Geography Ecosystem Assessment

Question 1

Describe the location of the worlds tropical rainforests

Answer 1

Most tropical rainforests are located on the equator and within the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn. Tropical rainforests are not found in continental interiors, they always have a coast

Question 2

List all the rainforests

Answer 2

The Amazon in South America
The Congo in Africa
The island of Borneo in Indonesia

Question 3

Describe what continentality means

Answer 3

If the specified location is surrounded by land it has a lot of continentality or if it is by the coast it has almost no continentality

Question 4

What is the anomaly in the pattern of rainforest locations?

Answer 4

The south of Madagascar is just outside the Tropic of Cancer

Question 5

Describe why the rainforest has such high levels of biodiversity

Answer 5

Temperature is always above 27 degrees
Rain is abundant 2000 mm a year, 365 days a year
12 hours of daylight
(All of this makes ideal conditions for growth)
Shallow layer of fertile soil because plant take it up for energy immediately and the rain leeches these minerals out regularly
No short supply of minerals, animals and dead plants decay quickly in hot conditions releasing minerals into the ground
All these aspects allow all sorts of plant and animals to thrive here

Question 6

What are the challenges vegetation face to survive

Answer 6

Sunlight for photosynthesis ( only 2% reaches forest floor )
Competition for minerals
Water ( not getting drowned or rotting )
Infertile soil

Question 7

Give 3 examples of adaptations that vegetation has made

Answer 7

Drip tip leaves: point at end on leaf for rain to run off ( too much water of leaf leads to rotting meaning less ability to photosynthesise ), directing rain to roots
Epiphytes: roots that grow on trees instead of underground, get sunlight easily, minerals from leaf litter, tiny hairs to trap moisture from humid air
Buttress roots: grow above ground to stabilise the tree when it grows very tall to reach canopy, above soil to capture minerals in thin fertile soil layer

Question 8

What is the canopy?

Answer 8

The top of all the trees emerge from the dense foliage below. It is dense because of the competition for space and sunlight. 30 - 40 meters high

Question 9

Explain why 3 factors cause rainforest deforestation (e.g. cattle ranching, palm oil, iron ore mines, timber)

Answer 9

Palm oil plantations: ( Borneo ) cutting down trees to make space for plantations, 3 - 6 million hectares, removes biodiversity of the rainforest, drives animals like the orangutang to extinction
Cattle ranches: ( amazon ) cutting down trees ( c02 absorbers ) with cattle ( produce methane, 21X more damaging than C02 ). clearing more space for fodder crops to feed cattle ( soy beans )
Iron ore mine: Carajas complex ( amazon ) largest iron ore mine in the world, once they use up the land they move on.

Question 10

Explain how global (TNCs and global consumers) and national (debt, population rise, increasing wealth) scales might cause rainforest deforestation

Answer 10

TNCs exploit the rainforest for profit
As global population rise increases, more materials and products are needed globally and that means using the rainforest more
As developing countries get richer, the growing population gets more disposable income which leads to consumerism which leads to more and more demand of materials such as meat, wood, medicine and palm oil in food.
All of these will increase deforestation levels in the rainforest
TNCs like McDonalds have outlets all over the world and are sacrificing the rainforest for profit
Population increase in developing countries could cause debt

Question 11

Explain how deforestation impacts the water cycle

SHORT TERM

Answer 11

Since the tree have been cut down, there is less interception of rainfall and less transpiration and less water evaporating into clouds
Rainfall is still abundant though
No trees so water goes into ground, saturating it and causing more surface run off and more sediment in the river
Flooding is high because of all water runs into river
No trees to block sun, soil gets dry and evaporation is reduced
Fewer clouds, less rain, dryer climate

Question 12

What is the current nutrient cycle in the rainforest

Answer 12

1. Dead leaves and animal waste fall to the floor
2. They decompose and release nutrients
3. Deeper soil is poorer because the nutrients don’t get a chance to sink in
4. Roots quickly absorb the nutrients
5. The nutrients help the vegetation to grow

Question 13

Explain how deforestation will impact the water cycle

LONG TERM

Answer 13

Less transpiration
Less clouds
More surface run off and dirtier water
Sun is stronger due to less trees 
Evaporation from river is high 
Precipitation is less common

Question 14

Explain how deforestation causes social impacts to local and global people.

Answer 14

Cures and medicines will be lost
70% cancer and leukaemia is provided by rainforest
150 prescribed drugs have ingredients from the rainforest
We could never find a cure for illnesses
Indigenous tribes will lose homes
They have lived in rainforest for 100s of years
Eg: Amero Indians, Efe tribe
Use rainforest for everything and deforestation could impact the food they gather and pollute/ destroy any water sources they use
Deforestation causes global warming which will affect people all over the world

Question 15

Explain how deforestation causes economic impacts to local and global people.

Answer 15

Trees which contain fruit, sugar, spices and flavouring will be cut down
These product will become rarer and more expensive in super markets
Prices rising could could arguments or misunderstanding between countries that buy these products

Question 16

List 5 sustainable ways the rainforest can be developed

Answer 16

Selective forestry: cutting down emergents for more wood for one tree
Monitoring: tracks legal and illegal activity in rainforest to make sure nothing is getting out of hand
National parks: conserve a piece of land for it to heal and replenish
Sustainable farming: keeps land fertile and no need to move on and cut down more vegetation
Conservation swaps: swapping some money for debt to protect the rainforest

Question 17

Explain why agro forestry is sustainable socially, environmentally and economically

Answer 17

Socially: it provides people with jobs and food
Environmentally: it maintains the biodiversity of a particular plot of land, use one piece of land for different things instead of clearing multiple pieces of land
Economically: provide products faster and more sustainably so you can do it more

Question 18

Explain why conservation swaps are sustainable socially economically and environmentally

Answer 18

Socially: people don’t have to pay the government as much money to pay off debt and poverty is decreased
Environmentally: money is invested to protect the rainforest, rainforest is healed and replenished
Economically: governments don’t have to pay as much debt to other countries

Question 19

Explain why ecotourism is sustainable socially, environmentally and economically

Answer 19

Socially: it provides locals with jobs so they can earn money sustainably, it provides a tourist attraction which is educational and fun
Environmentally: more people learn how to protect the rainforest and the the rainforest is protected at the same time because they clean to reduce pollution
Economically: it provides government with profit to pay off debt because more tourists are paying to come

Question 20

Explain why a variety of approaches to developing the rainforest are needed for it to be sustainable.

Answer 20

A variety of approaches are needed because they all overlap each other so that if one fails then the job that is does will still be done by another tactic, all of these help neutralise any threat to the rainforest

Question 21

What will changed in the nutrient cycle when the forest is cut down

Answer 21

1. No leaf litter so no nutrients being put into the ground for vegetation
2. Rainfall is still abundant, any nutrients STILL in the ground will be leeched out anyway
3. soil quality is poorer due to less nutrients in the ground, shallow layer get shallower
4. Tree stumps are dead so they cannot take up nutrients or Co2
5. No transpiration or interception so ground gets waterlogged and infertile

Question 22

Explain how deforestation causes environmental impacts to the climate, atmosphere, soil, biodiversity

Answer 22

Climate: climate change, hotter dryer climate
Atmosphere: ozone layer will be thicker with all carbon released from cut down trees, increased greenhouse effect
Soil: soil get dryer from less trees blocking sun and rainforest soil quality gets poor due to less leaf litter on ground because there is less trees
Biodiversity: less trees means less species that can live there, palm oil ( loads of the same plant, not diverse )