Tropical rainforests and mangroves Flashcards
What is the function of drip tips of tropical rainforest?
To allow the water to easily run off and to prevent fungi and bacteria from growing on the leaves.
What are the 3 zones of mangroves?
- Coastal zone
- Middle zone
- Inland zone
What are the economic impacts of deforestation?
Depletion of natural resources
- Rapid deforestation destroys rainforests faster than they can replenish themselves.
- Affects industries that rely on the rainforests resources - profit gained declines
- e.g. Timber trade - timber is used to make furnitures. As the trees are cut down at a faster rate, the younger ones cannot grow as quickly to replace them.
What are the environmental impacts of deforestation? - loss of biodiversity
A. Rapid deforestation destroys the habitats of plants and animals.
B. Loss of biodiversity = Loss of animal and plant species
C. Millions of plant and animal species have become extinct.
What are the environmental impacts of deforestation? - loss of water catchment areas
A. What is water catchment? – The area where water is collected and stored.
e.g. The Amazon basin is said to produce half of its rainfall through the forest’s transpiration process in the water cycle.
B. What happens when trees are cut down?
- Disrupts water cycle as no trees to absorb water through roots, release water vapour through evaporation and transpiration
- Leading to drier climate and drier soil
- Decrease water supply and leads to higher water prices due to water shortage
What is a flood and how does it occur?
- It happens when there are overflows of large amounts of water onto land that is normally dry.
How does deforestation lead to an increased risk of flooding?
A. When trees are cleared, no trees to intercept rainwater and it falls directly on the ground as the ground is left bare.
B. Rainwater falls directly to the ground and on the ground flows rapidly as surface runoff, causing floods.
What is soil erosion and how does it occur?
- Soil erosion is the removal of the top layers of soil by rainwater, wind and destructive human activities (logging)
How does deforestation lead to increased risk of soil erosion?
A. No trees to bind and hold the soil together
B. No moss and leaves to cover the forest floor
C. No forest layers to intercept rainwater as soil is exposed and washed away by heavy rainfall
Coastal erosion is the ______________
removal of materials from the coast
COASTAL EROSION :
A. When trees are removed, the _______ root systems of ______ plants are no longer around to help ____ and _______ loose ________ on the coast. Sediments may then be washed away easily by waves, currents and tides.
B. Furthermore, _____ energy may increase as there are no more mangroves acting as ______ ________ at the _______ to reduce the wave energy before it hits the coast - increase in rate of coastal erosion
- dense
- mangrove
- trap
- stabilise
- sediments
- wave
- natural
- barriers
- coastline
SEDIMENTATION :
A. ______ soil is often washed into rivers, increasing the amount of sediments in the rivers
B. This negatively affects water ______ and _____ life
C. The sediments _______ fish eggs, resulting in lower hatch rates
D. Also, it turns water _____ and prevents sunlight to enter the river for aquatic plants to photosynthesise. Sediments suffocate coral reefs.
- eroded
- quality
- aquatic
- smothers
- cloudy
Deforestation can also lead to an enhanced _________ ________.
greenhouse effect
A. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere ____ _____ and prevent it from escaping into space.
B. This causes the _______ of the __________ and is known as the greenhouse effect.
- trap
- heat
- warming
- atmosphere
How many environmental effects of deforestation are there?
(7)
- Coastal erosion
- Soil erosion
- Increased risk of sedimentation
- Increased risk of flooding
- Loss of biodiversity
- Loss of water catchment areas
- Enhanced greenhouse effect
How many social impacts are there due to deforestation? What is / are they?
(1)
Effects on indigenous people
A. Displacement of home / loss of habitat
- Indigenous people are forced to move away form rainforests and to adapt to a new way of living - Causing indigenous tribes to disperse and cultures to disappear.
EXAMPLES:
E.g. The Guarani community in Paraguay (South America)
E.g. Oil palm plantations are moved from Peninsular Malaysia to Sarawak. Large area of rainforest being cleared in Sarawak and affecting the lifestyle of the people living there.
What is enhanced greenhouse effect?
An increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to a rise in global temperatures as more heat is trapped in the atmosphere. This is often caused by human activities.
