Geography Ch 2 & 3 - Biomes And Food Security

Question 1

Summarise a forest biome.

Answer 1

Diverse ecosystem
50% of the world’s animals
Tropical, Lowland, Montane
“Lungs of the Earth”
Cool climate

Question 2

Summarise a desert biome.

Answer 2

Usually hot and dry, although some are cold, like Antarctica.
Extreme temperatures
No rainfall
Vegetation is rare
Nocturnal animals (snakes, lizards)

Question 3

Summarise Grasslands biome

Answer 3

Transitional biome between desert and forest
Widely spaced or no trees
Warm climate

Question 4

Summarise Tundra biome

Answer 4

Cold and snowy
Lie beyond the treeline
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine are all cold.

Question 5

Summarise Aquatic Biome

Answer 5

Water biome
Freshwater biomes contain hardly any salt (lakes, rivers, etc)
Marine biomes are the saltwater regions and contain many water-dwelling species (oceans, coral reefs, etc)
Cool climate

Question 6

What are the five major biomes in Australia?

Answer 6

Wetlands, grasslands, seagrass meadows, old-growth forests, and deserts

Question 7

Australia’s wetland biomes.

Answer 7

Found in the north.
Source of food and water, and materials for fishing traps.
Habitat for birds

Question 8

Australia’s grasslands

Answer 8

The land is used for grazing, and they are fragile, and can change to desert without careful management.
Provides habitat for land-dwelling species, especially those that need protection from predators.

Question 9

Australia’s Seagrass Meadows.

Answer 9

South-west Australia (WA)
Submerged flowering plants that create dense areas to resemble meadows.
Provides habitat for some marine life (turtles lay eggs)
Absorbs nutrients from coastal run-offs
Slows down the flow of water
Helps stabilise sediment
Keeps the waters clear.

Question 10

Australia’s Old-growth Forests.

Answer 10

A type of forest that has trees of mixed ages.
Shows sign of natural regeneration and decomposition
Lies within protected water supplies
Helps to maintain the city’s water supply.

Question 11

Australia’s Deserts

Answer 11

Extreme Temperature - up to 50 degrees during the day, and below 15 degrees at night.
The Simpson and Great Sandy Deserts are dominated by sand, while the Gibson and Sturt Stony Deserts contain low, rocky hills.

Question 12

How did European Settlement impact the Australian environment?

Answer 12

Before European Settlement, the land was shaped by natural processes, including erosion, rainfall, and sea level.
When the Europeans arrived, they cleared the land to make space for settlement, which now shapes the land.

Question 13

What is biodiversity?

Answer 13

The biodiversity of an area refers to the variety of plants and animals within the area.
It is important as the area would become stable that more diverse it is, due to the food chains, and medicinal use.

Question 14

What are the main staple foods?

Answer 14

Cereals - such as wheat, maize, and rice
Fruit and vegetables
Fish

Question 15

What is biofuel?

Answer 15

A fuel that is created from living matter, that is reusable, eco-friendly, and can be a replacement for fossil fuels.

Question 16

Summarise the method of firestick farming.

Answer 16

It was ,the process of clearing forests with a controlled burn using fire sticks in order to create more accessible ways of hunting animals, by making open spaces where they could easily be speared.

Question 17

How were the tasks divided amongst an Aboriginal tribe?

Answer 17

The women and children gathered plants, such as cereals, fruit and vegetables.
The men were in charge of hunting, fishing, and managing the fire.

Question 18

What are artificial biomes?

Answer 18

They are small areas of land that has been modified in order to produce or improve plant and crop production.

Question 19

What is the importance of a greenhouse?

Answer 19

They are artificial biomes which can be used to grow a variety of plants and crops that cannot grow well in the area or season. They are enclosed to keep out natural forces, such as insects.

Question 20

Describe Irrigation

Answer 20

It is the artificial application of water in order to supplement rainfall.

Question 21

How can we modify soils?

Answer 21

We can use fertilisers, which are a type of material that is added to the soil to supply essential plant nutrients.

Question 22

What is Land Reclamation?

Answer 22

It is the process of claiming rivers, lakes, and seas, in order to use of agriculture. It turns unfarmable land into arable land.

Question 23

Why was the Green Revolution necessary?

Answer 23

I order to feed the growing population, and avoid famine in developing countries, scientists provided a way to enhance the productivity of plants and crops.

Question 24

What were GMO seeds?

Answer 24

Genetically Modified Organisms
They were seeds that had their genes modified so that they could include more nutrients, or become more resistant to disease and other negative factors.