Weather, climate and ecosystems Flashcards
How do people use the rainforest?
- Logging
- Cattle farming
- Mining
- Agriculture
Where are rainforests found?
Along the equator
Where are deserts found?
On the Tropics
What does the the ITCZ stand for?
Intertropical convergence zone
What causes hurricanes?
- Low pressure
- High sea temperatures
What causes droughts?
High pressure
What factors affect UK climate
- Jet stream and air masses
- Ocean currents
- Aspect
- Altitude
- Latitude
What does IBAMA do?
Issues permits for a certain number of trees in the rainforest to be cut down.
Raids illegal logging sites
What is strip forestry and what are its problems?
Taking a strip of the forest and then leaving it to regrow while other strips are cut down.
The issues are that loggers did not stick to the strip so other areas were damages. People could access the forest more easily so areas of the forest were developed illegally and could not grow back.
What is agroforestry and what are its problems?
Agroforestry is a sustainable way to use the forest through growing a variety of plants in a small area such as rubber trees and fruit trees. This gives longer-term economic gain.
One problem is that logging can make a lot more money in the short-term so people may consider logging more profitable.
What is selective logging and what are its problems?
Only logging mature, usable trees that are not valuable to the ecosystem. This is sustainable as the forest can recover from the few trees cut down in each area and it does not harm the ecosystem as much.
One problem is that a tree can hit and damage other trees when it is cut down.
What is an ecosystem?
A community of plants and animals and the environment in which they live. Contains biotic and abiotic components.
What is a carbon sink?
A store of carbon
What are the stages of sand dune development?
Embryo dunes Mobile dunes Semi-fixed dunes Fixed dunes Dune slacks Climax.
What are the producers in an ecosystem?
Plants
What is aspect?
Angle a slope or other feature is facing
Why is the savannah a popular tourist destination?
Safari Endemic species Landscape Weather Culture
What effect does altitude have on temperature?
Temperature decreases by 1 degrees Celsius for every 100m increase in height.
Give an example of a carbon sink?
Forest
Rainforest
Peat bogs/ moors
What do isobars show?
Areas of equal pressure
What is a front?
A boundary between 2 air masses
What is the Great Green Wall?
A planned 15km-wide stretch of trees running across the width of northern Africa
What are some of the benefits of the GGW?
Reducing soil erosion Improve soil fertility Increase fodder for livestock Reduce time needed to collect firewood Increase biodiversity Diversify farm incomes Increase ability to cope with climate change Increase crop yield due to shade from trees Grow medicinal plants
What is a synoptic chart?
A map that shows several weather conditions at a particular time
What is an anticyclone?
A high pressure system
What is a depression?
A low pressure system
What is a drought?
A long period of time with little precipitation
What are glacials?
Colder periods in the earth’s history when ice sheets have advanced
What are interglacials?
Warmer periods in the earth’s history when glaciers retreated
What is an aerosol?
Tiny particles of dust, volcanic particles, and gas in the atmosphere that can reflect the sun’s energy back into space.
