Conservation, Preservation and sustainability 24.4+5

Question 1

What is conservation?

Answer 1

It is the maintenance of biodiversity through human activity.

Question 2

What are some examples of conservation?

Answer 2

Maintaining diversity between species and also genetic diversity within a species.

Question 3

What is sustainable development?

Answer 3

Managing ecosystems so that resources can be used without them running out

Question 4

Give an example of sustainable development

Answer 4

Managing forests so that wood can be used sustainably

Question 5

What is reclamation?

Answer 5

This is restoring an ecosystem that has been damaged e.g from a flood.

Question 6

What techniques can be used for reclamation?

Answer 6

Controlled burning of forests to halt succession and increase biodiversity

Question 7

What is preservation?

Answer 7

Protecting an area by banning or restricting human interference so that the ecosystem is kept in its original state.

Question 8

What are some examples of preservation?

Answer 8

Nature reserves (national parks) and marine zones

Question 9

List three reasons why conservation is so important

Answer 9

Economic reasons
Social reasons
Ethical reasons

Question 10

What are the economic reasons?

Answer 10

Ecosystems can provide many resources that humans need to survive like clothes and food etc…

Question 11

What are social reasons?

Answer 11

Many people enjoy the natural beauty of ecosystems and use them for relaxation and exercise etc…

Question 12

What are ethical reasons?

Answer 12

People believe we have a responsibility to conserve the ecosystems for future generations

Question 13

Why do we need to have sustainable resources?

Answer 13

Other methods have been used to exploit the environment which reduces biodiversity and damages ecosystems which is harmful to the planet in the long term and will not sustain humans or preserve ecosystems.

Question 14

What is a sustainable resource?

Answer 14

A resource that is obtained in such a way that it will not run out or damage the environment.

Question 15

What are the aims of sustainability?

Answer 15

• To preserve the environment
• To ensure future generations have resources available
• To allow humans to live comfortably
• To allow less economically developed countries (LEDCs) to develop
• To create an even balance between MEDCs and LEDCs

Question 16

How else can sustainability be increased?

Answer 16

Recycling the materials we have already obtained would put less strain on finite resources and make them run out less quickly

Question 17

How do you make small-scale timber production sustainable?

Answer 17

Rotational coppicing is a technique that is used where you separate sections of woodland and cut the trees close to the base. This allows the shoots to grow back in the spring and then they can fully mature to be harvested again. This then means the biodiversity is not reduced as species can survive. Pollarding is cutting the trees a bit higher so no animals can eat the shoots when they grow

Question 18

How do you make large-scale timber production sustainable?

Answer 18

They have to chop the whole tree down which is called felling and this kills the tree. This is harder to sustain but there are many ways they try:

• They practice selective cutting, only cutting the biggest trees
• They replant them for every tree they cut
• They increase yield by reducing competition and planting them further away from each other
• They manage pests and diseases

Question 19

What are the disadvantages of felling?

Answer 19

Habitats are destroyed, soil minerals are reduced etc…

Question 20

How do you make fishing sustainable?

Answer 20

The number of fish that can be caught has been limited to allow the fish populations to regenerate.

• They get bigger net sizes so only mature fish are caught
• Only allow recreational fishing at certain times
• Fish farming