Sustaining Ecosystems Flashcards
What is an ecosystem?
The interdependence and interactions of plants, animals, soil, water, and climate
What examples of biotic and abiotic factors are there?
[3 each]
- Biotic: Plants, insects, birds
- Abiotic: Water, soil, gases
What is interdependence?
The idea that if one part of the ecosystem changes, it affects many other parts
Where are Polar regions found?
Around the North and South Poles
Where are Coral Reefs found?
Mostly between 30N and 30S of equator, a few miles off the coast
Where are Grasslands found?
At mid-latitudes(30N and 30S)
Where are temperate forests found?
Mainly mid-latitudes and 60N, between tropics and polar regions
Where are Tropical Rainforests found?
Around the equator, between the tropics(and ITCZ)
Where are hot deserts found?
Between 15 and 35N and S of the equator
What is a biome and what are the 3 causes of them?
- A biome is a large scale ecosystem
- Global circulation(cells)
- Latitude(solar insolation)
- Cloud cover, prevailing winds
Temperature, Precipitation, Seasons
What is the climate, flora, and fauna like in Polar regions? [4]
- Cold, less than 10C, with low rainfall
- Clearly defined seasons; cold summers and colder winters
- VERY FEW PLANTS; mosses, lichens, short, slow-growing grasses and even trees in warmer areas
- Polar bears, penguins, whales, seals
Temperature, Precipitation, Seasons
What is the climate, flora, and fauna like in Coral Reefs? [3]
- Warm, lots of sunlight, and shallow, salty water(16-30C)
- Coral and Algae present and dependent on each other for food
- 80% of all marine species like fish, shrimps, turtles
Temperature, Precipitation, Seasons
What is the climate, flora, and fauna like in Grasslands? [6]
- Temperate have up to 40C summers and down to -40C winters, and low precipitation, mostly in Spring.
- Grass and scattered trees; plants have adapted with wide-spreading roots to reach nutrients
- Bison, wild horses, and mole rats
- Tropical have up to 35C and down to 15C before and after wet season, and low precipitation
- Same plants as temperate(i.e. Acacia)
- Termites, lions, zebras, giraffes
Temperature, Precipitation, Seasons
What is the climate, flora, and fauna like in Temperate forests?[5]
- Warm summers and cold winters, and high rainfall
- Four distinct seasons
- Moist rich soil means excellent conditions for plants, so ferns, brambles, bluebells
- Broad-leaved deciduous trees
- Fish and mosquitoes, birds, insects
Temperature, Precipitation, Seasons
What is the climate, flora, and fauna like in Tropical Rainforests? [4]
- No seasons; same all year round
- Sun overhead all year round so hot, rain everyday so high precipitation
- Dense vegetation cover, so little light reaches the bottom, emergent trees with big roots for stability and growth
- Gorillas, anacondas, frogs, sloths
Temperature, Precipitation, Seasons
What is the climate, flora, and fauna like in Hot deserts? [3]
- Extreme temperatures with very low rainfall although very variable, can get very hot, and sub-zero in the night
- Lack of rain means sparse growth; cacti, thornbushes, far stretching roots to reach water
- Snakes, lizards, scorpions
What are the distinctive characteristics of a tropical rainforest? [4]
- Climate
- Nutrient Cycle
- Soil fertility
- Water Cycle
What is the nutrient cycle in a tropical rainforest like? [3]
- Trees are evergreen, so dead leaves and other materials fall
- Warm, moist conditions mean it decomposes quickly due to bacteria,releasing nutrients into the soil and dissolves into rainwater
- Dense vegetation means a large amount of nutrients are stored in biomass
- They drop their leaves and animals catch the plants, so the cycle repeats
What is the soil fertility like in a tropical rainforest? [2]
- Hot, wet climate means rapid chemical weathering, so a deep soil layer forms
- Thick leaf layer from decomposing leaves breaks down to form humus
- Due to fast growing plants rapidly absorbing nutrients they are leached, washed through soil, making it’s quality poor.
What is the water cycle like in tropical rainforests? [2]
- Most rain is intercepted by the canopy, so it returns to the atmosphere by transpiration
- Rain that reaches the soil is absorbed by trees, so if trees are cut down, it causes soil erosion and floods into rivers
What is interdependence in tropical rainforests like? [2]
- Leaf cover prevents soil erosion from the warm, wet climate
- Lack of wind on forest floor means plants rely on bees and insects for pollination
- Epiphthytes grow high up on other plants to get access to light, but are dependent on rainfall for water
Why are tropical rainforests so valuable to humans? [4]
- They store 15% of our CO2 emissions
- 60 million people live in areas with tropical rainforests
- 2/3rds of Brazil’s power is hydroelectric from rainforests and rivers within them
- They contain over 50% of all animal and plant species
- 25% of modern medicines come from rainforest ingredients
What impacts do humans have on rainforests? [3]
- Logging; contributes to climate change AND leads to soil erosion as there is no vegetation cover, and interrupts the water cycle. It is also becoming industrial, adding to climate change
- Agriculture accounts for 34% of deforestation and uses slash-and-burn, which releases CO2, reduces soil fertility like in logging, and threatens wildlife with fertilisers
- Mining requires heavy machinery and removal of trees, and uses toxic chemicals which wash into rivers and kill wildlife and pollute water sources
- Tourists may scare wildlife and damage vegetation with litter. May also require infrastructure, leading to clearing of trees.
What is the background to Costa Rica’s environment?[2]
- Began to experience rapid deforestation in the 1960s, with 32,000ha/yr cut down
- Now there are 28 national parks and 24% of national land area is protected
What is eco-tourism and why is it good? Give an example. [3]
- A type of sustainable development that creates local employment while conserving the natural landscape
- It benefits the locals, is small scale, and consults local communities about projects
- Eco-lodges; Costa Rica has the Selva Bananito lodge on a 850ha farm providing accomodation and family activities, and the Lapa Rios lodge for more luxury. The former is built from wood discarded by loggers.
What are the successes of Eco-tourism in Costa Rica? [4]
- Biodegradable soaps are used for washing
- Plastic and glass is recycled
- Hiking trips led by locals increases employment
- Wildlife walks are low-impact and encourage protection of local flora and fauna
- Drinking and cooking water is purified using enzymes and water lilies
- Stein family has set up a charitable trust to create activities like birdwatching and educate people
- Money from eco-tourism has gone into education and health facilities and has made Costa Rica one of the richest Latin American countries
What are the challenges of Eco-tourism in Costa Rica? [4]
- Owned by US Expats; brought criticism over how beneficial it is for poorly paid locals
- Litter and hotel waste is a problem
- “Greenwashing” as companies pretend to be eco-friendly by using biodegradable soaps
- Working population exploited
- Vehicles carrying tourists create noise pollution
- People feeding animals means bad habits; monkeys finding food in bins rather than natural forest, leading to ecosystem decline
What are the differences between Antarctica and the Arctic? [3]
1 exception in here
- Arctic has hotter summers and winters
- Arctic has more rainfall than Antarctica
- Most of the Arctic is oceans, pack ice and icebergs and is somewhat mountainous, while 99% of the Antarctic is covered in ice sheets(it is very flat) and the sea freezes in winter, nearly doubling it’s size
- Similar wildlife
What is interdependence like in the Arctic? [2]
- If temperature increases, ice melts which polar bears rely on for hunting and breeding
- Cold climate causes plants to grow slowly and decompose quickly, so the soil is low in nutrients, making it harder for growth
- Ocean currents open up gaps in ice, providing light to water, stimulating growth of algae and production of food from plants
What are the human impacts on the Arctic? [4]
- Indigenous people: many now live in towns and cities, with a population of 4million in the Arctic, leading to waste disposal
- Whaling: brings many species of whale near extinction and since they are slow breeders, it takes a long time to recover
- Mineral extraction: Arctic has large gas and oil reserves, which is risky as drilling can cause spills and harm habitats, and produce pollution
- Scientific research: Beneficial as it helps global environmental management, but some dump rubbish in the sea and abandon broken equipment, damaging habitats. Research stations also produce chemical and sewage pollution
- Fishing: commercial fishing leads to overfishing, which can affect the entire food chain or catch other species in the line
- Tourism: Increases shipping and air travel, amplifying pollution. Litter and waste disposal damages habitats, and they can disturb breeding colonies or destroy fragile vegetation and erode the landscape.
What is the problem with tourism in Antarctic?
Tourism has many problems; 36,000 visitors in 2014-15, causing large amounts of pollution
What is being done to make tourism more sustainable in Antarctica? [6]
Think IAATO and then Union Glacier
IAATO regulations such as:
- Supposed to stay 5m away from wildlife
- No permanent buildings or infrastructure allowed
- Limiting the number of cruise ships and number of people coming must be filed in advance
Also, the Union Glacier Camp is helping by:
- Naturally occuring blue ice runway to prevent permanent infrastructure
- All rubbish is removed and flown back to SA
- Empty fuel drums are recovered and removed from SA
- No permanent structures; camp is removed and rebuilt each summer
Not really successes are they?
How successful has the Union Glacier Camp been so far?[3]
- Flight is chartered especially and takes 4.25 hours which creates pollution, so there are questions on how it can ever be sustainable
- Measures have limited but not removed the impacts of tourists; people still go near animals
- The management is very small-scale and arguably many of the impacts have come from larger cruise ships
What challenges does the Union Glacier Camp face? [2]
- Tourism in Antarctica is likely to increase, with 100,000 people in 2022
- People go there for wilderness so inevitably break the rules
What is the Antarctic Treaty? [3]
- Signed by 12 countries in 1959
- Establishes the continents as a scientific preserve only to be used for peaceful, scientific purposes
- Prevents military or nuclear activity there and free sharing of scientific discoveries
- Signed by 80% of the world’s population in countries
What are the key elements of the Antarctic Treaty? [3]
- Antarctica should only be used for peaceful purposes so military and nuclear activity is prohibited
- Guarantees continued freedom to conduct scientific research
- Prohibits disposal of radioactive waste there
- Madrid Treaty bans any resource extraction and designates Antarctica as a preserve for the natural environment
How successful has the Antarctic Treaty been? [3]
- Antarctica has never been the scene of any territorial conflict
- Countries continue to want to join
- The continent has been revolutionary in scientific research, like the ozone hole
- The impact of scientists and tourists on fragile ecosystems has proven to be minimal
What challenges does the Antartic Treaty face in the future? [3]
- The Treaty only covers land territory
- Any parties can review the protocol if agreed by the majority
- Billions of dollars of minerals under the ice put pressure on upholding the terms of the Treaty
