Taiga Forest

Question 1

is taiga forests are interdependent ecosystems

Answer 1

all parts of taiga forests (climate,soil,water,plants,animals,people,) are dependent on one another. if any one of them change anything else is affected

Question 2

interdependent ecosystems examples

Answer 2

plants gain their nutrients from the soil and provide nutrients to the animals that eat them. in turn animals spread seeds though their dung, helping the plants to reproduce

cold climates cause plants to grow slowly and also to decompose very slowly. this means that the soil is relatively low in nutrients further reducing the ability of plants to grow

Question 3

How plants have adapted to cold climates

Answer 3

taiga forest have simpler structure than tropical rainforest , losts of tall trees growing quite close together and not much else

arent many plants on forest floor cuz soil are poor and very little light gets through dense canopy

most trees are conifers which are adapted to cold dry climates

Question 4

what are evergreens

Answer 4

dont drop leaves in particular seasons so they make best use of available sunlight

have needles instead of leaves, reduce water loss from strong, cold winds because it reduces surface area

cone shaped trees. means heavy winter snowfall can slide straight off the branch without breaking them. branches also quite bendy

Question 5

How animals have adapted to cold climates

Answer 5

many animals are well insulated against winter cold

some animals have white coat in winter so they are camouflaged against winter snow also helps to sneak up to animals or hide

Question 6

Slow nutrient cycle

Answer 6

most nutrinets are stored in dead organic material (litter) e.g layer of fallen needles on forest floor

despite constant leaf fall, low temperatures mean that it takes a long time for litter to decomposed and added to soil

cold climate also mean plants grow slowly - the rate of transfer of nutrinets from soil is low

Question 7

Taiga forest low bio diversity why

Answer 7

have a much lower biodiversity than tropical rainforest :

land was much colder and covered by ice until around 15000 years ago. species have had relativley little time to adapt to current climate

taiga forest are much less productive than tropical forests and nutrients take long time to be returned to soil cuz soil if so cold. growing seanson is also very short. just a few months in the summer means not much food available

Question 8

Taiga forest threats

Answer 8

logging of softwood
trees are cut down so that they canbe made into housing, furniture and matches

Exploitation of fossil fuels
trees are cleared to extract gas and oil from the ground e.g TAR SANDS

Tar sand is earth containing a thick black oil which cna be processed into fossil fuels (e.g petrol). Tar sands are found underneath taiga forest

Extration of tar sands often involves open pit mining or strip mining. this causes large-scale deforestation

Question 9

Causing loss in biodiversity in Taiga forest

Answer 9

acid precipitation

Pests and diseases

forest fires

Question 10

Acid precipitation

Answer 10

burning fossil fuels releases gases such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. these dissolve in water in the atmsophere to form acid. when is rains or snow the acids are deposited on plants and soils

can damage leaves making it harder to cope with cold climates

soils can be too acidic to support growth

can kill organisms in lakes or streams

Question 11

pests & diseases

Answer 11

cause damage to organisms

As there are often single tree species in particular area of taiga forest its easy for pest and disease to spread and multiply

e.g Spruce Bark Beetles attack spruces trees

Question 12

Forest fires

Answer 12

climate change is leading to warmer, drier conditions in taiga forest. this is increasing the frequency of fires and making the fire season longer

forest fires can destroy huge numbers of trees and may change distribution of species as some species are better st recolonising burnt areas

Question 13

Taiga forest conservation methods

Answer 13

Creating a wilderness area

creating a national park

sustainable forestry

Question 14

Creating a wilderness area

Answer 14

an area that is undistured by activity that is managed with aim of protecting the landscape

Question 15

Creating a wilderness area strength

Answer 15

has the highest level of protection- most human activity is banned the area is kept pristine (untouched by humans) as possible

usually covers a very large area so large scale procees like animal migration can still take place

Question 16

Creating a wilderness area challenge

Answer 16

large remote areas can be hard to police

economical pressure on gov from logging and energy companies who want to use the resources

Question 17

creating a national park

Answer 17

area that is mostly in its natural state that is managed to protect biodiversity and promote recreation

Question 18

creating a national park strength

Answer 18

unsustainable human activity such as logging and mining is not permitted

there is good access for tourists and recreational users

Question 19

creating a national park challenges

Answer 19

tourists may be required to pay for the conservation, but access roads, infrasture and pollution from tourists can harm ecosystem

national parks must take into acount the needs of indigenous people who may use land for hunting etc

Question 20

sustainable forestry

Answer 20

ways of harvesting the timber from the forest without damaging it in the long-term

Question 21

sustainable forestry strengths

Answer 21

selective logging meanings some trees remain to become part of the new forest

companies may be required to regenerte the area after logging

Question 22

sustainable forestry challenge

Answer 22

some countries struggle to enforce the restrictions e.g Russia lots of illegal logging

Question 23

Conflicting views of managing taiga forests

Answer 23

protection
forest store lots of carbon, deforesting will release some of this as CO2 which causes global warming

some species are only found in taiga forest

Question 24

Exploitation

Answer 24

demand for resource is increasing

exploitation generates a lot of wealth for some countries involved (e.g forestry industry in sweden is worth nearly $15 billion each year)