tree grow all year round
11
Q
how have monkeys adapted to live in the rainforest?
A
they have tails for balance, they live in the canopy for food, they have strong limbs to climb
12
Q
how have sloths adapted to survive in the rainforest?
A
long limbs to hang/swing, they’re nocturnal so they can save energy and wake up when it’s cooler`
13
Q
how have birds like toucans and macaws adapted to survive in the rainforest?
A
strong beaks to break nuts
14
Q
how have geckos adapted to survive in the rainforest?
A
sticky feet to stick to the smooth bark, leaf-tailed gecko can camouflage
15
Q
what is interdepence?
A
abiotic and biotic factors interact to influence each other, they are reliant on each other to survive, a change in one leads to a change in another
16
Q
what is a food chain?
A
a sequence that links plants and animals in an ecosystem that rely upon one another for food, they show how energy is transferred through and ecosystem
17
Q
what is a food web?
A
a complex connection of different food chains between plants and animals in an ecosystem
18
Q
what is a producer?
A
organism which produces its own food through photosynthesis such as plants or bacteria
19
Q
what is a primary consumer?
A
animals that eat plants, they can be herbivores or omnivores
20
Q
what is a secondary consumer?
A
animals which eat primary consumers
21
Q
what is a tertiary consumer?
A
animals that eat primary and secondary consumers
22
Q
how does commercial hardwood logging affect rainforests?
A
trees are felled to provide timber used for furniture and construction
23
Q
why is local demand for wood affecting rainforests?
A
in developing and emerging countries, many use wood as a fuel for cooking and they also burn it for heat
24
Q
how does hep affect tropical rainforests?
A
flooding a large area to build a dam across a river, creating a reservoir , the water can be used to generate hydroelectric power
25
how does commercial agriculture affect tropical rainforests?
huge areas are cleared for plantations to grow crops such as soy and to provide land for things such as cattle farming
26
how does population growth affect tropical rainforests?
as populations grow, more space is cleared for housing and roads are built to access these areas
27
how does subsistence farming affect rainforests?
locals have to grow food to provide for themselves and their families
28
how does the demand for mineral resources affect rainforests?
areas of land are cleared to allow space for large open mines to extract minerals
29
what are the direct threats to tropical rainforests?
logging, hep dams, agriculture, mining, population growth
30
what are the indirect threats to rainforests?
global warming, droughts, wildfires
31
what are rising reasons for deforestation?
poverty, economic development, foreign debt
32
what are falling reasons for deforestation?
government policies, international condemnation, monitoring systems
33
why is poverty a rising reason?
cutting down trees provides income as it can be sold for income as it can be sold for fuel wood, land is needed for subsistence farming
34
why is foreign debt a rising reason?
poorer countries need to pay back debts by growing tropical fruits and mining resources
35
why is economic development a rising reason?
road and rail improvements requires more land so more logging , mining and farming can occur to gain more income
36
why is government policies a falling reason?
increasing environmental protection laws like banning deforestation and paying landowners to reforest areas
37
why is international condemnation a falling reason?
pressure is put on companies to stop as they are named publicly and receive less support from people buying their products
38
why are monitoring systems falling reasons?
satellite data tracks illegal activity and can stop it
39
what is REDD?
something that aims to reward forest owners for keeping forests, it helps conserve forests
40
what are some advantages to REDD?
it helps tackle climate change and everyone benefits from reducing greenhouse gases
41
what are some disadvantages to REDD?
it's difficult to police illegal logging, rewards are given even with a lack of biodiversity
42
what is CITES?
an international treaty between governments, it ensures international trades doesn't threaten species
43
what are some advantages to CITES?
it helps prevent extinction of certain animals, it encourages teamwork
44
what are some disadvantages to cites?
it doesn't prevent deforestation, it requires strict enforcement
45
what is ecotourism?
tourism that provides jobs for locals and educates tourists whilst minimising damage to the environment and benefitting locals
46
how does ecotourism protect rainforests?
only a small amount of tourists are allowed in one area at a time, the environmental impact is minimised, it provides income for locals
47
what is sustainable farming?
it is a type of farming that maintains biodiversity allowing crops to grow between trees to protect soil
48
how does sustainable farming protect rainforests?
trees and crops are planted at the same time to introduce new nutrients to soil, tree roots bind soil together to prevent soil erosion
49
what does abiotic mean?
not living
50
what does biotic mean?
living
51
why do mammals and birds migrate?
to move to lower latitudes to find food
52
why do animals hibernate in the winter?
to conserve energy
53
why do mammals have thick oily fur?
to retain heat
54
why do animals have summer and winter coats?
white fur to camouflage
55
what is the benefit of have evergreen leaves?
no leaves are lost, they make use of available light and it allows photosynthesis to take place in colder seasons
56
how does a conical shape help trees in the taiga forest?
helps shed heavy snow in winter
57
what do needle leaves do to help the trees in the taiga forest?
they help reduce water loss by transpiration and protects against frost and wind damage
58
what do cones do to help trees in the taiga forest?
seeds are stored in cones to protect them from the weather
59
why are branches flexible and slope downwards in the taiga forest?
they bend so they dont break under the weight of the snow and it allows the snow to fall off
60
why do trees in the taiga have widespread shallow roots?
it allows the tree to survive above the permafrost and it anchors the tree in strong winds
61
what are some characteristics of the tropical rainforests?
they have larger stores and flows of nutrients, the warm temperature decomposes nutrients rapidly and trees grow all year round
62
what are some characteristics of taiga forests?
there are smaller stores and flows of nutrients, short growing season
63
what are shared characteristics of tropical rainforests and taiga forests?
they both have stores and transfers and outputs and most nutrients are found in leaf litter
64
why is there low biodiversity in the taiga forest? (climate and adaptation)
land was covered by ice until around 15000 years ago, plants and animals have had less time to adapt to the current climate
65
why is there lower biodiversity in the taiga forests? (weather conditions)
the climate is characterised by long, cold winters and short wet summers, some groups of animals cant survive there as it may be too cold
66
why is there lower biodiversity in the taiga forests? (habitats)
slow growing conifers produce a single consistent layer of trees at a similar height, there arent many different habitats so fewer variety of species live there
67
why is there lower biodiversity in the taiga forests? (growth in plants)
there are less productive plants as nutrients take a long time to be returned to the soil so plants grow slowly, the growing season is very short and there isn't much food available
68
why is there higher biodiversity in tropical rainforests? (climate)
the climate is hot all year round, this means that it is stable and provides the perfect conditions for plant growth
69
why is there higher biodiversity in tropical rainforests? (structure of the rainforest)
there are many layers of vegetation, this means animals become highly adapted to their environment, a wide variety of plants provides a range of habitats and food for animals
70
why is there higher biodiversity in tropical rainforests? (evolution)
species have evolved over millions of years without climate changing, this means there is a wide range of plant and animal species to evolve and adapt to the conditions
71
why is there higher biodiversity in tropical rainforests? (nutrient cycle)
the rainforest trees are more productive, nutrients are cycled rapidly due to the warm conditions, speeding up the rate of decomposition, so plants grow quickly all year round
72
why is construction a threat to taiga forests?
there is demand for softwoods and softwoods are found from coniferous trees
73
what are the impacts of construction on taiga forests?
it is a direct threat to taiga forests because trees are removed and they are a key biotic component to the nutrient cycle, without pine needles there is low soil nutrients
74
why is pulp and paper production a threat to taiga forests?
around 400 million tonnes of paper is used every year and majority is coming from the softwoods grown in taiga forests
75
what is the impact of pulp and paper production on taiga forests?
since there is a global demand for paper there is more deforestation required
76
what is the threat of mining on taiga forests?
there is a lot of mining for materials because people want the deposits of iron, silver, gold and diamond
77
what is the impact of mining on taiga forests?
large areas of forest must be cleared to make mines, chemicals are then washed into the river
78
what are the threats of fossil fuels on taiga forests?
forests are cleared for the extraction of oil and gas and people want the large tar sand deposits
79
what are the impacts of fossil fuels on taiga forests?
oil isn't washed away meaning it kills trees and enters the shallow roots
80
what is the threat of hep on taiga forests?
there is a lot of water despite having low rainfall, huge areas are flooded to create reservoirs behind dams
81
what is the impact of hep on taiga forests?
the forest is flooded and it also disrupts fish migration patterns
82
how is acid rain formed through human activity?
the burning of fossil fuels release sulphur dioxide and nitrogen into the air, this reacts with water to create acid rain
83
how is acid rain affecting biodiversity?
it damages tree needles making them less able to photosynthesise, biotic components like plant nutrients are depleted in the soil, insects and their eggs are also killed
84
how does human activity allow more pests and diseases to thrive?
global warming warms the earth, allowing more pests to survive the winter conditions
85
how do pests and diseases affect biodiversity?
there is insect infection and diseases in coniferous trees, killing many silk worms, there will be reduced tree variety, reduced habitats and food
86
how does human activity contribute to forest fires?
global warming increases temperatures potentially starting more wildfires
87
how do wildfires affect biodiversity?
they burn saplings before they can grow , pine needles and the dry floor can easily catch fire, there will be a dominance of species that can survive the fire, there will be reduced tree variety
88
how are indigenous people a threat to biodiversity?
they rely on the goods and services of the land the live like hunting
89
how are oil companies a threat to biodiversity?
they want to exploit the taiga forest due to the increasing demand for energy and profits to be made
90
how do environmental groups help protect biodiversity?
they want to protect endangered species to protect food webs
91
how do tourists protect biodiversity and benefit locals?
they want to visit the taiga to do recreational activities like camping and hiking to enjoy the natural environment, this contributes to local economies
92
how do logging companies benefit people economically?
more logging is needed to be done so this can provide new jobs and economically benefit people
93
how do logging companies put biodiversity at risk?
they say there is an increasing demand for resources meaning they will log more and this will reduce habitats and add to global warming
94
how do hep companies contribute to putting biodiversity at risk?
they claim that the benefits of renewable energy outweigh the land degradation negatives so they continue to clear mass land and flood it
95
what are reasons for people to continue mining
since mining is an important source of income for many rural communities, it benefits the economy so people continue to mine
96
what have climate scientists understood?
they understand that taiga forests store a lot of carbon and deforestation releases this as carbon dioxide which causes global warming, reducing economic activity also reduces fossil fuel emissions
97
what are strengths to wilderness areas?
protected areas are set aside for preservation with limits on most human activity
98
what are some challenges to wilderness areas?
there are rising economic pressures of logging , mining , better accessible roads this means more illegal activity and it is hard to police
99
what are strengths to national parks?
they are protected by the government to conserve wildlife , environment and resources for indigenous communities. it is helpful for research , education and tourism
100
what are challenges to national parks?
they may push out indigenous communities as they may not like them and cars and the need to create more roads create more air pollution, it isn't large enough either as species migrate
101
what are strengths to sustainable forestry?
logging is limited , it limits the number of trees felled as some have to remain
102
what are challenges of sustainable forestry?
it's expensive to support species migrating safely and needs international organisation funding, its difficult to police illegal logging
