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Year 1 Geography > Natural Vegetation > Flashcards

Natural Vegetation Flashcards

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1
Q

How does climate influence vegetation type?

A
  • Climate influences type of vegetation found in various places
  • Rainfall and temperature determine the amount of water and sunlight available which affects plant growth
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2
Q

What is the distribution of Natural Vegetation across the world?

A
  1. Temperate Deciduous Forest
  2. Temperate Coniferous Forest
  3. Tropical Grassland (Savannah)
  4. Temperate Grassland
  5. Hot Desert
  6. Cold Desert (Tundra)
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3
Q

How does the tropical wet climate encourage the growth of tropical rainforests and mangroves?

A

Abundant sunlight, high temperature and heavy rainfall throughout the year support a variety of natural vegetation and continuous plant growth

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4
Q

Where are tropical rainforests (TRF) found?

A
  1. TRFs can be found in the tropics, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn
  2. More specifically, between 10°N and S of the equator
  3. They can be found in parts of Central and South America, South and South-East Asia, and West and Central Africa
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5
Q

State some examples of Tropical Rainforests (TRF)

A
  1. The Amazon Rainforest in South America
  2. Congo River Basin Rainforest in West and Central Africa
  3. Kalimantan Rainforest in Indonesia
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6
Q

What are the characteristics of tropical rainforests?

A
  1. Thick luxuriant, broadleaved, evergreen forests
    - evergreen: trees do not shed all their leaves at particular times of the year, plants continuously grow new leaves to replace older ones that die and fall off
  2. Large biodiversity of plant species and food
  3. 5-layered structure of tropical rainforests
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7
Q

What is the structure of TRFs?

A
  1. Emergent
  2. Canopy
  3. Understorey
  4. Shrub
  5. Ground
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8
Q

What are the properties of the emergent layer of the tropical rainforests?

A
  1. The uppermost layer is where scattered trees rise tower above other trees in the competition for sunlight
  2. Consist of the tallest trees (50m - 10 stories tall)
  3. Trees in this layer usually have tall straight smooth trunks with few branches (high branching)
  4. e.g. Kapok tree mahogany tree, meranti tree
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9
Q

What are the properties of the canopy layer?

A
  1. Trees grow close together, and crowns interlock to form an almost continuous cover
    - very dense vegetation
  2. Canopy blocks out 97-98% of the sunlight
  3. e.g. Climbing plants (lianas), epiphyteses
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10
Q

How do plants grow in the understorey layer?

A
  1. Growth is slow and restricted due to the canopy layer blocking most of the light
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11
Q

What is the shrub layer like?

A
  1. Has ferns and young sampling
  2. Also has slow and restricted growth due to the limited sunlight passing through the canopy layer
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12
Q

What is the ground layer like?

A
  1. Vegetation is sparse and poorly developed
  2. Moss, ferns, and other small plants are thin and widely spaced out due to the lack of sunlight
  3. Hot and wet environment
    - Rapid decomposition
    - Thin layer of leaf litter
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13
Q

What is the adaptive feature of bark and branches?

A
  1. Tall, straight trunks with branches spread out near the top of the trees (high branching)
    - helps trees to obtain the maximum amount of sunlight needed for photosynthesis
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14
Q

How does the adaptive feature of broad leaves help the plant?

A

They are broad to absorb as much sunlight as possible for photosynthesis

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15
Q

How are drip-tip leaves beneficial?

A

Narrow, downward-pointing tips allow rainwater to run off easily, preventing harmful bacteria and fungus from growing on leaves. This is necessary as the climate has abundant rainfall of 2000mm per year

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16
Q

What is another adaptive feature of leaves?

A
  1. Waxy, leathery, or hairy surfaces
    - to minimize the loss of moisture through transpiration due to high temperatures
17
Q

What is an adaptive feature of fruits and flowers?

A
  1. Colourful and strong-smelling
    - air is usually still due to the lack of wind in tropical rainforests, which makes dispersal difficult
    - fruit and flowers are colorful and strong-smelling to attract insects and animals in seed dispersal
18
Q

What are the two adaptive features of roots?

A
  1. Buttress roots
    - buttress roots can grow up to 5m above ground to support the heavy weight of the tall emergent and canopy trees that grow because of favorable climatic conditions and competition for sunlight
    - e.g. meranti, kapok , tempinis, giant fig tree
  2. Shallow roots
    - rapid decomposition of fallen leaves and branches provides nutrients in the soil (most nutrients and water are found in the topsoil [humus layer])
    - water is available throughout the year (hence, trees do not need deep roots to obtain groundwater)
19
Q
A

Year 1 Geography (5 decks)

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