Paper 1 - Section B, Tropical Rainforest (TRF) Flashcards
Describe a TRF climate
- rainfall and warm temperatures all year round, plants grow constantly all year round
Why is the TRF climate warm and wet
- warm because they are near the equator
- wet because of the low pressure and warm air rising causing clouds to form and cause convectional rainfall
Describe the soil in a TRF
- latosol (nutrient-poor)
- heavy rainfall rapidly dissolves and washes away nutrients (leaching)
- the leaching of nutrients by heavy rainfall result in infertile, red, iron-rich soil
- many trees have shallow roots to get nutrients from leaf litter
Describe the 5 layers of the TRF
- Forest floor - tall ferns, not much light (2% sunlight)
- Shrub layer - layer of shrubs and young trees
- Under canopy - young trees grow in any gaps to form under canopy
- Canopy - trees form dense, continuous canopy blocking out light below
- Emergents - trees grow high and tower above canopy
Why is biodiversity so high in a TRF
- Perfect conditions all year round for plants. Plants support huge number of species
- Large number of plant species provide food for large number of animal species
- TRF are ancient and plants and animals have been evolving there for hundreds of thousands of years
How is the adaptation ‘buttress roots’ useful for trees
- they are wide and massive ridges
- this helps support the base of tall trees
- can help with oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange as it increases the surface area
How are ‘drip tips’ leaves beneficial to plants
- waxy so it stops mold on the leaf
- allows heavy rain to drip off the leaf and prevent it from snapping off
How are sloths adapted to live in TRF
- live in canopy and only eat leaves
- never wash themselves allowing themselves to turn green to camouflage
- have specialised tendons in their hands and feet which allows them to hang upside down for long periods of time without wasting energy
How have capuchin monkeys adapted to live in the TRF
- can climb very well
- able to swing from tree to tree to get fruit and escape predators
- have long tails which act as a fifth limb
- have developed strong jaws to help eat fruit
- sleep in top of trees to avoid predators
What are the main causes of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador
- to make way for coal and oil
- logging
- cattle ranching
- mineral extraction
- plantations for oil palm for palm oil and soy beans
What valuable resources and services does the Amazon rainforest supply
- provides medicines
- TRF slows the rate of climate change (trees are carbon sinks)
- provides wild fruit and berries
- provides wild meat and fish
- biodiversity, contains 1/2 of the worlds species, biodiversity keeps the planet healthy and resilient to diseases
What are the impacts of oil extraction in the Amazon rainforest
- causes deforestation, pollution and environmental damage
- oil spills can lead to rivers becoming toxic due to rain leaching the oil into the ground and water supply, this can lead to plants and animals dying
- crude oil is dumped on land
- gas flares burning cause CO2 to be released into the atmosphere adding more greenhouse gases to climate change
Why is oil mined in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador
To lift Ecuador out of poverty by extracting oil
What are the impacts of roads in the Amazon
- roads make TRF vulnerable to further deforestation as it gives access to more people
- animals are threatened by the roads as they could get run over
Why were roads built in the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador
To support new infrastructure (along with oil pipelines and pumping stations) to get oil out of the rainforest to sell and export
