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Year 9 Geography > Natural environments > Flashcards

Natural environments Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a biome?

A

A Large scale ecosystem (A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment)

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2
Q

What are some plants and animals which have adapted to the rainforest?

A

Lianas (woody vine like plants), epiphytes, bark, buttress roots, drip tip leaves, sloths, spider monkeys, flying frogs, toucans

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3
Q

How are lianas adapted to the rainforest?

A

Have their roots in the ground, climb up trees to reach sunlight

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4
Q

How are epiphytes adapted to the rainforest?

A

Plants which live on branches high up on the canopy, get nutrients from air and water, receive lots of sunlight

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5
Q

How is the bark adapted to the rainforest?

A

Smooth to allow water to flow to roots

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6
Q

How are buttress roots adapted to the rainforest?

A

Large with ridges for larger surface area to support larger trees

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7
Q

How are drip tip leaves adapted to the rainforest?

A

Plants have leaves with points to allow water to run off quickly without damaging the leaf

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8
Q

How are sloths adapted to the rainforest?

A

Use camouflage and move slowly so that predators can’t easily spot it

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9
Q

How is the spider monkey adapted to the rainforest?

A

Long, strong limbs to help it to climb through rainforest trees

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10
Q

How is the flying frog adapted to the rainforest?

A

Webbed feet and a flap of loose skin that stretches between its’ limbs to let it glide from plant to plant

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11
Q

How is the toucan adapted to the rainforest?

A

Long, large bill to allow it to reach and cut fruit from branches that are too weak to support its’ weight

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12
Q

What are the four rainforest layers?

A

The shrub layer, under canopy, main canopy and emergents

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13
Q

What is the shrub layer like?

A

Dark, gloomy, little vegetation between trees, rainforest floor, can flood during heavy rainfall

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14
Q

What is the under canopy like?

A

Limited sunlight, saplings wait here for larger plants to die, leaving them a gap for them to grow into. Lianas and buttress roots found here

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15
Q

What is the main canopy like?

A

Upper parts of most trees, 30m up, inspects, arachnids, birds and some mammals

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16
Q

What are the emergents like?

A

Tops of the tallest trees, a lot of sunlight, very high up -40m, birds, insects, butterflies

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17
Q

Why do rainforests form on the equator?

A
  • Rainforests are located in Brazil, Congo, Indonesia
  • high in temperature because of higher concentration of solar radiation.
  • higher concentration of solar radiation because the position of the equator on the globe causes the sun to have to heat only a small area of land. In other areas (mainly the Northern Hemisphere), latitudes are higher so they are spread out across more land, meaning the climate is cooler.
  • rainy environment due to strong sunlight, which causes conventional rainfall.
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18
Q

What is the nutrients cycle like before deforestation?

A
  1. Leaves, branches and trees fall and decay rapidly to form humus
  2. This adds nutrients to the soil
  3. The nutrient rich soil results in rich tree growth. Trees protect the ground from heavy rainfall which would wash out the nutrients.
  4. The cycle continues
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19
Q

What is the nutrients cycle like after deforestation?

A
  1. Fewer leaves and plants, so less humus
  2. With less humus, few nutrients are added to the soil and any nutrients is leached and infiltrated downwards because no interception from trees of the rain (direct rainfall) and there is more surface runoff ans soil erosion
  3. The soil becomes less fertile and there is poorer-quality vegetation and soil erosion. This loss in fertility has already caused some of the new subsistence farms and larger cattle ranches to be abandoned
  4. Animals have no habitat>animals find new habitat>creates competition>fights,death
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20
Q

What is conventional rainfall?

A
  • sun rises high in sky by midday and heats up ground
  • the air next to the ground is heated and starts to rise
  • as the warm air rises up through the trees, transpiration occurs
  • the warm air carries on rising up, past the trees until it’s so high in the sky that is starts to cool and condense
  • the condensation forms white, cumulus clouds
  • the cumulus clouds merge and form a cumulonimbus storm cloud
  • the cumulonimbus storm cloud results in heavy rain
  • the cycle continues
21
Q

What is transpiration?

A

The evaporation of water on trees and leaves

22
Q

What is the climate of the rainforest like?

A
  • hot, humid (perfect for photosynthesis, vegetation growth)
  • temperatures over 20 degrees Celsius most of the year
  • diverse range and high volume of plant and animal life (high biodiversity)
  • high rainfall
  • long hours of daylight and sunshine
23
Q

What are the global values of the rainforest?

A
  • strongly affects world’s environment:
    Trees give off water into the atmosphere and help regulate water cycle. Trees absorb CO2, reducing global warming. Trees give out O2 which is needed for human’s survival.
  • important for medicine around the globe:
    1/4 of all cancer treating drugs are found in the rainforest. St Johns Wort (a plant found in the rainforest) can help treat depression. The periwinkle plant is used to treat leukaemia. Quinine is used as a painkiller and malaria treatment.
24
Q

What are the national values of the rainforest?

A
  • income tax from exported goods leads to an improvement in infrastructure (hospitals, schools, roads)
  • valuable goods (wood pup for paper, rubber and latex for tyres) can be used by citizens or exported
  • variety of goods means there are more jobs available, leading to an improvement in infrastructure
25
Q

What are local values of the rainforest?

A
  • nuts, berries, gold etc. can be used by locals or exported
  • exported goods are taxed, so locals have to pay tax, leading to a stronger infrastructure
  • trees absorb water before it reaches the ground, reducing the risk of flooding
  • rainforests have spiritual values for tribes
  • provide a nutrients cycle, resulting in rich soil (perfect for farming)
26
Q

What are the different reasons for why deforestation is happening in the rainforest?

A

Farming (Cattle farming, soya farming), settlement, Resources (Logging, Mining, Hydroelectricity), Transport

27
Q

What is logging doing to the rainforest?

A

-Logging is the cutting down of trees and expensive woods (mainly hardwoods) such as mahogany. This wood is made into furniture, flooring and paper, then exported to countries in Europe (HICs)
- the timber industry is helping Brazil become an economically strong country (the GDP has grown by 5% due to logging)
- the country is trying to make specific areas for logging.
- They use a method called selective logging to help the rainforest
regrow
-while timber is a valuable income source for Brazil, little effort has been made to regrow deforested areas

28
Q

What is mining doing to the rainforest?

A
  • Brazil clears forests to mine iron ore, bauxite, gold, silver, manganese, diamonds and copper.
  • Since the country lies on the World’s largest rainforest and has the most iron ore, 45 million tons are harvested annually which provides many much needed jobs
  • the mines activities are constantly monitored by an environmental policy who aim to conserve and recuperate the Amazon’s ecosystem
29
Q

What is cattle farming doing to the rainforest?

A
  • huge areas of rainforest are cleared to make room for animal farming.
  • between 1990 and 2001 the percentage of Europe’s meat imports from Brazil rose from 40 to 74 percent.
  • Brazil earns 2.5 billion from overseas sales of beef
30
Q

What is settlement doing to the rainforest?

A
  • tribes in Brazil live in the rainforest and use the land for farming and building houses
  • the number of people living Brazil was once 6,000,000 but has decreased to just over 30 million.
31
Q

What is Soya Farming doing to the rainforest?

A
  • soya farming is where people clear land to grow soya beans
  • soya farming is effective because the soil is fertile and the climate is perfect as there is enough sunlight and rainfall.
  • Soya beans are used to feed cattle and pigs
32
Q

How can we develop the rainforest sustainably?

A
  • create environmental laws to protect it
  • set up national parks and nature reserves where damaging activities are restricted
  • teach locals of negative impacts of deforestation and other ways to make money
  • selective logging: only some trees (e.g the oldest) are felled and the rest are left standing
  • reduce the amount of money that poor countries owe richer countries so that poorer countries don’t need to allow logging,farming or mining
  • teaching international communities about deforestation so that there is lead demand for products that cause it
  • ecotourism: benefits locals by providing a source of income without affecting the environment
  • reducing the demand for hardwood : high taxes are put on the wood so that less people buy it
  • replanting/reforestation : new trees are planted to replace those cut down by deforestation
33
Q

What are the goods and services that come from the rainforest?

A

Services:

  • trees are a flood defence: trees absorb water before it reaches the ground
  • O2 is given out which is needed for humans to survive
  • nutrient cycling: dead leaves and plants add nutrients to the soil
  • rainforests provide spiritual value for the tribes who live there
  • trees give off water (transpire) into the atmosphere which helps regulate the water cycle.
  • CO2 is absorbed by trees from the atmosphere, reducing global warming.
  • the rainforest provides a habitat for animals

Goods:

  • nuts, berries, timber, fish, meat
  • bamboo (used for scaffolding in Hong Kong)
  • Rubber and latex comes from trees and makes tires
  • Quinine comes from bark and is used as a painkiller and for malaria treatment
  • The periwinkle plant is used to treat leukaemia
  • st. Johns wort is a plant that may help to treat depression
  • 1/4 of all cancer treating drugs are found in the rainforest
  • lots of minerals: gold, iron ore
34
Q

In which countries are rainforests found in?

A

Brazil, Congo, Indonesia

35
Q

What is Transport doing to the rainforest?

A
  • The BR18 is a road which extends for miles into the Amazon Rainforest
  • Over 12,000km of roads have been built into the rainforest, the largest being the 5300km Trans-Amazonian highway.
  • These roads were built to develop the religion and transport timber, minerals, farm produce and people
  • A 900km railway has been built in Carajas to the coast and numerous small airstrips have been constructed
36
Q

What are the three types of farming?

A
  • slash and burn
  • subsistence farming
  • commercial cattle ranching
37
Q

What is ‘Slash and Burn’ farming?

A
  • traditional method used by Ameridians in the rainforest
  • although this is the most sustainable farming method, it nevertheless causes significant areas to be cleared, even if only temporarily each year
38
Q

What is Subsistence farming?

A
  • farming for self/family. Any spare produce is sold at the market
  • associated with LICs
  • has increased as a result of the government providing land to some of Brazil’s 25 million landless people
  • in places, 10km strips of land were cleared alongside highways and settlers were brought in from places that were even poorer, such as drought areas in the northeast
39
Q

What is commercial cattle ranch farming?

A
  • run by large transnational companies which sell beef mainly to fast food chains in developed countries
  • these companies burn the forest, replacing trees with grass
  • commercial farming= large scale farming, run by businesses (associated with HICs)
40
Q

What is Hydro-electricity doing to the rainforest?

A

-an important renewable source of energy but the building of dams and creation of large lakes has led to large areas of forest becoming flooded

41
Q

What are the different impacts of human activity?

A

reduction of species diversity, impact on soils and nutrient cycle, rivers, reduction in number of Ameridians, climatic change

42
Q

What is the reduction of species diversity?

A
  • a typical patch of rainforest 10km square could contain as many as 1500 species of flowering plant, 750 species of tree, 400 types of birds, 150 varieties of butterflies, 100 different reptiles and 60 types of amphibian
  • deforestation has destroyed many of these species; some of which have proven to significant value
  • we already get over half our medicines from the rainforest- one of these being the periwinkle (which has reduced deaths of child leukaemia from 80 to 20 percent)
43
Q

What is the impact of human activity on rivers?

A

-many rivers have been polluted due to mining operations

44
Q

What is the impact of human activity of reduction of number of Ameridians?

A
  • huge reduction: 6 million to 200,000
  • big destruction of their traditional culture and way of life
  • those remaining, such as the kayapo, are forced to live in reservations
45
Q

What are the impacts of human activity on climate change?

A
  • two ways it is affecting climate
  • with fewer trees there is less evapotranspiration and therefore, less water vapour in the air
  • with less moisture in the hydrological cycle there is already evidence of reduced rainfall totals together with the threat of possible increase in local droughts
  • at the same time, burning the forest is accelerating global warming by releasing huge amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere
  • it is possible that there are already changes in the composition of the atmosphere
  • scientists claim that already over one-third of the world’s fresh oxygen supply comes from the rainforest. This could be lost if the area is completely deforested
46
Q

Draw and label a diagram of a rain gauge

A

Include:
Outer canister, funnel, measuring bottle, ground level, inner canister

47
Q

What does a rain gauge measure?

A

Rainfall

48
Q

What are the site requirements of a rain gauge and explain why

A
  • on grass not hard surface to avoid splashes entering
  • part buried to prevent evaporation and for stability
  • rim 30cm above ground to avoid splashes and surface runoff entering
  • no overhanging roofs and trees to avoid shelter and too little rain entering
  • away from buildings, trees and other objects to avoid drips from entering
  • standing vertically upright to keep the gauge diameter

Year 9 Geography (3 decks)

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