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Ecosystems > The Biome Of One Tropical Region > Flashcards

The Biome Of One Tropical Region Flashcards

1
Q

What is the tropical biome that we have studied

A

Tropical savanna grasslands

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2
Q

What are Savannas and give some facts

A
  • areas of tropical grasslands that can occur with or without trees and shrubs
  • cover 1/4 of the worlds land surface
  • found between rainforests and desserts
  • depend on an inter-relationship between plants, animals and the physical environment
  • these areas are under increasing pressure from human activity
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3
Q

Features of a savanna grassland

A
  • associated with continental interiors and develop where temperatures are high
  • precipitation is low
  • seasonal drought is common
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4
Q

Location of savanna grasslands

A
  • occur in a broad band 5-15* north and south of the equator
  • found between tropical rainforests and hot desserts
  • occupy 65% of Africa’s land area
  • other locations include Australia, South America and India
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5
Q

Climate of a savanna grassland

A
  • lies close enough to the equator to experience high temperatures throughout the year
  • climate varies across the Savanna
  • towards the rainforest belt there is more rainforest to support tree growth
  • towards the dessert belt only grasses occur
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6
Q

What is the mean temperature in a savanna grassland

A
  • about 20* throughout the year
  • highest reaching 36*
  • 11-13 hours of daylight
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7
Q

What is the rainfall like in a savanna grassland

A
  • total rainfall can range between 600mm-2000mm
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8
Q

How long is their prolonged drought and what does it do

A
  • Lasting at least 5 months
  • increases potential for seasonal outbreaks of fire
  • creates a cycle of water surplus/deficiency
  • linked to annual wet/dry seasons
  • drier cooler season has high temperatures and evapotranspiration
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9
Q

Formation of the ITCZ rainfall belt

A
  • inter- tropical convergence zone
  • forms as a result of intense solar heating
  • warm air can hold more water vapour than cool
  • when air on the surface is heated it can hold large quantities of water vapour that has been evaporated from the surface
  • as air rises and cools it’s less able to hold water vapour
  • some of that water vapour condenses to form water droplets
  • if the air continues to rise condensation continues to add to the size of the water droplets
  • thick clouds form leading to rain
  • called convection rainfall
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10
Q

ITCZ continued

A
  • the heating is so intense and the convection currents are so strong
  • dominate the climate of the whole tropical region
  • air rises and cools and brings rain
  • cooler air flows pole wards away from the equator
  • at 30* from the equator the cooled air starts to sink back to the surface
  • as the air sinks it warms again due to compression
  • be chase the air has lost its moisture the warming process is more rapid than the cooling
  • areas of hot , high-pressure air formed at about 30* north and south of the equator
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11
Q

Movement of ITCZ

A
  • sun appears overhead at the equator on the 21st of March and September
  • during summer in the northern hemisphere the sun appears to migrate north of the equator
  • northern winter appears to migrate south
  • overhead sun migrates and so does the ITCZ
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12
Q

Example of movement of ITCZ

A
  • Kano
  • ## one season a year when the sun is overhead and the ITCZ dominates the area and brings intense rainfall
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13
Q

What is the soil moisture budget

A
  • the combined pattern of rainfall and temperature
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14
Q

What happens during the wet season in the soil moisture budget

A
  • may to September
  • usually an excess of rainfall
  • over evaporation
  • plenty of water available for plant growth
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15
Q

What happens during the dry season in the soil moisture budget

A
  • excess of evaporation from over precipitation
  • so little water percolates down through the soil
  • some is drawn back to the surface where it then evaporates so little percolates
  • evaporation combined with water being used by plants, steadily reduces the soils store of moisture until it is dry
  • from this point on there is no moisture so plants stop growing and enter a dormant period
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16
Q

The situation in East Africa

A
  • West Africa has two areas of tropical grassland
  • one north and south of the equator
  • the grassland spreads right across the equator and there is no area of rainforest
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17
Q

Savanna grassland soils

A
  • closely linked with climate and tend to reflect the local seasonal rainfall pattern
  • soils in the savanna are commonly leached
  • similar to soils of the rainforest but are not as intensely weathered
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18
Q

What happens to the soils during the wet season

A
  • excess of precipitation
  • over potential evapotranspiration
  • this results in leaching of soluble materials and small particles will be taken down through the soil
  • these soils are deposited deep within the soil
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19
Q

What happens to the soil during the dry season

A
  • evapotranspiration is less than precipitation

- silica and iron compounds are carried up through the soil and precipitated close to the surface

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20
Q

What is another word for horizon in soils

A

Layer

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21
Q

What are the layers in savanna grassland when it comes to soil

A
  • thin dark humus layer
  • hard cemented layer
  • layers then merge
  • re-deposited silica
  • rapid chemical weathering
  • bedrock
22
Q

What is geomorphology and how does it play an important role in affecting soil type

A
  • the way that the land looks
  • landforms and the process that form them
  • important role- areas have different conditions so it can affect the way that the land looks
23
Q

What soil type is at the base of slopes and river valleys

A
  • enriched by clay, minerals

- woods are likely to be found

24
Q

What soil type is found on the top of slopes

A
  • fewer nutrients due to erosion

- grasslands are likely to be found

25
Q

What do the different types of soil create when it comes to vegetation

A
  • thick clay based soils created woodland

- leached sang soils created grasslands such as savanna grasslands

26
Q

Where are grasslands found

A
  • on tectonically stable geological shields which have been weathered and are lacking in nutrients
27
Q

Which vegetation is adapted to drought and what are the adaptions

A
  • xerophytic ( looks like your eye when you die (drown))
  • deep tap roots to reach water table
  • partial/total loss of leaves
  • sunken stoma on the leaves to reduce moisture loss
28
Q

What type of vegetation is adapted to fires and what are the adaptions

A
  • pyrophytic (the p looks like a long tree)
  • thick bark which can resist burning
  • bulk of biomass being below ground level to aid rapid regeneration after a fire
  • growth of tissue in grasses is located at the base shoot
29
Q

What happens during the warm wet summers in a savanna grassland

A
  • there is much photosynthesis and there is a large net primary productivity of 900 g/m2 per year
  • 1,500 g/m2 near the rainforest
  • 200 g/m2 near the savanna scrub
30
Q

What are the typical species in Africa

A
  • acacia tree
  • baobab tree
  • elephant grass
31
Q

Elephant grass- explain the characteristics

A
  • can grow to a height of over 5m
  • the seeds lie dormant until the season rains then grow vigorously in large tuffs
  • dry season- grass turns a pale straw colour (from normal yellow colour)
  • they die back to remain dormant again
  • store food in their roots
  • they are adopted to fire as growth occurs from the base
  • following a prolonged drought the grass can absorb water droplets faster
32
Q

Explain the characteristics of the xerophytic tree

A
  • acacia
  • deep tap roots to reach the water table
  • wide root spread near surface to absorb water
  • able to maximise water uptake through adapted root network
33
Q

What are the characteristics of the pyrophytic tree

A
  • baobab tree
  • stumpy branches
  • touch up to 10m in diameter
  • water stored in spongy wood of trunk
  • short stumpy roots
34
Q

Nutrients cycle between climate soils and vegetation

A
  • nutrients store is less than the rainforest because of the shorter growing season
  • litter store is small because of fire
35
Q

Animals in the savanna grassland- what they are

A
  • largest variety of herbivores with more than 40 types of grazers- giraffes, zebras and elephants
  • these animals often form in large herds to protect the herbivores
  • especially for the the predators: cheetahs, lions and Eagles
  • food chains are very short- often stopping at the secondary consumer level
36
Q

How have herbivores evolved

A
  • highly specialised eating patterns
  • browsers- nibble twigs and leaves- the white rhino
  • grazers- eat grass and herbs- the black rhino
37
Q

What is selective grazing

Give examples of animals and why is it effective

A
  • allows for a categorisation depending on the height at which they eat
  • giraffes feed from the top of the canopy
  • rhinos from the bottom
  • gazelles on the grass alone
  • animals eat different types of day/night and some different types of the year
  • this minimises competition
38
Q

What happens during the dry season with the animals and how Ro animals respond to prolonged drought

A
  • competition for water is intense
  • they respond to prolonged drought in two ways:
  • small animals hibernate
  • birds and most large animals will migrate
  • elephants can do this but their size and strength allows them to tear open the trunks of baobab trees
  • carnivores (lions) are supported and prey on the migration herd
  • fauna creatures (locusts) destroy large areas of grassland
39
Q

Why is human activity an impact on savanna grasslands

A
  • savanna grasslands depend on complex and fragile interrelationships
  • if any are destroyed/modified the whole community is placed at risk
40
Q

Describe overgrazing and what happened in the 20th century

A
  • done by cattle
  • this trampling results in increased soil erosion, decrease in soil fertility and extensive desertification
  • this leads to permanent loss of thousands of hectares of land
  • traditional pastoralism was nomadic, they followed the migration routes
  • 20th century shifted from nomadism to a more settled pattern of farming
  • this resulted in overgrazing
  • savanna soils are not well suited
41
Q

Describe how fire has an impact on savanna grasslands

A
  • some is from natural causes but most are from human activity
  • fire has been used to aid hunting
  • early growth of grass is used to start fires in the dry season to attract game animals - easier to find and hunt
  • can spread quickly and damage soil
42
Q

Why have animals been hunted in savanna grasslands

A
  • valuable body parts
  • elephants for there ivory tusks
  • lions for there fur
  • bison for there meat
43
Q

Why is the introduction of arable farming a threat

A
  • threat to world climate
  • burning of grassland proir to ploughing can release huge quantities of carbon dioxide
  • contributed to global warming
44
Q

Why is deforestation a problem in savanna grasslands

A
  • lush vegetation Is being denuded (striped)
  • the area is home to rare flora and fauna such as rare orchids
  • they are cutting down the tress, wood for fuel and opencast mining
  • also being cleared for agriculture for growing cash crops such as sugar cane and soya beans
45
Q

Why is urbanisation a problem in savanna grassland

A
  • urban sprawl

- results in traditional savanna wildlife becoming isolated into pockets of natural vegetation

46
Q

How does international tourism pose a threat to savanna grasslands

A
  • east Africa
  • people rooming about where the animals live and bred can disturb them in their breaking pattern or where they live
  • this happens even though there are game reserves where they conserve the indigenous wildlife
47
Q

What is biodiversity

A
  • the variation of plants, animals, and other life forms, the genetic material they contain and the ecosystems they form
  • genetic: genetic variation in a species
  • species: variation of species emerging from evolution
  • ecosystem: different communities of plants and animals
48
Q

Value of biodiversity

A
  • been recognised by locals who make use of it on a diary basis for traditional medicine, food, building materials and clothing
  • locals have long relied on the diversity an ecosystem can provide
49
Q

What reduces biodiversity

A
  • combined pressure of rapid population growth, commercial agriculture, urbanisation and industrial growth
  • species are lost from this fragile ecosystem as the completion for space and food becomes greater
50
Q

What is the evidence for the more sustainable model of development

A
  • nature-based tourism
  • the scenic beauty and wildlife attracts lots
  • the incomes used can preserve the health and beauty of the area and help to preserve the wildlife
  • examples: Serengeti

Ecosystems (5 decks)

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