Impacts Of Drought On Ecosystems

Question 1

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 1

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment

Question 2

What are ecosystems designed to do? (survival)

Answer 2

Survive within certain tolerances (temp, water availability, pH)

Question 3

What happens to an ecosystem if it goes out of certain tolerances?

Answer 3

The biological, physical or chemical process that usually take place may cease

Question 4

What is resilience?

Answer 4

Ability to deal with pressure/ change

Question 5

What ecosystems are most resilient?

Answer 5

Desert ecosystems are the most resilient as they have processes in place to deal with drought

Question 6

What is a positive feedback loop?

Answer 6

A positive feedback loop is where the outcome from the original input further affects the input

Question 7

What is resilience?

Answer 7

The ability of a system or individual to deal with or respond to stress

Question 8

What happens if trees die in the rainforest?

Answer 8

The soil becomes infertile

Question 9

How does drought affect the rainforest?

Answer 9

Triggers forest loss (loss of leaf litter and nutrients in the soil)

Question 10

How are rainforests responsible for preventing localised flooding?

Answer 10

Leaf litter provides biological material too stabilise soils and store water

Question 11

What are the English fens otherwise known as?

Answer 11

‘The wash’

Question 12

What are the two key types of soil in the Fens?

Answer 12

Peat and silt

Question 13

What is peat described as being?

Answer 13

A sponge that sucks and stores water

Question 14

What is peat good at preventing?

Answer 14

Flooding
Climate change (carbon store)

Question 15

What are some species found in the English fens?

Answer 15

Mosquitos
Horseflies
Insect earning birds
Insect eating animals (shrews)

Question 16

What happened to the fens in 1813?

Answer 16

A local engineer decided to drain the fens and turn the land to agriculture

Question 17

What is the main way the fens were drained?

Answer 17

Farmers put ditches around fields so water drains into man made channels and taken to the main river

Question 18

What is drained peat more vulnerable to?

Answer 18

Soil loss particularly where deposits are deep and the water table is kept artificially low

Question 19

How is peat lost?

Answer 19

Shrinkage
Oxidation
Wind erosion

Question 20

What % of earths land is peat?

Answer 20

3

Question 21

Why is the amount of peat so important?

Answer 21

Largest carbon store on land

Question 22

Why are the fens important for species conservation?

Answer 22

Wood Walton fen nature reserve is one of 3 places where fen violet is found in the wild
Also home to half the UKs dragonflies and 1000 species of moth

Question 23

What is the great fen project?

Answer 23

Aim to re flood 3000 hectares of fen
Connecting Holme fen and the wood Walton nature reserve
Managed for wildlife conservation

Question 24

What new business opportunities will come from the great fen project?

Answer 24

Organic meta and dairy production from animal grazing
Reed harvesting
Grass and hay production

Question 25

How are the fens affected by climate change?

Answer 25

Directly impacted by a change in precipitation and temperature
Increasing water demand may lead to over abstraction
30-50% reduced rain fall (average 400mm) putting fens under increased stress

Question 26

What are the ecological benefits of the Everglades?

Answer 26

Provide drinking water for one third of Florida’s drinking water (8 million people)
Water from this area used for much of the state’s irrigation of agriculture
Home to 360 bird species and 27 different types of snakes
Home to Florida panther (fewer than 100 individuals)

Question 27

How do the Everglades benefit the water cycle?

Answer 27

Improve water quality by filtering out pollutants and absorbing excess nutrients
Replenish aquifers
Reduce flooding

Question 28

How does climate change affect the Everglades?

Answer 28

The rate of evaporation will increase from land and water to the atmosphere
The transpiration and evapotranspiration rates will also increase
Irrigated farmlands and the everglades will require more water
25% more water will be needed in south Florida in the next 50 years
Warmer temperatures and shifts in seasonal rainfall patterns this will contribute to increased severity of droughts and heavy rainfall
Droughts reduce water availability which can degrade aquatic ecosystems when demand increases
Heavy rainfall can stress the capacity of drainage systems leading to flooding
Salt water intrusion will push freshwater further inland potentially changing the distribution of habitats in the everglades.

Question 29

What is a Fen?

Answer 29

A peat producing wetland supplied by mineral rich groundwater

Question 30

What % of the east anglia fens are partly dependant on groundwater?

Answer 30

> 80%