Madagascar Flashcards
What percentage of the forest has disappeared
80%. - one of the highest rate of forest loss in the world
Madagascar is the …th largest island in the world
4
How much has the population increased by since 1960
5x
The rate of gulley erosion is…x the average in the world
7
How many species face extinction
Over 3000
What animal has seen 15 of its species go extinct
Lemur
What is the valuable timber that is the cause for so much destructive logging
Ebony
What is the international scheme to designate forests as carbon capture areas
REDD
Give 4 factors that lead to a net LOSS of forest volume
Slash and Burn
Gulley Erosion
Commercial Plantation farming
Rise in the value of Ebony
Give 4 factors that lead to a net GAIN of forest volume
Rise in Carbon Dioxide
Enviromental conservation
Carbon credit scheme
Safari tourism
How does deforestation impact the water cycle
Reduced biomass
Reduced photosynthesis
Rising atmospheric CO2
Warmer atmosphere
Increasing evapotranspiration
Rising moisture levels
Give an input to the carbon cycle
Photosynthesis
Give outputs of the carbon cycle
Respiration by animals and decomposers
What is the current population
25 million
Where is the tropical rainforest located
A narrow belt of the island in the wetter North and runs down the entire eastern region
Over …% Madagascar’s population live in rural areas and work in agriculture
70
What has reduced soil infiltration meant
Soil-sealing = making it impermeable causing greater overland flow
Reduced transpiration rates = longer dry seasons
What is the aim of REDD
Conserve Marika National Park
How have carbon credits benefited the local area
Communities receive 50% carbon revenues to invest in development projects (roads, schools and healthcentres)
Give an example of what REDD has done
Converted a rubbish dump into a fish pond
Teaching the young how to live sustainably - growing mangroves
What is the impact of REDD
Lemur hunting, agriculture, slash and burn declined
50% reduction in rate of deforestation
Recently, deforestation. has slowed and by 2010, forest covers …% of the island
Represents a …% reduction in deforestation rate
21.6%
50%
Give 4 impacts on the carbon cycle
Forest clearance results in the immediate transfer of biomass carbon to the atmosphere via smoke, as slashed leaves and stems decompose on the surface
The humus layer of soil may also be incinerated removing carbon from a. longer term store
The crops that replace the natural forest are far less efficient at drawing carbon in through photosynthesis and many of the grazing animals that are put on the land become emitters of methane (20x greenhouse gas potency of Co2)
While many of the consequences of the water cycle are regional in scale, those of the carbon cycle become part of a global impact
Give 5 impacts on the water cycle
Soil erosion on cleared land is severe, with soil erosion gullies in the highlands having soil loss rates 7 x global average
Increase surface run-off carries water and sediment into river tributaries that slows channel discharge and damages land for cultivation
Reduced soil infiltration = reduced groundwater availability
Drier soils under intense heat can result in soil sealing (turning the soil into an impermeable surface that when intense rainfall falls, results in grater overland flow and even less infiltration)
Drastically reduced transpiration rates have led to a drier atmosphere locally and longer-than-noraml dry seasons as rain baring clouds are less liable to form
Give 3 implications of deforestation for life on earth
Destroys natural habitats which endangers some of the world’s most isolated and unique species in Madagascar
The island has exceptional biodiversity, and hosts 50 species of lemur, 15 of which have become extinct
Over 3000 of Madagascar’s plant and animal species have become threatened with extinction. Results not only from habitat clearance, but local environment change as soils are lost, the local atmosphere becomes drier and global temperatures rise
Give 6 links between the carbon and water cycles
Photosynthesis is done by plants and trees - requires water
Decomposition = the release of carbon by microbes, which require water
Increase in carbon = higher rate in water cycle (warmer)
Increase in water cycle, mean more erosion, more CO2 released (Madagascar gullies)
Carbon dissolves into sea or oceans
Through flow and infiltration happen through sol which is composed of carbon
