Living World Flashcards
Describe the uses of a temperate deciduous forest (New Forest)
- Provides 50, 000 tonnes of timber annually which are sold to businesses and local mills to make fencing
- Attracts 20 million visitors for (dog) walking, horse riding, wildlife watching, cycling, (100 mile cycle track) etc.
- 2,500 cattle (cows and pigs) allowed to roam free in autumn and summer months and can be sold
Describe how temperate deciduous forests are managed sustainably (New Forest)
- Replanting trees from forestry (in winter - birds not nesting)
- Selective Felling (removing some trees to make space for others)
- 100 mile cycle track so cyclists do not ride over and damage plants
- Dogs kept on leads and not allowed in breeding areas
- Code of Conduct (take litter home and drive safely)
Tropical Rainforest - Amazon
Amazon rainforest grows mainly in countries like Brazil and Peru; at the current rate of forestation more than 50% will be gone by 2030.
Describe the uses of a tropical rainforest (Amazon)
- 60% for cattle ranching (income for locals)
- 1/3 for subsistence farming
- HEP Belo Monte Dam (built across rivers)
- Under 10% for mining, logging etc.
- Ecotourism
Describe the impacts of deforestation in tropical rainforests (Amazon)
- Habitat loss (affects biodiversity/endangered species/plant cures)
- Global warming (carbon sink stores about 100 billion tonnes of CO2)
- Reduced soil fertility due to less leaf litter + to intercept rainfall
- No trees to hold soil together leading to soil erosion
- Native tribes lose their traditions and forced to move off land (e.g. Kayapo Indians use Brazil nuts to make oils for Body Shop for income)
- Conflict between landowners and locals ( 2009 riot in Peru with hundred killed or injured)
- People have a good quality of live coming from overcrowded areas
- Exports (beef or timber) contribute to GDP of Brazil
- 6.5 million jobs created in mining, farming etc.
Describe how tropical rainforests can be managed sustainably (Amazon)
- Replant more than 100,000 km squared before 2018, and Brazil imposed laws by banning sale of mahogany
- Central Amazon Conservation Complex (largest protected site) / World Heritage Site and home to animals like black caimans and river dolphins.
- Ecotourism (70 lodges in Peru with tens of hundreds visitors)
- Conservation swaps (reduce debt of Costa Rica by $26 million)
- Rich world impose high tariffs on timber, for example
- Educate locals who illegally lodge about sustainable ways and encourage ecotourism or harvest of Brazil nuts instead
Temperate Deciduous Forest - New Forest
New Forest National Park is located in the county of Hampshire, South England.
Describe the uses of a poor world desert (Kalahari, South Africa)
- Sparsely populated by native tribes (San Bushmen) who hunt antelope and gather plants for food
- 2.3 million cattle graze on irrigated land (boreholes) in Botswana
- Orapa Mine in Botswana contributes 40% of income
Describe the uses of a rich world desert (Mojave Desert, USA)
- Mining tonnes of iron ore for Ford cars (but less than in past)
- Cattle farming requires pasture (grown with groundwater from nearby Mojave and Colorado River)
- Tourism (Las Vegas, Nevada has the Death Valley National Park and Grand Canyon which have over 1 million visitors due to landscape and activities like camping etc.)
- Settlements (80% of people in Sun City, Arizona are over 65)
- Military training
Describe the (negative) impacts of using poor world deserts (Kalahari)
- Overgrazing = soil erosion / Irrigation = depleted groundwater
- Fences block migration routes of wildebeests who will starve
- Mining affects local San Bushmen as it depletes groundwater supplies (water shortage) and forces them to move from their land (lose traditions)
Describe the (negative) impacts of using a rich world desert (Mojave Desert)
- Farming uses lots of water (irrigation) which depletes groundwater supplies and taken from other areas of desert (reduces vegetation there) and causes soil erosion from cattle overgrazing
- Tourists use lots of water in hotels for extravagant water features/pools and damage natural environment (drop litter and damage ecosystems by dune buggying)
- Military training scares wildlife and damages vegetation
Describe how poor world deserts are managed sustainably (Kalahari)
- Charged for volume of water in Namibia so less used
- Water supplies increased to reduce effect of drought by building dams and drilling boreholes (not sustainable in the long term)
- Central Kalahari Game Reserve for San Bushmen in Botswana
- Removing fences so fewer wildebeests die
Describe how rich world deserts are managed sustainably (Mojave)
- Water Conservation Scheme, e.g. Mojave Water Agency offer vouchers for water efficient washing machines and toilets
- Protected areas like Grand Canyon and Death Valley National Park and environmentally important places do not allow cars
- Some hotels try conserve water by drip irrigation to water lawns, for example
Ecosystem
A community of plants and animals (living things) and their interaction with the non living environment (soil and climate) they live in.
Producer
An organism that uses sunlight energy to produce food.
Consumer
An organism that gets its energy by eating other organisms, i.e. producers or other consumers.
Food chain
Shows the transfer of energy or what eats what.
Food web
Shows lots of food chains and how they overlap.
Decomposer
An organism that gets its energy by breaking down dead plant and animal matter, e.g. bacteria and fungi.
Nutrient Cyle
Shows how nutrients (e.g. carbon and nitrogen) are recycled in an ecosystem and released back into the soil.
Location of Temperate Deciduous Forests
Found between 40 and 60 degrees north and south of the equator in places where there are four distinct seasons.
Location of Hot Deserts
Found between 15 and 30 degrees north and south of the equator where there is low rainfall.
Location of Tropical Rainforests
Found around the equator in places with hot climates with high humidity.
Growing Season
Requires temperatures above 6 degrees Celcius
Tropical Rainforests
- Hot, wet climate with no definite seasons
- Soil is not very fertile as nutrients are washed away by heavy rainfall - only top layer (which is thin) is nutrient rich because it is made from decayed leaf litter due to warm, moist conditions
Tropical Rainforests Vegetation Structure
Emergents - tallest trees (40m) with branches poking out of the canopy only where sunlight reaches
Canopy - continuous layer of trees around 30m
Under canopy - half the height of canopy
Shrub layer - nearest to ground (10m) with little light reaching there
Tropical Rainforest Plant Adaptations
- Leaves have waxy surfaces and drip tips to shed excess rainwater quickly so that the weight does not damage plants and turn them mouldy in the humid climate
- Leaves have flexible bases to maximise sunlight
- Emergent trees are fast growing above main canopy
- Tree roots are shallow to maximise nutrient uptake
- Trees have wide buttress roots for support
- Climbing plants, like Lianas, grow up tree trunks towards light
Hot Desert
- Extreme temperatures in the day
- Little rainfall (one or twice a year)
- Shallow with a gravelly texture - infertile due to little leaf litter
Hot Desert Plant Adaptations
Cacti
- Pleated stem allowing it to expand/store more water for drier months
- Shallow roots to maximise rainwater uptake before it evaporates
- Small spiny leaves to find off animals and reduce transpiration
- Think, waxy cuticle to reduce water loss by transpiration
- Seeds of Arizona poppy only germinate after summer rain and grow quickly whilst water is still available to survive
- Sagebrush plant has roots up to 25m long to reach deep underground water and is pale to reflect heat (reduce water loss)
- Yellow daisy is small and hair to reduce the effect of the wind (on transpiration)
- Joshua Tree has needle like leaves carried in waxy resin
Temperate Deciduous Forest
- Moderate climate
- Even rainfall
- Four distinct seasons
- Highly fertile, deep soil from layers for decomposing animal and plant matter
Temperate Deciduous Forest Vegetation Structure
Tree layer - trees around (30m) e.g. oak
Shrub layer - small trees (5-20m) e.g. hawthorne
Undergrowth - like brambles, mosses, lichens and flowering plants
Reasons for deforestation
- Cattle ranching
- HEP
- Logging (illegal)
- Mining
- Settlements
