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Geography > People and the biosphere > Flashcards

People and the biosphere Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a biome?

A

A biome is a global scale ecosystem, where all the plants and animals interact perfectly together with a living or non-living environment.

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2
Q

What the characteristics of rainforests?

A
  • hot all year round
  • rainfall
  • dense forest
  • layers of trees
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3
Q

What are the characteristics of tropical grassland?

A
  • hot all year
  • tall grasses
  • shrubs
  • rainfall
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4
Q

What are the characteristics of deserts?

A
  • very hot all year
  • cool nights
  • less rainfall
  • scarce plants
  • spines not leaves
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5
Q

What are the characteristics of temperate grassland?

A
  • hot summers
  • very cold winters
  • short grasses
  • very few trees and bushes
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6
Q

What are the characteristics of temperate forest?

A
  • warm summers
  • cool winters
  • deciduous trees such as oak
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7
Q

What are biotic components?

A

A biome or ecosystem are all living parts:

  • the flora and fauna
  • all fungi
  • bacteria
  • any other form of life
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8
Q

What are abiotic components?

A

Non-living elements of a biome or ecosystem. Such as:

  • rocks
  • soil
  • air
  • water
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9
Q

How does biological weathering components interact?

A
  • when rocks get broken down by living things in Situ for example tree roots.
  • some flora and fauna also secrete acids which dissolve rocks
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10
Q

How does photosynthesis and respiration components interact?

A
  • living organisms interact with the atmosphere.

- the process of photosynthesis extracts carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produce oxygen

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11
Q

How does the nutrient cycle components interact?

A
  • the transfer of nutrients around an ecosystem.
  • all ecosystems have three compartments these are: soil, litter and biomass
  • nutrients are transferred between the stores.
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12
Q

How does the hydrological cycle components interact?

A
  • trees intercept and slow its passage to the ground reducing surface run-off and therefore reduces flood risk.
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13
Q

How does the atmosphere act as a life support system?

A

-plants absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen instead.

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14
Q

How does the soil act as a life support system?

A
  • dead leaves and plants add nutrients to the soil.

- insects and animal burrows help soil breathe.

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15
Q

How does the hydrological cycle act as a life support system?

A
  • trees and other plants slow the flow of rainwater to rivers, acting as a natural flood control.
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16
Q

How does food provide us with vital resources?

A
  • fish and meat are part of the biosphere
  • sustainable harvesting of fruits, berries and nuts
  • natural vegetation can be replaced with crops like wheat and rice
17
Q

How does building materials provide us with vital resources?

A
  • straw, the dry stalks of cereal plants, is used for roofing and for insulation.
  • animal dung can be mixed with clay and straw to make bricks.
  • timber, essential for construction, comes from trees
18
Q

How does fuel provide us with vital resources?

A
  • animal dung is dried and burnt to make fuel.
  • wood from trees and shrubs
  • biofuels convert plant products to fuel through a range of different processes
19
Q

How do medicines provide us with vital reasources?

A
  • the periwinkle plant is used to treat Leukaemia and Hodgkin’s disease
  • the aloe plant has soothing properties and aloe is used in many cosmetics
  • poppies are the source of the painkiller morphine
20
Q

Why does the altitude affect biomes?

A
  • temperate fall between 0.5 and 1 degrees every 100m in height.
  • mountains are exposed to wind, slopes become steeper and soils become thinner.
  • forest biomes decrease with altitude
21
Q

Why does the rock types affect biomes?

A
  • some rocks are permeable and soak up water.

- limestone produces alkaline soils and are dry suitable for beech trees e.g limestones pavement in Yorkshire

22
Q

Why does the soil affect biomes?

A
  • Sandy soil, quite dry and small air gaps
  • clay soil, sticky, poor drainage and holds nutrients
  • chalky soils, well drained, grass and barley
  • peat, acidic, no rock and decayed plants
23
Q

Why does the drainage affect biomes?

A
  • impermeable surfaces lead to waterlogged conditions

- can prevent trees from growing with only specially adapted plants able to cope

24
Q

What are the characteristics of boreal forest one of the world’s major biomes?

A
  • mild summers

- low rainfall

25
Q

What are the characteristics of a tundra one of the worlds major biomes?

A
  • below 0 degrees most of the year
  • 10 degrees in summer
  • low rainfall

Geography (4 decks)

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