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geography > living world > Flashcards

living world Flashcards

1
Q

where is amazon rainforest located?

A

amazon rainforest is located in south america

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2
Q

how big is the amazon rainforest ans how much of it is lost each year

A

largest rainforest on earth and covers an area of around 8 million km^2

7.3 million hectares of the rainforest are lost each year

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3
Q

impacts of deforestation in the amazon

A

economic development
soil erosion
climate change
loss of biodiversity

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4
Q

how does deforestation bring economic impacts

A

logging, mining and farming create jobs —> a lot of money is made from selling timber

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5
Q

how does deforestation bring soil erosion

A

soil is more exposed to rainfall which means valuable nutrients in the soil are washed away —> need to use fertilisers to help plants grow —> fertilisers washed into rivers by rain which kills animals

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6
Q

how does deforestation bring climate change

A

less trees to absorb co2 in the atmosphere

75% of brazils CO2 emissions come from deforestation

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7
Q

how does deforestation bring loss of biodiversity

A

amazon is home to 50% of worlds plant and animal species

if deforestation takes place then they lose habitats

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8
Q

Define ‘ecosystem’

A

an ecosystem is a community of living and non-living things

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9
Q

producer

A

An organism that uses the sun to produce energy/food for itself. e.g. green plants

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10
Q

consumer

A

An organism that gets its energy by eating another organism i.e. it eats other
producers or consumers.

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11
Q

decomposer

A

An organism that gets its energy from breaking down dead material (dead plants and animals). An example of a decomposer is bacteria and fungi

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12
Q

food chain

A

A food chain shows what eats what in an ecosystem.

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13
Q

food web

A

shows what eats what and how they overlap

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14
Q

nutrient cycle in simple terms

A

• When plants and animals die, they decompose into the soil.
• They add nutrients back to the soil
• These nutrients are then taken back up by plants
• These plants may be eaten by consumers, therefore the nutrients are
received by the consumer
• The consumer eventually dies and nutrients are added back to the soil.
• The cycle repeats

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15
Q

Describe the characteristics of the tundra?
(location, climate, plants, animals?)

A

• Location - high latitudes ~60°N of equator
• Cold temperatures
• Little rainfall
• Limited vegetation

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16
Q

Name the 8 main global ecosystems

A
  1. Hot desert
  2. Tropical rainforest
  3. Polar
  4. Tundra
  5. Temperature deciduous forest
  6. Tropical grassland (savanna)
  7. Temperate grassland
  8. Coniderous forest (taiga)
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17
Q

Describe the characteristics of tropical rainforests?
(location, climate, plants, animals?)

A

• Found around equator
• Hot temperatures (around 28°-30°C)
• Wet all year around (average 2,000mm per year)
• Lots of vegetation and animals

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18
Q

Describe the characteristics of hot deserts?
(location, climate, plants, animals?)

A

• Location: 15° and 35° north and south of the equator
• Very hot
• Very dry
• Sandy soil
• Some cacti

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19
Q

Describe the characteristics of deciduous forests?
(location, climate, plants, animals?)

A

This the biome of the UK
• Location; ~40°-50° north of equator
• Warm summers, cold winters
• Leaves fall off during winter to retain moisture
• Variety of woodland animals

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20
Q

Describe the characteristics of coniferous forests (taiga)?
(location, climate, plants, animals?)

A

• Location:~50°-60° north of equator
• Cool temperatures
• High raintall
• Animals: Moose, reindeer, shrews
• Plants: evergreen trees

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21
Q

Describe the characteristics of tropical grassland
(savanna)?
(location, climate, plants, animals?)

A

• Location: 15°-30° north and south of equator
• Wet and dry seasons
• Temperature: 20-30°C
• Animals: lions, elephants

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22
Q

where are tropical rainforests located

A

Generally around the equator

23
Q

climate in tropical rainforests

A

• Constantly high temperatures throughout the year (28-30°C)
•High levels of rainfall (~2000mm per year)

24
Q

Why is it hot and wet in the tropical rainforest?

A

• Hot temperatures: Topical rainforests are found around the equator
where the suns rays are most concentrated
• High rainfall: low pressure cell means air can rise, creating lots of clouds

25
Q

describe soil in tropical rainforests

A

Infertile

Very top layer of soil is where nutrients are. Due to high levels of
rainfall, nutrients are washed away (leaching).

26
Q

Describe the plants and animal life in the tropical
rainforest

A

Huge biodiversity

temp is stable and constant so they don’t have to cope with changing conditions

deforestation is likely to lead to extinction of animals

27
Q

biodiversity

A

The variety of plants and animal species in a given location

28
Q

4 layers in rainforest

A
  1. Shrub laver
  2. Lower canopy
  3. Upper canopy
  4. Emergent layer
29
Q

Identify some tropical rainforest plant adaptations

A
  1. Liana
  2. Buttress roots
  3. Epiphyte
  4. Drip tips
  5. Waxy leaves
  6. Thin bark
30
Q

buttress root

A

soil in TRF is thin with nutrients (only in the top layer) —> roots can take up nutrients quickly and tree roots that help stabilise the tree in the ground

31
Q

liana

A

Climbing vines that start on the forest floor. They grow to reach sunlight.

32
Q

epiphyte

A

Plants that grow on tree branches —> get water and nutrients from the tree to grow

33
Q

drip tip

A

Leaves have adapted to deal with high levels of rainfall. The drip tip allows rainfall to run off the leaf surface.

34
Q

deforestation

A

Removal of trees from the earth’s surface

35
Q

What is happening to the rate of deforestation?

A

high but slowing down

36
Q

Why do rainforests need protecting?

A
  1. ‘Green lungs of the earth’ - 28% of the worlds oxygen comes from rainforests
  2. They are home to many indigenous tribes—> achuar people (11,000) —> lives depend on the rainforest
  3. Rainforest provide important resources e.g. fruits, wood and medicines —> around 25% of all medicines come from rainforest plants// periwinkle from madagascar gives us 2 very important cancer fighting medicines
  4. Source of clean water —> 20% of worlds fresh water comes from amazon
37
Q

List some strategies used to protect tropical
rainforests

A
  1. Selective Logging
  2. Replanting trees
  3. Conservation/education
  4. Ecotourism
  5. International agreements
  6. Debt reduction
38
Q

selective logging

A

Only the oldest or poor condition trees are removed

39
Q

How does ‘replanting’ protect the tropical rainforest?

A

Replanting trees when others are cut down means that trees are available in the future

40
Q

How does
‘ecotourism’ protect the tropical rainforest?

A

Ecotourism educates tourists about protecting the natural environment —> also generate a lot of money

41
Q

How do ‘international agreements’ protect the
tropical rainforest?

A

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)

agreements made with other countries that they will only buy wood with the FSC badge to show it has been sustainably sourced

42
Q

How does ‘education and conservation’ protect the tropical rainforest?

A

used for national parks —> can be used to educate others

43
Q

How does ‘debt reduction’ protect the tropical
rainforest?

A

reduced debts in return for agreement that rainforest will not be deforested

44
Q

what is the emergent layer like

A

the emergent layer- tops of the tallest trees in the rainforest, very high so is able to get more light than the average tree, can grow 50m

45
Q

what is the upper canopy like

A

the upper canopy- 20-40m tall, home to 50% of the rainforest e.g. mammals, birds, insects

46
Q

what is the under canopy like

A

the under canopy- near forest floor, dark with little vegetation, during heavy rainfall it can flood

47
Q

what is the shrub layer/forest floor like

A

forest floor- limited sunlight

48
Q

why are trees important

A

-trees intercept and take up lots of water —> reducing tree diver may increase risk if drought affecting plants and animals that live there

-fewer trees —> soil has less protection from heavy rainfall —> nutrients washed away —> plants struggle to grow

49
Q

thin bark

A

smooth, thin bark —> helps water run off easily

50
Q

how are animals adapted to trf

A

toucan:
-vivid colours for camouflage
-bill is useful for reaching fruit that are too small to hold
-good eyesight to spot predators and gives them time to fly away
-four toes —> give better girl for tree climbing

grasshoppers:
-sharp hearing to warn them
-able to spray predators
-strong hind legs to jump

51
Q

causes of deforestation

A

logging- amazon has valuable trees such as mahogany to sell for profit

road building- 4000km trans-amazonian highway —> get rid of trees to make room

mineral extraction- mining gold and iron ore to make money

commercial farming —> 70% of deforestation in the amazon is caused by commercial farming to make profit

population growing —> need to build more houses so need to cut down more trees to make space

52
Q

properties of forested area and deforested area

A

forested:
-clean water for drinking
-provides habitat for wildlife
-soil is protected by trees

deforested:
-water is muddy
-high short term economic gain but overtime the land struggles to recover
-animals become endangered
-heavy rainfall washes nutrients away

53
Q

how does deforestation have an impact on the achuar people

A

their lives depend on the rainforest

geography (13 decks)

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