Ecological Services

Question 1

Why may a plant depend on an insect?

Answer 1

To pollinate it’s flowers so it can produce seeds and offspring: bird needs certain kinds of plant to build it’s nest.

Question 2

What is a tree spiker?

Answer 2

Someone who hammers nails or spikes into trees where logging is banned.

Question 3

What is biodiversity?

Answer 3

It is a measure of the variety of organisms living in an area: rainforests are the most diverse ecosystems on the planet.

Question 4

What is a more biodiversity area more likely to offer?

Answer 4

More ecological services because there are more species in the Rainforest so more organisms rely on each other: food.

Question 5

Why is it impossible to replant rainforests?

Answer 5

The land damaged by slash and burn agriculture because there are very few nutrients left in the soil: uncertain of which trees rely on each other and wouldn’t know what trees to plant.

Question 6

What is a problem that may occur with coniferous forests?

Answer 6

As they mature is that they can be planted too close to each other which won’t allow other living organisms to live.

Question 7

Food production waste:

Answer 7

• packaging
• left over food
• unwanted leaves, stalks, roots
• bones, skin, fur, hair, scales, fin, gills, brain.

Question 8

Transport waste:

Answer 8

• petrol: CO2 and water vapour
• diesel: particulate
• abandoned parts.

Question 9

Building waste:

Answer 9

-bricks, concrete, timber.

Question 10

Human waste:

Answer 10

-faeces, urine
-clothes
Human faeces is natural input for ecosystem but cause problem in London when population increases as sewage could not be cleared away by river.

Question 11

What are the nitrogen rich compounds in sewage used by?

Answer 11

Microorganisms and plants for protein to grow.

Question 12

What does the damage done by waste depend on?

Answer 12

• how much is produced
• how dangerous it is
• how quickly the environment can deal with it.

Question 13

Bioaccumulation: DDT:

Answer 13

An insecticide that was used for many years to control insects: relatively non-toxic: banned worldwide but can still be detected.

Question 14

What is eutrophication?

Answer 14

When a large amount of organic waste enters a watercourse (river, lakes).

Question 15

What is bioaccumulation?

Answer 15

The build up of a substance such as toxic chemicals, in various tissues of a living organism.

Question 16

Why can naturally occurring nitrogen compounds pass through the environment?

Answer 16

It can be broken down when they get into a water source: DDT wasn’t able to be broken down so it was left in the environment for many years: cannot be biodegradable.

Question 17

What becomes part of the biomass when they are used by organisms?

Answer 17

Nitrates: but DDT accumulates in the body until it’s toxic.

Question 18

What are ecological services?

Answer 18

They are provided by an eco-system that do not necessarily depend on a single organism.