Fragile Environments

Question 1

What is an ecological footprint?

Answer 1

A measure of the mark humans make on the world / the area needed to support a populations lifestyle.

Question 2

Explain sustainability

Answer 2

If we continue to use natural resources we need to do so in moderation
Reduce ecological footprint
Sustainability = balance if the environment, society and the economy.
Be aware how balances can be upset.

Question 3

What are the three types of soil erosion?

Answer 3

Sheet erosion - moderate rainfall, top soil is removed by rain down slope
Gully erosion - intense rainfall, the force cuts gullies in slopes
Wind erosion - dry parts, soil is blow off by wind

Question 4

Name some causes of soil erosion.

Answer 4

Removing vegetation - soil is exposed
Overgrazing by animals
Over cultivating
Compacting soil - heavy machinery reduces the rate water can infiltrate the soil
Ploughing fields - encourages gullying
Climate change means unpredictable rainfall patterns - soil becomes too dry
Deforestation
Population growth - more pressure on land to make more crops

Question 5

What are the natural causes of desertification?

Answer 5

Changing rainfall patterns (seasonal and unpredictable) - vegetation dies leaving bare soil / too much and dry land cannot hold water
All types of soil erosion

Question 6

What are the main human causes of desertification?

Answer 6

Population growth- more trees felled
Overgrazing - destroy vegetation, none left just arid land
Over cultivation
Deforestation - no longer roots to bind the soil
Climate change
Less livestock in drier areas of desert

Question 7

What are the consequences of soil erosion?

Answer 7

Malnutrition 
Famine and starvation 
Migration / refugees
Food aid
Reduced agricultural output

Question 8

How can soil erosion be managed?

Answer 8

Use trees and hedges as wind breaks
Terracing protection for sheet and gully erosion
Contour plough slopes - ploughing along the line
Plant cover - reduces impacts of weathering
Maintaining water: - small dams
- earth walls along contours
- planting trees
Permaculture - organic farming, healthy, use of livestock and rotation

Question 9

What is permaculture?

Answer 9

Type of organic farming
No chemicals from outside the area used
Grow mix of Food and tree crops
Use livestock, rotate them around to excrete and fertilise different areas, then move on to let areas regrow.

Question 10

What are the causes of deforestation?

Answer 10

Commercial logging (cutting down trees to sell)
Road building
Population growth
Agricultural practices
Mining
Hydroelectric power (need space to build a dam)
General development

Question 11

Why have governments encouraged the clearance of forests?

Answer 11

Revenue from timber helps pay off debt

More land is needed for houses

Question 12

What are the layers of the rainforest?

Answer 12

Emergents 
Canopy 
Shorter younger trees 
Shut in layer 
Ground layer

Question 13

What are the consequences of deforestation?

Answer 13

Contribution to global warming - more CO2
Flooding - because eroded soil deposited in river
Soil erosion
Native tribes forced into smaller areas
Loss of habitats
Leaching - rainfall easily washes away nutrients from bare soil

Question 14

Sustainable management of any resource should ………….

Answer 14

Respect the environment 
Use traditional skills and knowledge 
Give people control over land and lives 
Use appropriate technology 
Generate income 
Protect biodiversity

Question 15

How can sustainable management of a forest be achieved?

Answer 15

Protection of forests (none or very little development allowed)
Carefully planned + controlled logging
Selective logging of only valuable tress
Replanting felled forest areas
Restriction on number of logging licences
Helli-logging - helicopters remove logs as less damage
Developing alternative energy supplies (from renewable sources, to reduce amount of wood needed for fuel)

Question 16

What is agroforestry?

Answer 16

Combining trees and crops

Question 17

What are the causes of global warming and climate change?

Answer 17

Human:
Release of greenhouse gases
Deforestation
Use of fossil fuels
Air pollution
Agricultural change

Natural:
Orbital changes
Volcanic activity
Solar output

Question 18

What are the greenhouse gases?

Answer 18

Carbon dioxide - burning fossil fuels
Methane - decay of organic matter
Nitrous oxide - burning fossil fuels and use of fertilisers
CFCs - from aerosols and old fridges

Question 19

What is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 19

The greenhouse gases trap the radiated heat and retaliated it back to earth

Question 20

What are the consequences of global warming and climate change?

Answer 20

Rising sea levels (ice caps melting)
More hazards 
Ecosystem changes
Ocean acidification
Distribution of disease 
Conflict over food and water shortages
Air pollution
New employment opportunities but also unemployment

Question 21

What can we do to manage the causes of global warming?

Answer 21

Cut down on fossil fuels
Find alternative, sustainable, renewable energy sources
Reduce deforestation + increase afforestation
Carbon capture - releasing carbon dioxide into the ground instead of up into the atmosphere
Educate
International cooperation
Whole lifestyle changes e.g. eco friendly, recycle etc.

Question 22

What is climate change?

Answer 22

Long term changes in the global atmosphere conditions, currently global warming.

Question 23

Name some consequences of climate change.

Answer 23

• rising sea levels: higher temp = ice melting
• more hazards: warmer weather and seas = more intense and frequent storms and natural hazards
• ecosystem changes: climate change = change distribution of ecosystems
• health: higher mortality rates due to scarce water in hotter places
• conflict: conflict over food and water sources

Question 24

How can we adapt to the consequences of climate change?

Answer 24

• rising sea levels: invest heavily in coastal defences
• hazards: improve ability to predict them to prepare
• ecosystem changes: abandon areas too difficult to continue cultivating
• health: improve medical treatment of diseases likely to spread
• conflict: create a fairer distribution of food and water

Question 25

For an area you have study, describe it, the threats and causes of desertification to it and how it is being managed to aleviate soil erosion.

Answer 25

Sahel, Africa.

• semi arid climate
• always hot, long dry season from June-Jan
• natural vegetation of savanna = only grassland, trees, shrubs
• more North = drier climate, nothing more than grassland
• far less livestock further north
• seasonal and unpredictable rainfall
• climate change
• population increase: more trees felled
• over cultivation and overgrazing
• small stone walls built to catch rainfall as dams, stops surface water run off and allows soil to absorb
• plant cover: reduce impacts of weathering and removal of vegetation
• permaculture
• livestock: rotate animals around diff areas to trample grass down, protects wind soil erosion, provides ability for greenhouse gases and water to be absorbed here, reduces climate change, livestock excrete then moved on to allow excretion to fertilise and regrow old areas.

Question 26

What is soil erosion?

Answer 26

The washing or blowing away of top surface soil. A natural process that is made worse by people.

Question 27

What is deforestation?

Answer 27

The deliberate removal / cutting down of trees.

Question 28

What is desertification?

Answer 28

The term used to describe how once productive land gradually changes into a desert like landscape.

Question 29

How can we adapt to global warming?

Answer 29

Rising sea level- coastal defences
More hazards - improve prediction
Ecosystem change - abandoned areas made too difficult to cultivate
Health - improve medical treatment