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The living world Flashcards

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1
Q

How is the rainforest becoming sustainable?

A

Selective logging and replanting - prevents total destruction of hectares but takes years to replant

Conservation and education - educating people on the impact of the rainforest and conserving it

Ecotourism - environment friendly, and costs go to preserving the rainforest but very small scale and expensive

International agreement about the use of tropical hardwoods

Debt reduction of countries in return for preserving the rainforest, although conflict could be made if the deal isn’t respected

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2
Q

What are the layers of a rainforest?

A

Forest floor - with grass and shrubs

Understory- mainly trunks, too low for any foliage

Canopy- where regular trees have foliage and Epiphytes (parasitic plants) live

Emergent- where massive trees have foliage, the top of the rainforest

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3
Q

What are Epiphytes?

A

Parasitic plants that grow high in trees, normally in the canopy

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4
Q

What are drip tip leaves?

A

They are leaves with a drip/funnel shape shape so that water can spill off. This is because there is so much rainfall in the rainforest that it would damage he leaf if there was an excess of it.

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5
Q

What are Liana?

A

Vines or woody plants that take root in soil and grow upwards around trees to get the sunlight

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6
Q

How much money do they make from fishing a year in Alaska?

A

$11 billion a year from fishing- $1,000 a day

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7
Q

Why is Geothermal power used in Alaska?

A

The state is tectonically active on the east side of the ring of fire

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8
Q

How much money does gravel mining make in Alaska?

A

$2.1 billion

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9
Q

Who is the main buyer of fish from Alaska?

A

Half of fishing goes to Japan

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10
Q

Is Salmon fishing sustainable in Alaska?

A

Yes, as they catch the salmon in the summer and the salmon re-populate

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11
Q

How many people visited Alaska in 2013?

A

In 2013, 1.96 million people visited Alaska

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12
Q

How much do tourists spend annually in Alaska?

A

More than $1.8 billion annually

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13
Q

How much money does the oil industry make in Alaska?

A

$14 billion a year

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14
Q

How many people does the oil company employ in Alaska?

A

110,000 people

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15
Q

Why is gold so valuable in Alaska?

A

It’s tripled in price and the ocean beds of Alaska are filled with gold

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16
Q

Where is Alaska?

A

North west of the USA
West of Canada
South of Arctic Ocean
East of Russia

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17
Q

Why is mining bad in Alaska?

A

Can be damaging to the environment, as toxic materials don’t decay so they cause scars on the landscape

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18
Q

Why is renewable energy hard to use in Alaska?

A

Is expensive (the Bradley Lake hydro project costed more than $300 million)

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19
Q

Why are pipes on stilts posing a problem in Alaska?

A

Oil leaks and they’re damaged in earthquakes. They can also be liable to ice and build of wax

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20
Q

What’s challenging about transferring oil in Alaska?

A

The terrain in Alaska is slippery and hard to traverse, so oil spills happen frequently

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21
Q

Why is oil drilling bad in Alaska?

A

It can distrust indigenous tribes or wildlife

It can stain the terrain, creating scars

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22
Q

What adaptations would a plant have in the Tundra?

A

Darker leaves help absorb energy from the sun

Dense flowers reduces heat loss

Seeds scatter in the wind

Narrow leaves prevent water loss

Has a short life cycle

Low lying- the snow covers it in winter, insulating it

23
Q

What are some properties of Polar regions? (Climate, animals, vegetation)

A

Climate:
highs of -2.9 Celsius
Lows of -25.1 Celsius
Highest rain: 25mm

No soil
Penguins
No vegetation except for moss and lichen

24
Q

What are some properties of Tundra? (Climate, animals, vegetation)

A

Located about 66 degrees North of equator (Russia, Canada, Alaska)

Highs of 14.6 Celsius
Lows of -29.2 Celsius
High rain: 45mm

(Extreme range in temperature)

Permafrost on the ground - in summer it thaws
Soil is low in nutrients - too cold for decomposition

Animals: wolves, reindeer, moose, Arctic Fox

Trees can’t penetrate the permafrost so don’t grow but short bushes (3 inches) with dense mat of roots can survive

25
Q

What adaptations might an animal have in the tundra?

A

Two layers of fur
Wide feet to tread on snow
Small ears to reduce heat loss
Migrate to escape the cold wind

26
Q

What does a ‘fragile environment’ mean?

A

An environment that is both easily disturbed and difficult to restore if disturbed. Plant communities in fragile areas have evolved in highly specialised ways to deal with challenging conditions l. As a result they can’t tolerate environmental changes. E.g Alaska

27
Q

What is ‘permafrost’?

A

Permanently frozen ground found in polar and tundra regions

28
Q

What is a ‘wilderness area’?

A

A natural environment that has not been significantly modified by human activity. E.g Antarctica

29
Q

What is an ‘ecosystem’?

A

All the biotic (living) parts (plants and animals) and the abiotic (non-living) parts (soil and climate) of an area

30
Q

What are the 4 main food chain classes?

A

Producers - plants
Primary consumer - eats producers
Tertiary consumer - eats consumers
Decomposer - eats dead things (bacteria, vultures, fungi)

31
Q

What stages are in the nutrient cycle?

A
  1. When dead material decomposes, nutrients are released into the soil
  2. Nutrients eaten by plants
  3. Plants eaten by consumers
  4. When plants or consumers die, nutrients return to soil
32
Q

Difference between food chain and food web?

A

Chain is one way

Web is overlapping

33
Q

What is an ‘interdependent ecosystem’?

A

If something changes, It will affect everything else, as food chains are dependent

34
Q

Give examples of producers, primary consumers, tertiary consumers and decomposers

A 
Common reed
Moth larva
Eel
Herring
Bacteria
35
Q

What characteristics does a tundra have?

A 
Found at high latitudes
Little rainfall
Permafrost
Little vegetation, shrubs, mosses
-50 to 15
Less than 380mm of rainfall a year
Thin, acidic, poor soil
Home to indigenous people - oil and gas workers
36
Q

What characteristics do tropical rainforests have?

A 
Found near the equator
Hot and wet all year (20-28 degrees)
Lush vegetation
Dense canopies
2000mm of rain a year - rains daily

Soil isn’t fertile as heavy rain washes nutrients out

37
Q

What characteristics do polar climates have?

A 
Found around the poles
Very cold and dry - ice
No vegetation - maybe lichen
Dark for several months
-5 to -40 degrees
Less than 100mm a year rainfall
Mostly uninhabited- researchers
38
Q

Facts about rainforest’s biodiversity?

A

Contain around 50% of the world’s life

Rainforests are stable productive because they’re always hot and wet. Life doesn’t have to adapt because of this

Deforestation will lead to the loss of biodiversity. The number of threatened species in Brazil increased from 628 to 1182 in 6 years

39
Q

How is the rainforest an interdependent ecosystem?

A

The warm and wet climate helps fungi and bacteria on the floor to decompose rapidly, making he soil high in nutrients. Plants grow.

Plants pass on this nutrients when eaten, dense vegetation offering lots of food.

When the animals die they go back to the earth

40
Q

How does deforestation affect the ecosystem?

A

Carbon captures are gone

Trees intercept water then release it back, adding humidity and increasing rainfall. Without them there would be droughts

The soil would have less protection from rainfall and the nutrients would wash away

41
Q

How have plants in the rainforest adapted to their climate?

A

Grow tall to get sunlight
Thick waxy leaves with drip tips so the weight of water doesn’t damage the plant

Climbing plants like Liana use tree trunks to reach light

Smooth trunks as they don’t need to protect against cold weather, the water also runs easily off it

Large stable buttress roots to support tall trees

Plants drop their leaves gradually throughout the year so they can constantly grow

42
Q

How have animals adapted to life in the rainforest?

A

Monkeys have strong limbs to hide in the canopy

Birds have short pointed wings to manoeuvre between trees

Suction cups help animals climb

Nocturnal to save energy by eating in the cool of night - sloths

Camouflaged to hide predators - gecko

43
Q

How many hectares are lost per year of the rainforest?

A

1.4 million hectares

44
Q

What are causes of deforestation?

A

Forest is cleared for farms (soy and cattle) - 200 million cattle farming

Clear space for homes and use the wood from the trees

Wood is shipped for business

Mineral extraction

45
Q

Environmental impacts of deforestation?

A

Trees are carbon captures, cutting them down increases climate change

Over 75% of Brazil’s carbon emissions come from deforestation

With less canopy, the water hits the floor more, washing away the nutrients
So farmers move to better places, causing more deforestation

46
Q

Economic impacts of deforestation?

A

Farming brought wealth to many Amazonian countries (Brazil exported $600 million in beef)

The mining industry creates jobs

Logging is Brazil’s main economy but also destroys the environment

Local Brazilian rubber tappers have lost their jobs as trees have been cut down

47
Q

How has Brazil decreased deforestation by 80%?

A

As part of the Paris agreement it pledged to reduce it by 37% by 2025

Increased global awareness has led to reduced demand for products from deforested areas

44% of the Amazon is protected by charities

Brazilian government uses satellites to prevent large scale illegal logging

48
Q

Why are rainforests valuable to people and the environment?

A

Many products (rubber,coffee,chocolate, medicines) are sourced from the rainforest

Ecotourism

Carbon captures, preventing climate change

Rainforests regulate the climate - without them, drought and flooding may happen in certain areas

49
Q

How are cold environments interdependent?

A

Coldness makes plants grow slowly and decompose slowly
Soil is low in nutrients - limiting growth again
Herbivores migrate to survive, eating plants
Carnivores follow herbivores
When permafrost thaws in summer, provides some water for plants

Thawing of permafrost also adds to greenhouse gases

50
Q

What problems does global warming cause to animals in the tundra?

A

They need to move to the polar climates as it’s too hot

This means creatures already in polar climates can’t go anywhere colder, so are at risk of death

51
Q

Why is it important to conserve wilderness areas in Alaska?

A

They provide habitats for organisms that couldn’t survive elsewhere

Scientists can study natural environments- providing information about fragile ecosystems

This research can be replicated to save endangered species outside of the environment

52
Q

Why do cold environments take a long time to recover?

A

Plant growth is slow

Species are hugely specialised, so cant adapt to change (polar bears hunt on ice and are endangered now the ice is melting)

53
Q

What strategies can conserve wilderness areas?

A

The 1959 Antarctic treaty- signed by 12 nations- limits visitors to 100 per visit to not damage the environment

Conservation groups (WWF) pressure governments to protect them

Development such as heating can damage permafrost leading to subsidence which could cause building to collapse - modern construction methods like building on gravel to prevent heat travelling help this

Geography (6 decks)

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