Ecosystems case studies

Question 1

Effects of deforestation on Amazon (climate change)

Answer 1

1) Trees remove Co2 from atmospehre - amazon stores 140 billion tonnes of carbon. Deforestation releases some of this as Co2, causing global warming

2) 75% of Brazils co2 emissions come from deforestation

Question 1

Effects of deforestation on Amazon (soil erosion)

Answer 1

1) Losing 100 tonnes of topsoil per hectare each year as of soil erosion. Leading to more flooding and landslides.

2) Less trees to intercept rainfall and fewer tree roots to absorb it, means more water reaches soil, washing wawy nutrients

3) This means farmers are forced to find

Question 2

Deforestation effect - Economic

Answer 2

1) Farming in rainforest has brough wealth to many amazonian countries. E.g In march 2018 Brazil exported 600 million dollars of beef. Also second larest exporter of soy beans

2) Mining industry creates lots of jobs e.g beunaventura mining in pero employs over 8000 peopel

3) Logging contributes to economy but also destroys resources e.g timber which brazil depens on also reduces attractiveness of area and tourists

Question 3

Amazon statistics

Answer 3

8 million hectares were lost between 2001 and 2012 - an average of 1.4 million a year

A football pitch per minute

Estimated that 30% of rainforest will reduced by 2030

Question 4

How can the rainforest be managed sustainably ?

Answer 4

1) Replanting
2) Selective logging
3) Ecotourism

Question 5

Replanting

Answer 5

1) New trees are planted to replace those that are cut down

2) Same type of tree should be replanted

3) Some countries have laws to make logging companies replant trees when they ahve cleared an area

Question 6

Selective logging

Answer 6

1) Only some trees are felled
2) Less damaging to the forest - the overall strucutre is kept the same, canopy remaisn and soil isnt exposed, alowing soil to regenerate

3)e.g Helicopter logging - less destructive

Question 7

Ecotoursim

Answer 7

1)Minimises damage and beneefits local people

2) Provides a source of income for local people e.g they can act as guides and provide accomodation and transport. Also raises awareness on conservation issues, bringing in more money to protect rain forests

3) Employs local peopel so that they dont have to log or farm to make moeny, meaning fewer trees are cut down. E.g very succesful in Costa rica - largest source of income for the country and has lead to 21% of country beign protected from development

Question 8

Larger scale sustainable management strategies

Answer 8

1) Education
2) Conservation
3) Reducing debt
4) Internation hardwood agreements

Question 9

Education

Answer 9

1. Encourages peopel to buy products made from sustainable sources

2)Educates peopel who are already logging the longterm effects of their actions

3) Teaches people alternative ways to make money that wont damage enviornment, so they ar eless reliant on unsustainable ways

E.g Rainforest Alliance in guatemala

Question 10

Conservation

Answer 10

1) Set up national parks and reserves within rainforests and restricted logging in these areas

2) Some countries have set up funds which government and business can invest in.Countries get money in reutn for rainforest conservation

3) Money can be used to enfoce restrictions and promote sustainable use of rainforest

e.g 2018 Norway paid 70 million into Brazil’s amazon fund to be used for conservation

Question 11

Reducing debt

Answer 11

Poorer countries often log,farm and mien to make money to ay off debts

Reducing debt means countries dont have to do this and rainforests can be conserved . However there is no guarantee that this repayment moeny will be spent on conservation

A BETTER SOLUTION is conservation swap, where a part of a country’s det is paid off in exchange for a guarantee that the money will be spent on conservation

E.g In2011, USA resuced indonesia debt y 29 million, in exchange for conserving rainforest

Question 12

International hardwood agreements

Answer 12

1) Hardwood e.g mahogany and teak is hard and so is used for furniture

2) High demand means that it is becoming icnreasinly rare as more is cut down

3) International agreements in place to try and prevent illegal logging, and promote hardwood from sustainably managed forests

e,g Forest stewardship council mark sustainably sourced timber so that consumers can choose products that dont contribute to unsustainbale deforestation.

Question 13

Opportunities for economic growth in Alaska

Answer 13

Energy - over half of Alaska’s oil and gas industry. Most oil fields are around prudhoe bay, which is linked to valdez by Trans- Alaskan pipeline so that oil can be shipped to customers

2) Mineral resources - materials such as gold, silver,iron ore and copper are all mined in Alaska, particularly in the Tintina gold belt. In 2015 $154 million worth of gold was exported from alaska

3) Fishing - In 2016, Alaska’s fishing industry had a value of 1.7 billion and employed almost 30,000 fishermen (samon, cod, crab)

4)Tourism - Attracted by Alaska’s scenic wildnerness areas. Each year around 2 million tourists visit, bringing in almost $2.5 billion and generating employment for 39,00 people

Question 14

What are the challenges to development ?

Answer 14

Extreme temp

• Inacessibility

-Builings and infrastructure

Question 15

Extreme temp as a challenge to development in Alaska

Answer 15

Prudhoe bay’s annual temp is about -9 degrees and extreme weather, such as snow and strong winds, is common. Exposure to extreme cold makes working outside dangerous, so opportunities for development are limited

2) Daylight hours vary a lot - Barrow in North Alaka is in darkness for up to 67 days in the winter, but in summer it might see 80 warmer days of unintterrupted sunlight.

Question 16

Inacessibilty as a challenge to development in Alaska

Answer 16

1) Alaska is a long way from the rest of the US. With very remote areas and mountainous terrain making it difficult to access and expensive, limiting development.

2) Only way to get to towns is via expensive air travel, during winter, or dangerous ice roads. In summer there are no roads to some towns because the ground is too soft

3) Population is small and scattered - meaning people could be a long way from employment opportunities and services. Difficult to find a workforce

Question 17

Building and infrastructure as a challenge to development in Alaska

Answer 17

1) Providing infrastructure/buildings to cope with soft and frozen ground is expensive and difficult

2) Cosntruction can only take place in the summer when days are longer and temp is higher

3) Oil drilling can also be dangerous for the environment as infrastructure needed for the drilling can put heat or pressure on the permafrost, causing it to melt and making the land underneath unstable. The threat of melting permafrost is very dangerous as permafrost contains locked up GHGs which could exacerbate global warming, if released back into the atmosphere.

Question 18

Case study - showing the challenges of development

Answer 18

environmental impact of oil potential spills is very dangerous. For example, in 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez spilt when it struck a reef, releasing 11 million gallons of oil into the environment. This killed over 250,000 seabirds as well as huge numbers of fish, orcas and other native wildlife, hurting local industries and communities.

Question 19

Strategies needed to restore the environment

Answer 19

International agreements

Using technology

Conservative groups

The role of government

Question 20

How is international agreements needed to balance economic development with conservation ?

Answer 20

1) 1959 Antarctic treaty, signed by 12 nations, limits visitors to 100 per site, ensures peaceful non-military activities, prohhibitis nuclear activitis and prevents cruise ships with over 500 passengers from stopping.

• This allows tourism but in a controlled way that wont harm the environment

Question 21

How is technology needed to balance economic development with conservation ?

Answer 21

1) Development can cause problems e.g heated buildings can melt permafrost, leading to subsidence, sinking of ground, which may cause buildings to collapse and pipes to crack

However modern construction methods can minimise environmental impact - by building gravel beds to prevent buildings warming the ground.

• Trans Alskan pipleline is required to put natural landscape back to how it was once oil runs out

Question 22

How can conservative groups balance economic development with conservation ?

Answer 22

1) Green peace and wwf pressure governemnts to protect cold environments leading to more sustainable development

Question 23

How can the role of governments balance economic development with conservation ?

Answer 23

1) Unregulated development can damage the environemtn e.g mining can pollute water and oil pipelines and cause disrupt animal migration

2) Governments can pass laws like the 1964 Alska wildnernewss Act, to protect designated widlife areas from development

Question 24

Example of trans Alaskan pipeline -sustainable with limited environmental impact

Answer 24

e Trans-Alaskan oil pipeline acts as an example of how oil can be drilled and transported with limited environmental impact : the pipeline is raised in order to prevent permafrost from melting and allows caribou to migrate underneath. The pipeline’s metal can expand due to the extreme weather and so stilts are used to allow for the expansion of the pipes, preventing the pipes from breaking. The pipelines is also Zig-Zaged in some places, making it less likely to break and damage the environment during tectonic activity.