Land Cover Change

Question 1

Definition of environment

Answer 1

the living and non-living elements of Earth’s surface and atmosphere, including human induced changes.

Question 2

Definition of ecosystem

Answer 2

a community of living organisms and their interactions with the non-living features of an environment.

Question 3

What are the 4 main components of an ecosystem?

Answer 3

Abiotic, producers, consumers and decomposers

Question 4

What are abiotic components?

Answer 4

non-living components

Question 5

What are biotic components?

Answer 5

living components

Question 6

What are consumers?

Answer 6

heterotrophic organisms

Question 7

What are producers?

Answer 7

autotrophic organisms e.g. plants

Question 8

what are decomposers?

Answer 8

organisms which breakdown dead organic matter and waste matter e.g. fungi

Question 9

what are natural biomes?

Answer 9

biomes which haven’t had sustained, direct human interactions

Question 10

what are anthropogenic biomes?

Answer 10

biomes that are the result of sustained direct human interactions with ecosystems

Question 11

what is land cover?

Answer 11

the biophysical cover on the Earth’s surface

Question 12

what is land cover change?

Answer 12

the changes that have taken place in natural environments due to a variety of natural and human induced causes

Question 13

what are some types of land cover change?

Answer 13

agriculture, urban and natural vegetation/global forests

Question 14

define biodiversity

Answer 14

the number, type and variety of biotic organisms found within an environment or ecosystem

Question 15

define biodiversity loss

Answer 15

when there is a decrease in the number, type and variety of living organisms within an environment or ecosystem

Question 16

define climate change

Answer 16

the long term change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods of time (decades to millions of years)

Question 17

define sustainability

Answer 17

meeting the needs of current and future generations through simultaneous environmental, social and economic adaptations and improvements

Question 18

list the processes of land cover change

Answer 18

deforestation, expansion/intensification of agriculture, mining and growth of urban settlement

Question 19

define deforestation

Answer 19

the removal or clearing of forests, generally for uses such as agriculture and urban development

Question 20

types of deforestation

Answer 20

clear cutting and slash-and-burn

Question 21

define remote sensing

Answer 21

the science of obtaining information about objects or areas from a distance, usually from aircraft or satellites

Question 22

how is world population growth impacting land cover change (LCC)

Answer 22

1. an increase in demand for urban land use and land required for agriculture to feed the growing population.
2. urban areas have more than doubled in size since 1992

Question 23

define affluence

Answer 23

having an abundant supply of money, goods or wealth

Question 24

list the impacts of LCC

Answer 24

• changes to water cycle
• soil erosion
• loss of habitat & biodiversity
• loss of ecosystem services
• degradation of aquatic & marine
  environments
• urban heat islands

Question 25

define urban heat islands

Answer 25

the warming of temperatures in urban areas due to human made environments

Question 26

what causes urban heat islands?

Answer 26

infrastructure absorbing and re-emitting the suns heat, making urban areas 1-3˚C higher than rural areas.

Question 27

why are urban areas more vulnerable to urban heat islands?

Answer 27

many artificial surfaces:
- tarmac
- less trees and artificial vegetation
- plastic grass
- dark materials

Question 28

define mosaic burning

Answer 28

the use of cool burns (regular, relatively controlled, low intensity burns) to clear native vegetation