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IGCSE Edexcel Geography > Rural Environments > Flashcards

Rural Environments Flashcards

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1
Q

Distribution and Characterisitcs of Biomes

What is biosphere?

A

The parts of the earth where life exists. It is made up of the atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere.

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2
Q

Distribution and Characterisitcs of Biomes

What is biodiversity?

A

The variety of different plant and animal species that exist within an ecosystem.

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3
Q

Distribution and Characterisitcs of Biomes

What is an ecosystem?

A

An ecosystem is a community of interacting biotic and abiotic organisms.

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4
Q

What is a biome?

A

Collection of ecosystems with similar climate conditions. This means that biomes are controlled by climate.

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5
Q

What is climate?

A

Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region typically averaged over 30 years

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6
Q

What is weather?

A

Weather is the day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere at a particular place. It includes temperature, precipitation, cloud cover and wind speed.

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7
Q

Explain the 5 factors affecting biome distribution:

A
  • Latitude: The further distance from the equator; temperatures and sunshine hours decrease.
  • Precipitation: Areas of high pressure experience low rainfall, low pressure areas experience high rainfall.
  • Altitude: Increase in altitude leads to decrease in temperatures.
  • Continentality: Locations further inland heat up more quickly in the summer and cool more quickly in the winter.
  • Ocean Currents: Warm and cold currents circulate in the oceans either warming or cooling the adjacent land.
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8
Q

Ecosystem Goods And Services

All ecosystems have inputs, stores, transfers and outputs, explain each:

A

Inputs: Solar radiation and precipitation

Stores: Biomass and soil

Transfers: energy is transferred through food chains and webs.

Outputs: Gases, dead matter.

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9
Q

What are ecosystem services?

A

Ecosystem services are the many and varied benefits to humans provided by the natural environment and healthy ecosystems. The services provided by the ecosystem are essential for life to survive.

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10
Q

What are the 4 groups of services provided by ecosystems?

A

Provisioning

Regulating

Cultural

Supporting

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11
Q

Give examples of the provisioning service provided by tropical rainforests:

A
  • Timber
  • Medicine
  • Water
  • Fuel
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12
Q

Give examples of the regulating service provided by tropical rainforests:

A
  • Climate
  • Water quality
  • Soil Quality
  • Air quality
  • Waste decomposition
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13
Q

Give examples of the cultural service provided by tropical rainforests:

A
  • Health and spiritual benefits
  • Employment
  • Leisure and recreation
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14
Q

Give examples of the cultural service provided by tropical rainforests:

A
  • Health and spiritual benefits
  • Employment
  • Leisure and recreation
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15
Q

Give examples of the supporting service provided by tropical rainforests:

A
  • Soil formation
  • Nutrient cycling
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16
Q

Human Impact on Ecosystem

What are the four groupings commonly used to categorise farming:

A
  • Arable and pastoral
  • Commercial and subsistence
  • Extensive and intensive
  • Nomadic and Sedentary
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17
Q

What is extensive farming?

A

A farm with low inputs or yield per hectare e.g. sheep farming

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17
Q

What is intensive farming?

A

A farm with high inputs or yield per hectare e.g. battery chicken farming

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18
Q

What is nomadic farming?

A

Farmers move seasonally to different areas with their livestock

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19
Q

What is sedentary farming?

A

The same area of land is farmed year after year.

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20
Q

Why are farms systems?

A

Because they have inputs, processes and outputs.

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21
Q

What are the Impacts of Farming Systems?

A
  • Reducing amount of biomass
  • Food webs are reduced.
  • Monoculture which reduces diversity because the animals have no access to a wide range of foods.
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22
Q

What is monoculture?

A

the cultivation or growth of a single crop or organism especially on agricultural or forest land.

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23
Q

What is shifting cultivation?

A

Shifting cultivation isan agricultural practice in which a plot of land was cultivated temporarily and is abandoned to allow vegetation to grow freely while the cultivator moves to another plot.

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24
Q

What are the impacts caused by the exploitation of rainforests due to human activity?

A
  • Indigenous people: Forced out of their homes due to logging, mining and development in rainforests. Many die young. Some move to cities and turn to a life of crime.
  • Soil Erosion: Nutrient cycle is broken when areas of forest are cleared. Thin topsoil is quickly removed by heavy rainfall. Once topsoil has been removed, little hope of anything growing again.
  • River Pollution: Gold mining not only causes deforestation, mercury used to separate gold is allowed to enter rivers. Fish are poisoned as well as people living in nearby towns.
  • Local Climate Change: Deforestation disrupts the water cycle.
  • Global Warming: Deforestation means less trees to absorb CO2. Clearance of rainforests requires fires which also adds CO2. CO2 is a GHG a global threat.
  • Loss of Biodiversity: Rainforests are home to 2/3 of the world’s plant species. Clearing of rainforests will lead to global biodiversity being reduced and individual species become endangered or extinct.
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25
Q

Components Of Rural Environments

What are the components of a rural environment?

A
  • Landscape
  • Population Density
  • Settlement
  • Employment
  • Land Use
  • Accessibility
  • Development
  • Conservation
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26
Q

Explain the characteristic: landscape in rural environments:

A

The landscape is created by the physical factors of geology, relief and climate. The type of landscape will influence land use.

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27
Q

Explain the characteristic: Population Density in rural environments:

A

Rural areas have relatively low population densities. However in some parts of the world they can be large and compact.

28
Q

Explain the characteristic: Settlement in rural environments:

A

Settlement pattern is typically made up of villages, hamlets and farmsteads.

29
Q

Explain the characteristic: Employment in rural environments:

A

Most jobs in rural areas belong in the primary sector. In general jobs are poorly paid. This is one of the main causes of rural-urban migration.

30
Q

Explain the characteristic: Land Use in rural environments:

A

While farming is the biggest use of land in many parts of the world, there are parts of the world where other activities are important. Much mining and quarrying continue to take place in rural environments. 2 significant new activities are tourism and leisure.

31
Q

Explain the characteristic: Accessibility in rural environments:

A

It is claimed one of the main reasons for lack of development in rural areas is due to to lack of accessibility. Particularly the case in more mountainous, arid and forested regions. However situation is changing. The improvement of roads, in particular, is allowing for more leisure and tourism.

32
Q

Explain the characteristic: Development in rural environments:

A

Population pressure in many parts of the world means more use needs to be made of rural areas. In some countries this means producing more food while in others, new activities are encouraged to develop more jobs and reduce the dependence on agriculture as a means of living.

33
Q

Explain the characteristic: Conservation in rural environments:

A

People are realising that the conservation of rural environments and their wildlife is important for maintaining the world’s biodiversity.

34
Q

Rural Change In Developed Countries: UK

Why has rural changes occurred in developed countries?

A

As a result of:

  • Depopulation
  • Tourism
  • Counter-Urbanization
  • Suburbanization
35
Q

What are the causes of depopulation?

A

Most common in the remote, less accessible rural areas due to:

  • Mechanization of agricultural which has meant decreasing availability of jobs.
  • Younger generation leaving to gain wide variety of jobs.
  • Rural isolation due to poor transport and communication links.
  • Low wages.
36
Q

What is the negative multiplier effect?

A
37
Q

What is the Urban Fringe?

A

The transition zone between the city and its suburbs, and the countryside.

38
Q

What are greenfield sites?

A

a site located in a rural area which has not previously been built on.

39
Q

What are brownfield sites?

A

A brownfield site is defined as any land that has previously been built on.

40
Q

What is the commuter belt

A

the area surrounding a city from which a large number of people travel to work each day.

41
Q

What problems does tourism bring to rural areas?

A

Too many visitors cause traffic jams, push up housing prices with lots of second homes, create mostly seasonal or poorly paid jobs, and harm the environment with litter and footpath damage.

42
Q

List ways to handle tourism pressures in places like rural areas?

A

Encouraging less driving, building cheaper homes for locals, improving public transport, and working on environmental projects to fix damage caused by tourists.

43
Q

How do conflicts between new and old residents affect changing rural areas?

A

Disputes between new and old residents over developments might split communities and cause disagreements about how the changes should happen.

44
Q

What are the causes of rural-urban migration in developing countries?

A

Causes of rural-urban migration include:

  • loss of land due to commercial farms taking over the best farmland
  • low productivity of land due to soil erosion and desertification
  • poor access to healthcare and education services
  • increasing frequency of drought
  • lack of clean water
45
Q

What are the impacts of rural-urban migration on rural areas?

A

Impacts of rural-urban migration include:

  • Ageing populations in rural areas.
  • Lack of skills
  • Reduced productivity as the elderly and children are not able to farm as effectively
  • Declining birth rates
  • Rural area developments falling further behind urban areas.
46
Q

Diversification of Farming

What are the main drivers of farm diversification in developed countries?

A
  • Increased mechanization
  • increased fertilizer use
  • increased pesticide use
  • efficient animal breeding
  • These changes have led to a decline in farm sizes and a shift towards larger, more specialized operations. Overall farming profitability has decreased, prompting farmers to diversify their operations for additional income.
47
Q

What are the challenges faced by farmers in developed countries?

A

Farmers in developed countries face a number of challenges, including:\

  • Increased competition from larger, more specialized farms
  • Declining profitability due to factors such as rising input costs and low commodity prices
  • Changing consumer preferences, such as a growing demand for organic food
  • Government regulations and policies that can affect farm profitability
48
Q

What are the different ways in which farmers can diversify their operations?

A

There are many different ways in which farmers can diversify their operations, including:

  • Offering recreational activities
  • Renting out farm buildings for storage or other purposes
  • Providing accommodation in converted barns or outbuildings
49
Q

What are the factors that farmers should consider when choosing a diversification strategy?

A

The choice of diversification strategy depends on a number of factors, including:

  • Farm size and location
  • Market demand for different products or services
  • The farmer’s skills and experience
  • The availability of financial resources
50
Q

What are the benefits and risks of GM crops?

A
  • GM crops can offer a number of benefits, such as increased yields, pest resistance, and improved nutritional value.
  • However, there are also concerns about the potential risks of GM crops, such as their impact on human health, biodiversity, and the environment.
51
Q

What are the different types of specialist crops and livestock that farmers can produce?

A

There are many different types of specialist crops and livestock that farmers can produce, such as:

  • Cut flowers
  • Grapes for wine
  • Tea
  • Buffalo meat
  • Ostrich eggs
52
Q

What are the principles of organic farming?

A

Organic farming is a system of agriculture that emphasizes sustainable practices, such as:

  • Natural grazing for livestock
  • Avoiding the use of artificial pesticides and herbicides
  • Minimizing the use of antibiotics in livestock
53
Q

What are the benefits challenges of organic farming?

A

Organic farming can offer a number of benefits, such as:

  • Producing food that is free from artificial chemicals
  • Promoting soil health and biodiversity
  • Attracting premium prices from consumers |
  • | What are the challenges of organic farming? | Organic farming can also be challenging, as it can:
  • Be less productive than conventional farming
  • Require more labor and management
  • Be more susceptible to pests and diseases
54
Q

Management Of Rural Living

How can sustainable management reduce rural-urban migration?

A

Sustainable management will
* Improve food supplies
* Improve the environment (soil and air quality)
* Increase employment
* Improve water supplies.

55
Q

How does sustainable management improve food supplies,environment,employment,and water supplies?

A

Sustainable management promotes sustainable agriculture,conserves resources,promotes renewable energy,and develops eco-friendly industries.

56
Q

What are the positive and negative impacts of commercial horticulture in rural areas in developing countries?

A
  • increases GDP
  • creates jobs

but leads to

  • land displacement
  • reduced food production
  • increased water demand
  • environmental damage.
57
Q

What are the positive and negative impacts of tourism in rural areas in developing countries?

A
  • creates jobs
  • improves infrastructure

but raises concerns about

  • foreign ownership
  • low wages
  • environmental impacts
58
Q

How can organic fertilizers,terracing,cover crops,and agroforestry improve soil quality?

A
  • Organic fertilizers enhance soil fertility and structure
  • terracing reduces erosion
  • cover crops protect soil and add organic matter
  • agroforestry improves soil fertility and reduces erosion.
59
Q

How can reducing fuel wood use and using renewable energy and solar cookers reduce pollution?

A
  • Reducing fuel wood use minimizes air pollution
  • renewable energy displaces polluting fossil fuels,solar cookers provide a clean alternative.
60
Q

How can building wells,using water butts,and using drip irrigation improve water supplies?

A
  • Building wells provides clean drinking water
  • water butts store rainwater for irrigation
  • drip irrigation maximizes water use efficiency.
61
Q

How can using manure for fertilizer,drip irrigation,and drought-resistant crops increase yields and reduce food shortages?

A
  • Manure provides natural fertilizer
    drip irrigation optimizes water usage
  • drought-resistant crops ensure productivity under water scarcity.
62
Q

How can increased access to vaccinations,ante-natal,and health care improve health?

A
  • Increased access to vaccinations protects individuals and communities
  • ante-natal care promotes maternal and child health
  • healthcare improves overall health.
63
Q

How can encouraging small businesses and eco-tourism improve employment?

A
  • Encouraging small businesses creates jobs
  • eco-tourism involves local communities and promotes conservation.
64
Q

Roles Of Groups in Managing Rural Areas

Who are some of the stakeholders who have an interest and role in managing sustainable rural change?

A
  • National and local government
  • Intergovernmental organizations- Orgs that bring together many nations such as WHO or World Bank or UN
  • Non-Governmental Organizations
65
Q

Which UK government department provides funding schemes to support agriculture, the environment, and rural life?

A

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

66
Q

What is the central role of farmers in rural change?

A

Agricultural production and resource management

67
Q

How do landowners influence rural change?

A

Managing land resources and land use decisions

68
Q

How do local residents contribute to managing rural change?

A

Experiencing the impacts of rural change and providing local knowledge and decision-making input

IGCSE Edexcel Geography (9 decks)

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