Chapter 2- Natural World Flashcards
(13 cards)
Q1) Describe the location of global rainforests.
One third of the world’s tropical rainforests are in Brazil. Other tropical rainforests are located in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands (25% of the world’s tropical rainforests) and West Africa (18%).
Close to the equator (they go from the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn)
Q2) Explain why the rainforest is a high level of biodiversity (plants and animals)
Climate: because rainforests are located in tropical regions, they receive a lot of sunlight. Since there is a lot of sunlight, there is a lot of energy in the rainforest. This energy is stored in plant vegetation, which is eaten by animals. The abundance of energy supports an abundance of plant and animal species (excellent conditions for growth) the canopy structure of the rainforest provides an abundance of places for plants to grow and animals to live. The canopy offers sources of food, shelter, and hiding places, providing for interaction between different species.
Q3) Identify and explain how vegetation adapts to the rainforest climate
Drip tip leaves: ensure that photosynthesis can continue.
Prevents mould growing on it
Helps drain water from leaves
Lianas: Rapid growth up the existing trunk to reach sunlight
Does not use energy growing strong weight supporting stems
Buttress roots: infertile soils
Shallow roots to capture the nutrients close to the surface
Wide 10 metres to support the tall, large tree.
Q4) Explain why 3 factors cause rainforest deforestation (e.g. cattle ranching, palm oil, iron ore mines, timber)
Cattle ranching causes deforestation as large areas of the rainforest is cut down to be able to have space for cattle, such as cows (60% of deforestation is caused by cattle ranching in the Amazon)
Cash crops e,g palm oil in Borneo
Need of recourses like timber in the Amazonia
Q6) Explain how deforestation causes environmental impacts to the climate, atmosphere, soil, biodiversity
Short-term there will become less transpiration (very little) meaning that there won't be as many clouds form this will then lead to less precipitation and less cloud cover meaning that the climate will become more warm. Also surface runoff will increase and sediment eroded will begin to occur which will lead to flooding and sediment in the river (less evaporation)
Long term changes, transpiration will be extremely little with hardly any clouds. Hardly any precipitation and much less surface runoff. Sediment eroding will continue to occur leaving sediment in the river. Evaporation will increase and the climate would be extremely warmer.
Q7) Explain how deforestation causes social and economic impacts to local and global people.
Socially peoples health could be effected (no medicine, no food, no supplies) and the loss of trees and other vegetation can cause climate change on a global scale and for local people’s lives will change as tribes won’t have their homes anymore (the indigenous tribes who depend on them to sustain their way of life are also irreparably damaged.) Economically there won’t be many items to sell from the rainforest anymore for the local people (those who use the forest to earn money, like collecting fruits to sell). The loss of biodiversity through deforestation will cost $4.5 trillion each year. For example, half of all pharmaceuticals comes from genetic resources.
Q8) List 5 sustainable ways the rainforest can be developed
Sustainable farming Selective and sustainable logging National parks Monitoring Conservation swaps Ecotourism
Q9) Explain how Ecotourism, Agro-forestry and Conservation Swaps are sustainable: socially, economically, and environmentally.
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Q10) Explain why a variety of approaches to developing the rainforest are needed for it to be sustainable.
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What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form an area of life. Ecosystems contain biotic or living, parts, as well as abiotic factors, or nonliving parts.
What are the different parts of an ecosystem?
Ecosystems have lots of different living organisms that interact with each other. The living organisms in an ecosystem can be divided into three categories: producers, consumers and decomposers.
Explain about the three different parts if an ecosystem
Producers are the green plants. They make their own food. Consumers are animals and they get their energy from the producers or from organisms that eat producers.
There are three types of consumers: herbivores are animals that eat plants, carnivores are animals that eat herbivores and sometimes other carnivores and omnivores are animals that eat plants and other animals.
The third type of living organism in an ecosystem is the decomposers. Decomposers are plants and animals that break down dead plants and animals into organic materials that go back into the soil, which is where we started!
What are the
interactions within an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is the interactions between living and non-living things in a particular environment. An ecosystem is a place where these interactions occur, such as a rotting log, or a forest. All organisms and parts within this place are interacting all the time and adjustments must occur if the organism is to survive.
