Implications for human wellbeing from degradation of the water and carbon cycle

Question 1

What types of forests do we need to know about for forest loss?

Answer 1

Tropical
Boreal
Temperate

Question 2

What are the causes of forest loss in tropical forests?

Answer 2

intensive farming for growing palm oil and soya
Cattle ranching, open cast mining, flooding of valleys behind dams for HEP
Fire (drier forest edge)

Question 3

Which boreal forest (forest in general) had the greatest expansion?

Answer 3

Eurasian boreal between 2000-2012

Question 4

What was the reason for the expansion of the Eurasian boreal forest?

Answer 4

forest management
Reduced farmland
Recovery after forest fires

Question 5

How has the UK’s forest cover changed over time?

Answer 5

Was 80% but dropped to under 10% by end of 19th century
forest cover had increased to 13% by (2016)

Question 6

Who was responsible for the increased forest cover in the UK?

Answer 6

the forestry commission planted fast exotic conifers (Sitka spruce) on Welsh moors, Scottish highlands and in the Lake district

Question 7

How much did forest cover in the UK increase by between 1870-1947 and 1947-1995?

Answer 7

1870-1947=25%
1948-1995= 50%

Question 8

What is the implication for human well being for forest loss by fire?

Answer 8

Causes emissions of solid particles and wind blown soil which create impaired air quality and an associated increase in human respiratory problems

Question 9

What is an example of the human implications of forest loss by fire?

Answer 9

Indonesia during the ‘super’ el Niño 1997/98
Uncontrolled burning of 5 million hectares of forest due to drier conditions

Question 10

What might lead to an increase in soil erosion?

Answer 10

Drier soils and lack of protection by vegetation cover

Question 11

What is the problem with increased soil erosion?

Answer 11

may affect food supplies in the longer term (less fertile soil to grow)

Question 12

What are the supporting functions of forest ecosystems?

Answer 12

nutrient cycling
Soil formation
Primary production

Question 13

What are the provision for goods from forests?

Answer 13

food
fresh water
wood and fibre
Fuel

Question 14

How do forests regulate earths systems?

Answer 14

Earths ‘green lungs’ regulating climate, flood disease
Water purification

Question 15

What is the cultural value of forests?

Answer 15

Aesthetic
Spiritual
Educational
Recreational

Question 16

How much of the global economy comes from forest provisions?

Answer 16

1.1% of the global economy income

Question 17

How many jobs are provided from forests?

Answer 17

13.2 million ‘formal’ and 41 million ‘informal’ jobs

Question 18

How is food provided for from forests?

Answer 18

improve food and nutrition security
Source of livestock fodder in arid and semi-arid regions

Question 19

How many people use fuelwood for cooking and boiling drinking water?

Answer 19

1 in 3

Question 20

How are forest gene pools important?

Answer 20

source for improving domesticated crops
Potential medicines

Question 21

How does deforestation affect the forest regulatory systems?

Answer 21

water-related risks (landslides, local floods and droughts)
Increased air and water pollution

Question 22

What are the forest functions and threats to forest cultural value?

Answer 22

Direct reliance by many indigenous peoples
Some cultures and religions see forests as sacred
Leisure and tourism

Question 23

What is the name of the graph for development and habitat exploitation?

Answer 23

Kuznets Curve

Question 24

What is the first part of the Kuznets curve? (low level development)

Answer 24

Countries with low level development cause very little harm to the environment
(UK pre-industrial revoultion, Amazonia today)

Question 25

What is the second part of the Kuznets curve? (beginning of degradation)

Answer 25

Degradation starts to occur e.e., basic tech, urbanisation. Environment is explouted Indonesia today, China 20th century

Question 26

What is the third part of the Kuznets curve? (peak degradation)

Answer 26

High industrialised country, significant environmenta harm has occurred (China today-60% water contaminated)

Question 27

What is the fourth part of the Kuznets curve? (recognition of environmenal problem)

Answer 27

People have learnt the detrimental impacts of their actions Action to improve environment now takes priority (animals gainst own needs)

Question 28

What is it hard to predict? (implications of degradation on human wellbeing)

Answer 28

how increased temperature affect evaporation rates and availability of water vapour in atmosphere

Question 29

Why does pressure gradient make it hard to predict effects of climate change?

Answer 29

Warming of the oceans and the lower atmosphere will result in a samller temperature gradient within the troposphere which would create stability, weaken planetary winds and limit pecipitation

Question 30

Why does temperature and evapourative rates make predicting climate chnage hard to predict?

Answer 30

HIgher temperatures will increase evapourtion leading to increases in precipitation at the ITCZ and at polar latitudes and higher precipitation totals in indvidual storms creating more flash flooding

Question 31

What is ocean health being affected by?

Answer 31

increasing temerature Acidity Salinity changes to currents

Question 32

What is a potential effect of climate change on oceans?

Answer 32

Sea level rise, potential loss of island countries (kiribati)