Selected habitat: tropical rainforest Flashcards
What percentage of earths land is covered by tropical rainforest?
10%
What is the climate like in tropical rainforest
Relatively stable over a long time periods
What has a stable climate Allowed for in tropical rainforest
Species have adapted for the local abiotic and biotic factors
What is the problem with being adapted to relatively stable conditions
Make species vulnerable to extinction as a small change in the environmental conditions may move them outside of their range of tolerance
What are photosynthesis rates in tropical rainforests?
High due to high light levels
Why is it good to have a high photosynthesis rate?
Providing a lot of food energy to support a rich food web
Are there seasonal changes in tropical rainforest
No there are constant warm temperatures and regular high rainfall
What Is the benefit for species due to the lack of seasonal change
Reliable food supplies are available to animals for all the year and there’s no need to hibernate or migrate
What migratory species are present in the tropical rainforest
Migratory species often of come from other areas that have fluctuating seasons
Is there any need for species to evolve in tropical rainforests
No because the abiotic conditions have been stable for a long time and do not fluctuate seasonally and the biotic factors have been adapted to
What is the main survival pressure in tropical rainforests
Biotic factors: getting food, avoiding being eaten, and evolving better inter-species relationships
What competition is there between plants?
Competition for light
How have plants evolved to to get to light quickly?
Have a tall trunk (but this requires a lot of energy)
How do smaller plants need to adapt?
Evolve methods of utilising lower light levels
What sort adaptions to plants have for low light levels?
Denser chlorophyll or additional pigments to absorb wavelengths of light that pass through taller plants
What are epiphytes?
plant that grows on another plant
What are the characteristics of epiphytes?
have no attachment to the ground or other obvious nutrient source and are not parasitic on the supporting plants
What is an example of an epiphyte?
Tiger orchid
Spanish moss
What are the layers of the rainforest from top to bottom?
Emergent layer
Main canopy
Understory
Shrub layer
Ground layer
Why might epiphytes struggle?
Less reliable water and nutrient supplies
Why do the stable conditions reduce competition for animal services (plants)?
Plants don’t have to flower or produce seeds or fruit at the same time so less competition for seed dispersal
How is animal survival increased by the stability of conditions and lack of seasonal change?
Food in the form of nectar,seeds or fruit is available to animals throughout the year
What is the common tree type in tropical rainforests?
Deciduous so they lose their leaves
Do all trees in the tropical rainforest shed their leaves at the same time?
No they do it at different ties in the year
Why is it important that trees don’t all lose their leaves at the same time?
As an animals that feed on vegetation with have a reduced or no food supply at all.
Does high biodiversity on its own make an area important
No
What does higher biodiversity Increase the chances of
Finding species that are useful to humans
What type of species are useful to humans
New food species, medical discoveries, biomimetic applications
What adaptations of plants have to protect themselves
Most commonly done by producing toxic chemicals such as alkaloids
How can humans benefit from the toxic chemicals produced by plants and animals
Alkaloids which are produced by plants may have medical value for humans
Animals also produce medically viable chemicals to avoid predation
In what ways do animals produce medically valuable substances
 Those that want to avoid predation especially those that can’t protect themselves with teeth and claws
Those that use venom to catch prey
What are the uses of timber?
House construction, furniture, tools
What are the uses of fibres?
Cotton
Hemp – rope
Raffia-rope, baskets
Wood cellulose- rayon 
What are the uses of rubber?
Latex gloves and vehicle tyres 
What are the uses of waxes?
Carnuba wax- Floor in the car polish, confectionery coating
What are the uses of oils?
Palm oil – processed foods, cooking oil, biofuels
What are the uses of food? (food from tropical forests)
Chocolate from Cacao
Pineapples, lemons, Brazil nuts, vanilla, coffee, bananas, oranges
Spices (Pepper)
Bush meat
New food species
Genetic resources for crossbreeding
What medicines come from the rainforest?
Cinchona trees produce quinine to prevent malaria
Mexican war yams produce disogenin Used to treat arthritis an asthma
How do tropical rainforests increase downwind rainfall?
Overhaul the rainfall in the Amazon rainforest resultant transpiration elsewhere in the forest rather than coming directly from evaporation of seawater
What makes dead vegetation decay rapidly
The warm moist conditions
What is the thinkness of soil in tropical rainforests
Soil in tropical rainforest often very shallow
How is soil erosion prevented in the rainforest
Vegetation cover in trees are important in preventing present soil from being eroded
How does Foilage and roots protect the soil
Foilage protects the soil from heavy rain and the roots hold the soil together
What is the most important domestic fuel in rural areas of LEDCs
Wood
Why is fuelwood collection unsustainable
The rate of word collection as usually faster than the rate of replanting and natural regrowth
What are the two ways harvested timber is used?
Use in origin country for construction furniture
Export to MEDCs For use in products such as furniture, doors, windows, decking and plywood
What is subsistence agriculture?
practice of growing crops and raising livestock sufficient only for one’s own use, without any surplus for trade.
What techniques are used for subsistence agriculture in the rainforest?
Slash and burn or shifting field
What would happen to an area once its nutrients have been depleted by farming?
They were abandoned as soil nutrients were depleted and forest regrowth reclaim the clearing
What makes the subsistence agriculture technique Sustainable?
As long as there is enough time for the forest to recolonise the cleared area and for the soil for fertility to recover before it is clear again
What can make subsistence agriculture in the rainforest unsustainable?
If the human population is too high and the time gap between an area abandoned and cleared again will be too short
What happens over time if subsistence agriculture isn’t sustainable
The family could not farm the area for as long as previously if this continues then the forest will be degraded and soil fertility will decline
What causes a high demand for farmland
Human population growth
Where is most of this demanded farmland going to be
Habitats such as rain forests 
Why is rainforest clearance for cash crops and cattle often unsustainable
The poor tropical soils may become infertile fail to provide high yields indefinitely
How does commercial agriculture make it hard For Forest recolonisation
If there are no surviving forest nearby from which species could recolonise
What are some examples of cash crops?
Palm oil, soya bean and coffee
 What is valuable deposits of metal minerals are present under tropical rainforests
Aluminium, iron, gold, silver and copper
What is the problem with mineral extraction in the rainforest
Extraction results in a habitat loss I can cause water pollution when the mineral is processed
What can cause water pollution from mineral extraction
Discharge of turbid drainage water, Cyanide and mercury
What is the problem with hydroelectric power schemes?
Can flood large areas of forest and create a barrier to mobile species such as migratory fish and river dolphins
What is the problem with a static water held in reservoirs
Decomposition of the dead organic matter can produce acidic deoxygenated water that may be harmful to aquatic life downstream
How can using a Dam to generate electricity be damaging?
Fluctuating river levels downstream can affect wildlife
 What will the temperature change affect in the rainforest
Wind and precipitation patterns
What is the problem if a drought occurs in the rainforest
Increase number of forest fires in the area of a fire covers
What is the difference between a short and long fire in a rainforest
Short fire may just burn off vegetation and leaf litter
Long fire may boil tree sap and kill the trees
Why is the population of many frogs and toads in cloud rainforest declining?
Rising temperatures are reducing condensation in clouds forming higher up the mountains  reducing the area of habitat that is sufficiently humid for them to survive
What will happen to epiphytic plants and air plants if humidity decreases?
Their populations decline if the air is less humid 
What do super computers predict will happen to the rainforest?
It will be replaced by savannah grassland
how does tourism damage the rainforest?
Development- expansion of tourism facilities threaten habitats and wildlife
How can tourism be sustainable?
Ecotourism is an important way of generating income without having to destroy the forest
Where is the Rio Bravo conservation and management area?
Belize, Central America
How large is the Rio Bravo area?
Covers 100,000 hectares
When was the Rio bravo area established?
1988
How is money raised in the Rio bravo conservation area?
Eco tourism projects
Sustainable exploitation of high value timber from trees
What is debt for nature swap?
When a country isn’t able to pay a debt back to another the lender may cancel the debt for partial repayment or that some rainforest is protected
What are the key features of the Korup national park Cameroon?
1260km*2 forest protected
600 tree species
160 mammal species
1000 butterfly species
New malaria drug from endemic species
What are some examples of conservation areas in Brazil?
Alto Maues reserve
Tucumucumaque national park- largest global reserve
What are some features of the Alto Maues reserve?
6680km*2 protected
600 species of bird
