Sustaining Ecosystems Flashcards
Ecosystem
A community of plants and animals that interact with one another and the non-living environment around them
Flora
(Plants)
What does it do?
This provides food and homes for fauna and humans
Fauna
(Animals)
They help scatter seeds from flora around the ecosystem or biome
Autotrophs
Organisms that can convert solar energy into food energy by photosynthesis
Heterotrophs
Organisms that consume other organisms as a food source as they cannot make their own food energy
Food chain
Shows the direct links between producers and consumers in the form of a chain
Food web
Shows all the connections between producers and consumers in a rather more complex way
Photosynthesis
Carbon dioxide + water =
Glucose + oxygen
Trophic cascade
The transfer of energy through an ecosystem because of food chains
(At each level some energy is lost)
Biome
A large ecosystem.
An area on the Earth that has similar climate, plants and animals
What are the 8 major biomes?
- Tundra
- Taiga
- Desert
- Tropical rainforest
- Polar
- Temperate forest
- Mediterranean
- Temperate grassland
- Savannah
Conventional rainfall
(3 steps)
- Sun heats the land and air and hot air rises
- Air cools and condenses to form clouds
- Rain can then occur
Goods
Things we can physically use
Services
Things that we are provided with. We do not take these things
Large scale Case Study
The Arctic
Small scale Case Study
Malaysia
Emergent Layer
Definition
Rainforest
The tallest trees in the forest. they can reach up to 50m high
Canopy
Definition
Rainforest
The next layer below the emergent. It is a continuous blanket of leaves and roughly 30m high.
* Recieves 70% of sunlight
* Recieves 80% of rain
Under Canopy
Definition
Rainforest
The next layer under the canopy. Consists of trees up to 20m high
Shrub layer
Definition
Rainforest
The lowest layer where only small trees and shrubs live. They have adapted to living in the shade as less than 5% of the sunlight reaches the floor.
Tree adaptations
Rainforest
- Buttress roots - Help support tallest trees
- Drip-tips - Shed excess water from leaves
Goods that are provided by tropical rainforests
Examples (9)
- Fruit/ vegetables
- Nuts
- Oils
- Flavourings
- Fibres
- Wood
- Rubber
- Medicine
- Gums/ resins
Services provided by the rainforest
Examples (4)
- Photosynthesis/ providing oxygen
- Reduce flood risk for locals
- Habitat for endangered flora and fauna (e.g. orang-utan)
- Source of income for indigenous people via tourism and agriculture
Ways the rainforest is being destroyed
Examples (4)
- Tourism
- Dam construction
- Logging
- Mineral mining
Arctic Council
Who’s in it? (8)
Arctic
- Russia
- USA
- Canada
- Greenland
- Norway
- Iceland
- Finland
- Sweden
Arctic
Polar bears or penguins?
Arctic
Polar Bears
Antarctica
Polar bears or Penguins?
Arctic
Penguins
How do people use the Arctic?
Arctic
- Fishing- Around 70% of world’s white fish here
- Scientific research - Astronomers, finding meteorites, gases trapped in the ice
- Mineral exploitation- 30% of untapped gas and 13% of untapped oil here
- Shipping routes - Quicker to transport goods
Ninginganiq National Wildlife Area
(NNWA)
What is it?
Arctic
- Established in 2010 to protect marine habitat of the Bowhead whale
- Has largest conc of Bowhead whales in Canada
- Largest NWA in Canada
- On the east coast of Baffin Island
Threats to the NNWA
Arctic
- Increased ship traffic
- Climate change
- Wildlife harvest
Challenges to the Arctic
Arctic
- Climate change - Ice is losy by rate of 13% yearly
- Russio-Ukraine war
- Economic development - Resources are being sought after and this can cause certain species to be pushed away from natural habitat
Ice Age
Definition
When the Earth has permanent ice sheets
Glacial Periods
Definition
The colder periods that usually last about 100,000 years
Interglacial periods
Definition
The warmer periods that normally last about 10,000 years
Greenhouse gases
3
Facts
- Most occur naturally
- Water vapour has largest effect as it is most prominent
- Diff gases have diff global warming potential
Global warming potential
Definition
The potential that each gas has to trap and absorb different amounts of radiation
Evidence for past climates
4
Examples
- Geological fossil evidence
- Ice cores
- Ocean sediments
- Historical records
Eccentricity
Definition
Milankovitch Cycles
- The stretch of the Earth’s orbits
- On a cycle of 100,000 yrs
Precession
Definition
Milankovitch Cycles
- How the Earth’s axis of rotation changes
- On a cycles of 26,000 yrs
Obliquity
Definition
Milankovitch Cycles
- The tilt of the Earth
- On a cycles of 41,000 yrs
Sunspots
Definition
Storms on the Sun’s surface, so our output from the Sun isn’t constant
