LIVING WORLD- tropical rainforests Flashcards
1
Q
definition of an ecosystem:
A
- community of producer and animals that interact with one another and their environment
2
Q
what is a biome?
A
- global scale ecosystem
3
Q
what are biotic factors?
A
- living
4
Q
examples of biotic factors:
A
- insects
- bacteria
- fungi
5
Q
what are abiotic factors?
A
- non-living
6
Q
examples of abiotic factors:
A
- light
- wind
- temperature
- rain
7
Q
what is a micro-habitat?
A
- a very small scale system such as a tree
8
Q
what is a biosphere?
A
- all of the living organisms in the world and their physical environment
9
Q
what is a producer?
A
- an organism that uses sunlight to produce food
- convert energy from environment into sugars
- eg. a banana tree
10
Q
what are consumers?
A
- get energy by eating other organisms
- eg. monkey eats banana
11
Q
what is a decomposer?
A
- an organism which gets its energy from breaking down dead material
- eg. bacteria and fungi break down banana peels
12
Q
what is a carnivore?
A
- something which only eats meat
13
Q
what is a herbivore?
A
- something which only eats plants
14
Q
what is a food chain?
A
- shows direct links between different organisms that rely on each other as a source of food
15
Q
what is a food web?
A
- shows all of the food chains within an ecosystem
16
Q
where is Epping forest?
A
Essex
Northeast London
17
Q
what are the key features of Epping forest?
A
- several native tree species- oak, elm, ash, beech
- lower shrub layer of grasses, brambles and bracken
- many insects, mammals, amphibians and birds
- over 700 species of birds
18
Q
what factors influence the distribution/ location of biomes?
A
- latitude
- winds
- distribution of land and sea
- air pressure
- warm and cold ocean currents
19
Q
location of a coniferous forest:
A
- roughly 60 degrees North
20
Q
characteristics of a coniferous forest:
A
- cold + dark winters
- quite warm summers
- coniferous trees are cone bearing and many are evergreen so that they can photosynthesise immediately after the winter
21
Q
location of a deciduous forest:
A
- roughly 50 degrees North
- the natural ecosystem for the UK and much of Western Europe
22
Q
characteristics of a deciduous forest:
A
- trees shed their leaves in the winter to retain moisture
- climate is more moderate, mostly mild and moist conditions and a few extremes of temperature
23
Q
location of a desert:
A
- 30 degrees north and south of the equator
- close to the tropics of cancer and Capricorn
24
Q
characteristics of a desert:
A
- sinking air at these latitudes supress rain formation, leading to arid conditions
- hot in the daytime and cooler at night due to lack of cloud cover, allowing heat to escape
- plants and animals have become very well adapted to these conditions
25
location of a Mediterranean ecosystem:
- roughly 40-45 degrees North and South of the equator
- centred on the Mediterranean, isolated pockets in South Africa and Western Australia
26
characteristics of a mediterranean climate:
- hot + dry summers
- wet + mild winters
- vegetation including citrus fruit trees, oaks and olives
27
where is a polar/ tundra located?
- Arctic and Antarctic (polar) and high latitudes, such as Canada and Siberia
28
characteristics of a polar/ tundra:
- extremely cold throughout the year
- cold winters, quite warm brief summers in tundra regions
- limited precipitation
- tundra is very fragile and easily damaged by human activities such as exploitation
29
where are tropical rainforests located?
- close to the equator
- 5 degrees north and south
- high insolation
- wide spread across Asia, Africa and South America
30
characteristics of a tropical rainforest:
- concentrated energy from the sun heats moist air which rises to produce heavy rainfall
- this, combined with high temps means that the conditions are ideal for plant growth
- cover 6% of the earth's surface
- over 50% of the world's plants
31
where are Savannahs located?
between 15-30 degrees north and south of the equator
32
characteristics of a Savannah:
- tropical climate in these low latitudes is characterised by distinct wet and dry seasons
- fires are common in the dry season, usually ignited by lightning strikes
- herds graze these areas, along with predators such as lions
33
climate of tropical rainforests:
- thrive in equatorial climate
34
what temperature do tropical rainforests thrive at?
27 degrees celsius
35
how much rainfall do tropical rainforests have?
over 2000 mm per year
36
what do high temperatures and rainfall do?
- create ideal growing conditions and accounts for lots of vegetation and growth
37
what is water like in tropical rainforests?
- most tropical rainforests experience an intense wet season- high rainfall lasting for months
- this water will soak into the soil, dissolving and transporting (leaching) away nutrients
- there is sometimes excess water on the ground, swelling local rivers and sometimes causing flooding
38
are soils fertile in tropical rainforests?
- no
- nutrients are concentrated in the upper top soil and are very quickly taken up by the plants when they grow
- trees and plants have very shallow roots
39
what are people in tropical rainforests like?
- traditional tribes live in harmony with nature
- they hunt and gather only what they need to survive
- this is sustainable
- people are now exploring rainforests for commercial gain
- chopping down trees for timber
- this reduces biodiversity
40
what is the emergents?
- top of the rainforest- a small number of trees break through the general height of the rainforest
41
what is the canopy?
- 2nd highest layer
- continuous, dense tree cover protects the ground from heavy rainfall and reduces the amount of light to areas below
42
what is the unrestorey/ under canopy?
- 2nd to bottom
- woody plants and shrubs grow in humid, calm conditions with limited sunlight
43
what is the ground/ shrub layer?
- bottom layer
- largely made up of decomposed material
- scattered plants and fungi, used
44
what are drip tips?
- leaves with pointy tips so that water can run off of them quickly without breaking or damaging them
45
what are buttress roots?
- large roots have ridges which create a large surface area that help support large trees
46
what are lianas?
- woody vines- roots in the ground but climb up trees to reach sunlight
47
what is a poison dart frog?
- if they eat poisonous insets, they absorb toxins in their mucus
- eat have extra- strong suction cups to climb and hold slippery branches
48
what is a three-toed sloth?
- extra vertebrae to be able to turn neck 270 degrees to check for predators above/ below
- can swim in floods (high rainfall= surface runoff)
- grown algae in fur to camouflage
49
environmental importance of rainforests:
- provides 20% of the world's freshwater- comes from Amazon basin
- contributes to 28% of the world's oxygen
- biodiversity- contain 50% of the world'd plants and animals
- absorb carbon dioxide- act as a 'carbon sink'- helps to set global warming
50
what resources do rainforests supply?
- rich in reserves of wood, nuts and fruit
- bananas, cocoa, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon all come from rainforests
51
how much medicine comes from rainforests?
- 25% of medicines
- more than 2000 plants have anti- cancer properties
52
example of an indigenous tribe:
- Achuar tribe in Peru
- 11,000 people
53
what energy could we put into tropical rainforests?
- hydroelectric
54
do rainforests create employment opportunities?
- yes
- tourism for guides and stewards, farming, construction and mining
55
what are the threats of biodiversity in tropical rainforests?
- lightening strikes (fires)
- floods
- disease
- people
56
CASE STUDY (causes):
Amazon case study: causes of deforestation
57
Causes of deforestation:
- Mineral extraction
- energy development
- road building
- logging
- settlement and population growth
- substinence + commercial farming
58
Mineral extraction:
- Borneo has rich supplies of tin
- Brazil, minerals such as gold, bauxite and copper are mined extensively- polluting rivers
- 99% of Malaysia's coal supply comes from Borneo
59
Energy development:
- high rainfall- ideal for hydroelectric power
- Brazil- Belo Monte dam with block the Xingu river- flooding more than 40,500 hectares of rainforest and displacing more than 15,000 people
- drilling for oil and gas has started in borneo
60
Road building:
- roads bring supplies and access to new mining areas
- in Brazil, the trans- Amizonian highway stretches or 4,000 km through the rainforest
61
Logging:
- mahogany and teak are highly valued for furniture
- smaller trees are used for fuel, pulped or made into charcoal
- 80% of deforestation in Malaysia is logging
62
Settlement and population growth:
- settlements have developed to service developments in the Brazilian and Malaysian rainforests
- farming and mineral extraction led to an increase in population
63
Substinence and commercial farming:
- accounts for 80% of deforestation in Brazil
- palm oil and sugar cane
64
what are the impacts of deforestation?
- local climate change
- soil erosion and infertility
- river pollution
- decline of indigenous tribes
- climate change
- biodiversity loss
65
how is local climate change an impact of deforestation?
- water cycle is disrupted
- loss of trees means less evapotranspiration so less moisture is returned into the atmosphere
- makes local climate drier
66
how is soil erosion an impact of deforestation?
- chopping down trees leaves the top soil exposed which is removed by heavy rainfall
- this makes it hard for plants to grow
- leads to further forest clearance
67
how is river pollution an impact of deforestation?
- Gold mining causes deforestation also leads to polluted waterways as mercury is used to separate gold
- leaking mercury poisons fish
68
how does deforestation cause a decline of indigenous tribes?
- logging, construction of roads have push them out of land
- threatens their homes, food supply and traditional way of life
69
how is does deforestation impact climate change?
- less trees
- more carbon dioxide in air- less carbon dioxide absorbed
- increases climate change rates
-
70
how is biodiversity loss an impact of deforestation?
- deforestation means a loss of habitat for many animals
- could lead to more and more species becoming extinct
71
strategies used to manage the rainforest sustainability:
- small scale forestry
- 2006 international tropical timber agreement
- debt reduction
- ecotourism
- education and conservation
72
what is selective- logging?
- small- scale forestry
- felling trees which are fully grown
73
what is agroforestry?
- small- scale forestry
- growing crops and trees together
- keeps biodiversity and allows natural recycling of nutrients
74
what is replanting?
- small- scale forestry
- recreates forest cover that has been lost
- happening on a large scale in tropical rainforests across the globe
75
what is the 2006 international tropical timber agreement?
- restricts trade in tropical rainforest hardwoods, making it more difficult to sell them and make
- the agreement means hat all hardwood timber has to be marked with a registration number
76
what is debt reduction?
- countries reduce debt for other countries to stop cutting down trees
- the USA agreed to allow Brazil to convert the £13.5 million it owed in debt into a fund to protect large areas of the Amazon rainforest
77
what is ecotourism?
- many countries have promoted their rainforest
- small-scale tourism ad entirely local
- Brazil, Costa Rica, Belize
- Mashpi Lodge
78
what is education and conservation?
- supported by NGOs
- protect ecosystems that are being seriously threatened
- help to educate children on our ecosystems
