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Carbon EQ3 Flashcards

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1
Q

what is terrestrial carbon sequestration?

A

the capture and storage of carbon dioxide by plants and the storage of carbon in soil

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2
Q

what is primary forest

A

forest that has attained a great age without significant disturbance so has unique ecological features
a climax community

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3
Q

what is a tropical rainforest

A

equatorial biome with a constant temperature and a high monthly rainfall
has unique water and nutrient cycle as high humidity and dense vegetation

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4
Q

what is clear cutting/ felling

A

large scale removal of forest cover, often for large scale agricultural expansion

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5
Q

what is palm oil

A

a type of edible vegetable oil derived from palm fruit
grown on African oil palm tree

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6
Q

what is land conversion

A

any change from the natural ecosystem to alternative use
often results in disruption to carbon and water stores

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7
Q

what is commodity production

A

a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought which is often traded on global stock exchanges

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8
Q

what is chernozen

A

a fertile black soil with a high humus content typically occurring in the temperate grasslands of russian steppes and north american prairies

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9
Q

what is ocean acidification

A

the reduction in pH in the ocean over an extended period of time caused primarily by the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide

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10
Q

what are some examples of how humans have threatened the water and carbon cycles

A
  • ocean acidification
  • climate change and increased drought
  • increased resources (deforestation, grassland conversion)
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11
Q

why is there a growing demand for food, fuel and resources?

A

population growth
increased economic growth in rapidly industrialising countries
improved living standards

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12
Q

hoo many people will be consuming less than 2500 calories per day in 2030

A

1 in 7

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13
Q

how much did forested lands decreased by 1995-2005

A

decreased by 80 million Ha

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14
Q

how is ocean acidification a positive feedback loop?

A

as ocean becomes more acidic, corals cant absorb alkaline calcium carbonate they need to maintain their skeletons
coral begins to dissolve releasing more carbon into ocean
ocean becomes more acidic etc

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15
Q

how will climate change impact forests?

A

frequency and intensity of drought will increase
impacts resilience of ecosystems as they become more stressed and reduced health
causes forest dieback

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16
Q

how is forest dieback a positive feedback loop

A

forests die due to droughts, increased fire risks
burning and decomposition releases carbon into atmosphere
increased freq of drought etc

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17
Q

how could forest dieback be offset in northern latitudes?

A

forest cover in northern latitudes increases as tree line extends due to warming

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18
Q

what is the impact of deforestation on the hydrological cycle?

A

infiltration decreased, runoff and erosion are increased
river lag times are shorter leading to flashy responses to storms
sediment yields of rivers are greater

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19
Q

what is the impact of deforestation on soil health?

A

decline in soil fertility
increased leaching of soil nutrients out of soil
reduced humus layer in soil
CO2 released as material decays after being cut down - accelerated by heat

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20
Q

what is the impact of deforestation on the atmosphere?

A

oxygen content decreases
more direct sunlight reaches forest floor
transpiration rates drop
air becomes less humid

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21
Q

what is the impact of deforestation on the biosphere?

A

species diversity reduced
fewer animal species can survive
less CO2 absorbed
biomass reduced because of reduced plant growth and stress linked too climate extremes

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22
Q

what is afforestation

Study These Flashcards
A

planting trees on land which has never had forest or been without forest for a very long time

23
Q

why can monocultures of plants be bad?

Study These Flashcards
A

store less carbon than primary forest
use more water
are disease prone as all the same

24
Q

what are the two types of grassland

Study These Flashcards
A

temperate - have fertile cherozen soils which are an important store for carbon
tropical - land conversion occur s despiite often infertiel soils

25
why are temperate biomes at risk and how much of them remain
fertile chernozen prized for agriculture only 2% American prairie remain
26
what is the average ocean pH, what is it now
8.2 early 19th century 8.1 now SIGNIFICANT change
27
what pH do reefs stop growing at
7.8
28
what services do forests provide humans?
-provision of goods (food, freshwater, wood, fuel) - supports functions(nutrient cycling, soil formation) - regulates earths systems ( green lungs, regulates floods, disease, water purification) - cultural value (aesthetic, education, recreation, spiritual practice)
29
how much of the global economy relies on forests? how many jobs are created.
1.1% 13.2million formal jobs 41 million informal jobs
30
how are forests used in culture?
reliance by indigenous people tourism recreation and leisure
31
how had UK forest cover changed by 1900
from 80% to 10%
32
what factors affect the timing of the attitudinal change on the kuznet curve?
- wealth of country - knowledge of role of environment in human wellbeing - power of TNCs and participation of locals - environmental laws and political system
33
what % of forests are now classified as conserved
13% 524 million hectares
34
what are implications of increased temperatures in the arctic
precipitation patterns will change river regimes will be altered water stores will be affected
35
what is peat
accumulation of party decayed vegetation stores a large amount of carbon because of slow rate of decomposition in cold waterlogged soils majority of wetlands made of peat
36
how does a warming of 4°C affect peat?
40% loss of soil organic carbon from shallow peat 86% loss from deep peat
37
how much carbon do english peatlands contain- how much would this emit to atm if all lost?
estimated 584 million tonnes Carbon stored 2.14 billion tonnes of CO2 (5y worth of england emissions)
38
what are the threats to peatland?
drained for agricultural process- causes dramatic increase in decay of organic matter (microbes respire and release co2 to atm) pollution burning
39
what % of peatlands are undamaged vs degraded
1% deep peat undamaged 70% peatlands show degradation 25% deep peat is cultivated
40
how much carbon is stored in permafrost compared to the atm?
atm- 850Gtc permafrost - 1400Gtc
41
why does permafrost release carbon dioxide and methane when thawing
when frozen - organic matter has been frozen so cant decay/ only partially decayed when melting - microbes can break down organic matter, produce co2 if o2 present and CH4 if not O2 often not present in swamps and wetlands so methane produced
42
what is the 'tipping point'
when carbon sinks (arctic, forests, wetlands) become carbon sources due to damage or changed ecosystems switches to an unstoppable cycle scary!
43
what % terrestrial sequestration is due to forests
39%
44
what changes are likely to happen in the thermohaline circulation by 2100?
north atlantic ocean circulation weaken due to melting of ice sheets diluting salt content collapse of gulf stream could lead to a cooling of northern hemisphere with more winter storms and changes in summer rainfall plant productivity decrease due to cooler conditions- less carbon sequestration
45
what human factors could increase uncertainty around climate change
how will global population change? how much progress will be made towards international goals? will we ditch ffs?
46
what physical factors could increase uncertainty around climate change
how much CO2 can oceans continue to absorb positive feedback threshold? can ecosystems adapt? will natura drivers of climate change eg volcanoes play a part?
47
what is the difference between adaptation and mitigation?
adaptation- adopting ne ways o doing things to live with the outcome of climate change mitigation- rebalance the carbon cycle and reduce the impact of climate change
48
examples of adaptation techniques
- water conservation and management - resilient agricultural systems - land use planning and flood risk management - solar radiation management
49
examples of mitigation techniques
- carbon taxation - renewable switching - energy efficiency - carbon capture storage - afforestation and reforestation
50
how can land use planning be used as an adaptation strategy
flood management- development on floodplains limited to lo impact things such as parks and playing fields infiltration occurs naturally and surface runoff reduced
51
how can solar radiation management be used as an adaptation strategy- pros and cons?
climate engineering reflects solar rays to reduce global warming eg- cloud brightening, space based reflector, pumping sulphur aerosols into atm quick and offset impacts of GHGs, but have ethical concerns and worries on how effective they would acc be potentially expensive
52
how can carbon taxation be used as a mitigation technique
a tax or fee pais by users of fossil fuels linked t the levels of carbon that the fuel produces seen in UK in carbon price floor 2013
53
what was agreed at the 2015 paris agreement
- limit global temp increase to 1.5 degrees above industrial levels - report on implementation of individual national plans to reduce emissions - provide adaptation support for developing countries

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