Geography EQ 2

Question 1

COASTAL
ECOSYSTEM definition

Answer 1

Refers to areas where there are interactions between the coastal environments and their plant and animal communities.

Question 2

what are in coastal ecosystems?

Answer 2

They include coral reefs, mangroves, wetlands, estuaries, and bays and are home to many different types of plants and animals.

Question 3

Ecosystem services

Answer 3

benefits people obtain from ecosystems. Hence benefits that people obtain from coastal ecosystems are termed coastal ecosystem services.

Question 4

Provisioning Services eg
[only 3]

Answer 4

• Coastal ecosystems provide products such as fish, seafood, water, timber and others.
• wave and tidal energy can be harnessed and converted into electrical energy.
• Timbre for building boats and houses and wood fuel can be obtained from mangrove forests.

Question 5

Cultural Services
[4]

Answer 5

Coasts provide cultural services, which are non- material benefits such as recreational, aesthetic and spiritual benefits.

• Outdoor activities and tourism relating to coastal areas are common, including sea sports, leisure activities by the beach, beach resorts and eco-tourism.

The sense of beauty people obtain from looking at coasts can provide a rich source of inspiration

Question 6

Regulating Services

Answer 6

They help stabilize shorelines, prevent flooding and provide protection from storms and natural hazards.

• Coral reefs and mangroves help reduce the impact of shoreline erosion, thus stabilizing the shoreline by protecting the existing shoreline.

Question 7

Supporting Services

Answer 7

Coastal ecosystems support the production of ecosystem services.

• They sustain a wide range of habitats, such as the mangrove habitat, coral reef habitat and beach
  habitat. These natural environments in which plants and animals live are valuable to people and
  the living creatures.

Question 8

How do people use coastal areas? [3]

Answer 8

Housing and transportation
* Tourism and recreation
* Ports, harbours and piers

Question 9

provisioning, cultural, supporting, maintaining
[3 each EXCEPT maintaining]

Answer 9

provisioning:
-genetic resources
-energy
- harvestable seaweed

cultural:
- Tourism
- Recreation
- Science and Education

supporting:
- Food web
- Water cycle
- Habitats for species

maintaining:
- Storm protection
- Stabilise sediment

Question 10

Distribution of coral reefs

Answer 10

They are usually found in tropical and sub-tropical seas between the Tropic of Cancer in the northernHemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere.

Question 10

WHAT ARE CORAL REEFS?

Answer 10

Coral reefs consist of colonies containing millions of coral animals called polyps.
● The corals and algae enjoy a symbiotic relationship with each other:
○ Polyps provide microscopic algae with nutrients and carbon dioxide.
○ Algae provide the polyps with sugars and oxygen.

Question 11

CORAL BLEACHING

Answer 11

Corals expel the algae when stressed.
● Triggers of stress include changes in water temperature, pollution etc.
● A bleached coral result.

Question 12

Factors influencing coral reef growth

Answer 12

Saline conditions 34 to 37 parts per thousand
● Moderate amount of water movement to ensure corals
receive sufficient amount of oxygen
● Sea surface temperature around 21-25oC
● Amount of sunlight which can penetrate up to 60m
underwater
● Turbidity should be low to allow sufficient sunlight to
penetrate

Question 13

What is the value of coral reef ecosystems?

just the names not the explanation

Answer 13

Economic Value

Environmental value

Supports habitats

Question 14

Economic Value (coral reefs)

Answer 14

Coral reefs and their nearby land areas are commonly developed as tourist attractions. Jewellery and ornaments made from corals are often favoured as souvenirs by tourists visiting coral reefs, boosting the local economy. erosion.

Question 15

Environmental value

Answer 15

The value of coral reefs is their crucial role in supporting natural ecosystems, allowing a wide range of marine creatures to breed and grow.

Coral reefs have the ability to absorb wave energy generated in the open seas, thus protecting the adjacent land mass from erosion.

Question 16

Supports habitats
** not the most important

Answer 16

Habitat to many species basically

Question 17

Pressures on ecosystem
[name 3]

Answer 17

Recreational use of coasts

Fishing methods

Over-collection

Question 18

Recreational use of
coasts

Activity, Impacts

Answer 18

activity:
Tourism activities in coastal areas.

impact:
Waste may be discharged into water and stress corals; boat anchors may damage corals.

Question 19

Fishing methods

Activity, Impacts

Answer 19

Activity:
Dynamite blasting and use of cyanide to stun fish.

Impact:
Coral reef habitat destroyed.

Question 20

Over-collection

Activity, Impacts

Answer 20

Activity:
Overfishing in reefs and surrounding waters.

Impact:
Depletion of fish disrupts the delicate balance of the ecosystem’s food chain.

Question 21

WHAT ARE MANGROVES?

Answer 21

Mangroves are salt tolerant sub-tropical plants that grow in conditions that m ostplants are unable to:
○ Saline conditions
○ Constant tidal changes (wet and dry conditions)

○ Soils that are water-logged and oxygen deficient

Question 22

distribution of mangrovesss

Answer 22

They are mainly located in the sheltered coasts and estuaries between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. However, there are also patches of mangroves further north and south of these tropics.

Question 23

Environmental conditions affecting growthof mangrobes

Answer 23

Mangroves grow mainly in sheltered coasts and estuaries - should be calm, with no strong waves or tidal currents.

As these areas have low energy waves which allow mud and plant litter to accumulate and mangroves to thrive.

have characteristics which allow them to adapt to the tides, the saline and water-logged environment.

Question 24

Saline Conditions:
[adaptation]

Answer 24

Adapting to the saline conditions
● Some Mangrove plants are ultrafiltrators
○ Some plants have filtration mechanism to exclude most salts during the absorption of water.

● Some species are salt secretors
○ Special glands to excrete salt
○ Salt is secreted on their leaves which are then removed by wind or rain.

Question 25

Adapting to the waterlogged soils

Answer 25

horizontal zonation of mangroves. Due to the waterlogged conditions, the soil lacks oxygen and plants need to adapt to such muddy and low-oxygen environments.

Question 26

3 different zones of mangroves

Answer 26

coastal, middle, inland

Question 27

coastal zone mangroves

Answer 27

The coastal zone is subjected to regular tides and sediment changes.
● have pencil roots to maintain their stability.
● The pencil roots are exposed during low tides, which allows them to take in oxygen.

Question 28

middle zone mangroves

Answer 28

The middle zone is also subjected to coastal erosion.
○ prop roots also help to trap sediments to
ensure the growth of the plant.

● Prop roots also help to anchor the trees anchor firmly into the muddy ground
and support the height of the trees.

Question 29

inland zone mangroves

Answer 29

have kneed roots to anchor them into the soil.
● Soil is also trapped between the kneed roots.

Question 30

Mangrove Adaptations: To water-
logged soil and tides in terms of fruit
[2 names]

Answer 30

Fruit dispersal

Buoyant fruit

Question 30

Fruit dispersal

Answer 30

Fruits germinate while they are still on the tree.
- Some fruits are javelin shaped so that they can pierce the soft mud to
germinate and grow
- When the fruits ripen, they fall onto
the ground, take root, and grow.

Question 30

Buoyant fruit

Answer 30

Buoyant fruit float in water and are
carried a distance before germinating.

Question 31

3 values of mangrove ecosystems?
names only

Answer 31

Stabilising shorelines
Source of wood
Fodder crops

Question 32

Stabilising shorelines

Answer 32

The dense network of roots can absorb the energy of the waves, thus slowing down the flow of water.
* The build-up of sediments can help protect coastal areas from erosion by tides, storm waves and tsunamis.

Question 33

Source of wood

Answer 33

Mangroves provide food for fuel and construction and for producing charcoal.
* Many coastal and indigenous communities rely on this wood for construction material as well as for
fuel.

Question 34

Fodder crops

Answer 34

Farming communities near mangroves in Indonesia, India, Pakistan and the Middle East cut the
leaves from mangrove trees to feed their sheep, goats and camels.

Question 35

Demand for fuel wood and
charcoal: pressures on mangroves

Answer 35

Demand for fuel wood and charcoal:
Mangroves cleared for fuel and charcoal, especially in regions with low technology and low-income economies.

IMPACTS:
-Fish breeding grounds are reduced.
-Coasts become more vulnerable to destructive waves and weather elements.

Question 36

Need for more farming area: presssure on magroves

Answer 36

Need for more farming area:
Flat, well-watered mangroves are converted into paddy fields and shrimp farms.

IMPACTS:
-Fish breeding grounds are reduced.
-Coasts become more vulnerable to destructive waves and weather elements.

Question 37

Land reclamation: presssure on magroves

Answer 37

Land reclamation:
Coastal land area used for housing, industry and recreational uses.

IMPACTS:
-Coasts become more vulnerable to destructive waves and weather elements.
-Coastal waters are polluted as a result of human activities, inhibiting the growth of mangroves.