Water And Carbon Cycle Case Studies Flashcards
1
Q
Pickering Beck
A
- 68km^2 catchment area
- Tributary of river Derwent
- Water level ranged between 0.1m to 1
- Highest ever was 2m in 2007
- Moors in Catchment is overly grazed by farm animals causing all water to runoff= small lag time& flashy hydrograph
- Steep catchment area also causes flashy hydrograph
- Management focuses on slowing run off this can be adding scrubs and other plants to block and absorb surface run off
- Plan to plant 50 hectares of Riparian woodland either side of the river
2
Q
Amazon Rainforest (Key points)
A
- 390 billion trees makes it the worlds biggest carbon sink
- Mostly in Brazil
- High rates of deforestation, mostly for cattle ranching (80%)
- Deforested at 20,000km2 a year from 2000-2007
- Brazil is the 6th larger polluter with most emissions coming from deforestation
3
Q
Amazon Cycle (Water Cycle)
A
- Amazon river has high discharge into the sea
- However most rainfall is intercepted and reevaporated back into atmosphere
- There is direct evaporation from rivers
- High levels of transpiration
4
Q
Amazon Rainforest (Human Activity Impacts on Water Cycle)
A
Water cycle:
- Fewer salts and organic fibres being emitted through transpiration affects cloud formation and reduces rainfall.
- Future deforestation could cause rainfall to fall by 20% as rainforests have higher humidity and rainfall rates than the pasture land they are replaced with
- Overall reduction in river discharge
- Faster rates of run off as less water can be held in soil and it’s easily eroded
5
Q
Amazon Rainforest (Human Activity Impacts on Carbon Cycle)
A
- Forests absorb more solar radiation and have higher temperatures than pasture land
- After ‘slash and burn’ deforestation, rain washes ash into the ground, increasing carbon in soil and rivers
- Rates of photosynthesis decline as does plant and animal respiration
- A 2°C rise in temp could see 20-40% of Amazon die out within 100 years
6
Q
Amazon Rainforest (Reducing Deforestation)
A
- The rate of deforestation slowed by 75% from 2000-2012
- Through bans, better governance and consumer pressure
- 2008- zero deforestation campaign proposed what became the “Amazon Fund”
- Enforcements of existing forest laws and prosecution of actors in the soy bean and beef supply chain
