Revision Flashcards For Biosphere

Question 1

What is a biosphere?

Answer 1

The biosphere is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It is the layer of the planet earth where life exists. (From Greek BIOS=life, SPHAIRA=sphere)

Question 2

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 2

A mix of biotic and abiotic organisms that interact in the habitat where they are. They occur at a range of scales (micro, mesoscale and macro.)

Question 3

What does biotic mean?

Answer 3

The living parts of an ecosystem.

Question 4

What does abiotic mean?

Answer 4

The non-living parts of an ecosystem.

Question 5

Define a biome

Answer 5

A biome is a global-scale, macro (large) ecosystem. It is an area on the earth’s surface that has similar climate, soils, plants and animals.

Question 6

Define a tropical rainforest

Answer 6

A dense forest with high rainfall

Question 7

Define grasslands

Answer 7

Large open areas covered with grass

Question 8

Define a desert

Answer 8

Sandy, dry and very few plants

Question 9

Define a deciduous biome

Answer 9

Forests with trees that lose their leaves

Question 10

Tundra

Answer 10

Vast, cold, treeless environments

Question 11

Coniferous forest

Answer 11

Forest with evergreen trees

Question 12

Chaparral

Answer 12

Dense forest, tangled undergrowth

Question 13

Savanna

Answer 13

Grassy plain with very few trees

Question 14

Alpine

Answer 14

Cold, high altitude and mountainous terrain

Question 15

What are the factors influencing the distribution of biomes?

Answer 15

Latitude, temperature, rainfall, tundra, ice, mountains.

Question 16

Ranking of factors influencing the distribution of biomes and why?

Answer 16

1. Latitude - effects both extremes, for example around the equator where latitude is lowest, places like: savannahs, grasslands and deserts ca exists. In places like the arctic where latitude is highest more places: deserts, alpine, tundra and coniferous forests where snowy environments and cold adapted animals can thrive.
2. Altitude - highly affects sunlight and water, both necessities for animal life, is needed for our earth to contain places like: coniferous forests, savannahs, deserts, deciduous and tundra because they are all dependant on their animal life.
3. Temperature - less important than the others because o the factors like latitude and continental it’s also effect temperature across the earth.

Question 17

Describe Koppen climate classification map

Answer 17

Equatorial regions host tropical rainforest while polar ice is found in northern Canada in Greenland temperate grasslands lie mainly north of the tropics especially in Asia with climate influence by latitude and distance from equator temperature and altitude dictate plant growth creating unique ecosystems like northern coniferous forests and mountainous terrains.

Question 18

Definition of deciduous woodland

Answer 18

Trees that loose their leaves in autumn and grow new ones in spring.

Question 19

Things that might be in a deciduous woodland

Answer 19

Rainfall, sunlight, oak trees, Holly bush, bird, fox.

Question 20

Adaptation of an oak tree

Answer 20

Branches - transport, water, sugar and nutrients to the leaves.
Acorns - feeds animals and transport seeds to grow elsewhere.
Leaves - carry seeds and fruits enable maximum light and helps with photosynthesis.
Trunk - supports the branches and leaves also carries minerals from the roots also housing for smaller animals.
Tall - to help the leaves get the maximum amount of sunlight in order to do photosynthesis.
Roots - gathers up the most amounts of water and nutrients give supports and communicates to other trees.

Question 21

Where are deciduous woodlands?

Answer 21

Located between 40 and 60 degrees north and South of the equator. Where rainfall is high - 500 to 1500 mm a year. The temperatures remains on average above 0 degrees even in winter. The summer temperatures are on avarage between 25-30 degrees C.

Question 21

What’s an adaptation?

Answer 21

An adaptation is a special feature that a plant or animal has that helps them to survive in their habitat. This makes plants and animals suited to particular habitats. They may not be able to survive in others adaptations are the result of dynamic evolutionary processes.

Question 22

Nutrient cycle in deciduous woodlands

Answer 22

Abscissions are extremely important to deciduous woodlands because once the leaf decomposition occurs and forms humus it provides vital nutrients for the other plants and trees to grow and produce new fresh leaves in the summer.

Question 23

What’s the nutrient cycle?
Draw it

Answer 23

Litter - inputs (input dissolved in rain, fallout as tissues die (from biomass)), outputs (loss in runoff, reales as litter decomposes (to soil))

Soil - inputs (reales as litter decomposes (from litter), input from weathered rock), outputs (loss by leaching, uptake by plants(to biomass)

Biomass - inputs (uptake by plants (from soil), outputs (fallout as tissue dies (to litter)

Question 24

Biomass (store)

Answer 24

The trees and plants

Question 25

Litter (store)

Answer 25

The decomposing leaves

Question 26

Soil (store)

Answer 26

The soil and earth on the ground

Question 27

Leaching (flow)

Answer 27

Washed away by water

Question 28

Uptake (flow)

Answer 28

Plant roots taking nutrients

Question 29

Decomposition (flow)

Answer 29

Litter decomposes (dissolves, breaks down) and forms humus

Question 30

Active weathering

Answer 30

When water, wind or temperature changes breaks down minerals

Question 31

Run off (flow)

Answer 31

Water taking nutrients (from litter)

Question 32

Rainfall (flow)

Answer 32

Input dissolved in rain that falls to the ground into the litter

Question 33

Abscission (flow)

Answer 33

When plant drop leaves, flowers or other organs through a natural process.

Question 34

Methods from Burnham beaches

Answer 34

Trees height (in meters) - we used clinometer to measure the angle to the top of the tree and a tape measure to make sure we were equally as far away from each tree we measured then we used Pythagoras theorem to find the height. We use this method because it’s fairly simple to do and will help us a lot with the estimate of our tree height one advantage to this is that it can be done quickly and efficiently. It also comes out with an approximate answer even without using the theorem because you can compare the angle of each tree however the clinometer causes a slight problem because in some cases you can’t see the top of the tree and the left without a good idea of the real angle. it also really depends on the environment. The tree has grown in because different exposure to sunlight and nutrients will vary the tree growth so it’s not also an exact approximation.. Tree age (in years) - to measure the age of the tree we used tape measure to determine the circumference of the tree and proceeded to roughly divide that by the centimetre it grows on average per year we use this method because it gives us an estimated age for the tree. It also works for almost any tree as long as it’s measurable and you have the growth per year data you can also do it all by hand and don’t need a lot of equipment, however the working was also very rough and can really depend which is almost impossible if you want exact answers. Ground cover (as percentage) - for measuring the ground cover of an area around each tree we used a quadrat agreed with 16 squares and lay it over a patch of land to work out the rough percentage of different materials. There we use this method to help us find the percentages of each type of the ground layer in comparison to other places which will help us answer a hypothesis about whether or not there would be change between each ecosystem of the tree and advantage of this is that extremely quick to do and it also gives us fairly educated estimates however it also it is also not that precise and various wildly from different patches even if they’re fairly close together.

Question 35

Pie chart

Answer 35

They measure the percent of each variable compared to the whole using a circular diagram.

Question 36

How are ecosystems under threats?

Answer 36

Deforestation, climate change, habit, nuclear discharge, over fishing, waste/landfill, invasive animal species, over usage/desertification, coral bleaching, poaching, animal testing, oil/mineral extraction, pollution, ice melting/increased temperature, wildfires

Question 37

Deforestation definition

Answer 37

The removal of trees (usually for human purposes) where the land cannot and isn’t used for forest use.

Question 38

Impacts of deforestation

Answer 38

1. Less trees means less root roots and damaged soil, when it rains, there will be an increase in flooding. 2. Less biodiversity - more extinct animals. 3. By destroying entire ecosystems by chopping down all the trees (desertification) 4. Problematic for indigenous people who rely on forests for resources. 5. Water and wind detaching soil particles causing the soil to deteriorate (soil erosion) 6. Rise in CO2 because burning releases carbon and the trees no longer help with respiration.

Question 39

Causes of deforestation

Answer 39

1. Forest fires. 2. Making space for housing (urban sprawl) 3. Commercial farming for larger companies/making space for farming for beef and wheat 4. Substance farming - gathering food for local communities. 5. Collecting resources from forests such as palm oil, paper and soy.

Question 40

What is deforestation

Answer 40

1. Done by humans usually for humane reasons or or benefits. 2. The clearing of thinning of trees and forests and woods.

Question 41

Managing deforestation/solutions

Answer 41

1. Banning the use of heavy machinery. 2. Introducing “zero deforestation” rules to help stop the continuation. 3. Promoting more sustainable choices and making it easier to access them. 4. Electing politicians who will prioritise the world and those who live on it. 5. Maximising the amount of recycling of wood and resources that is already in circulation. 6. Growing new plants to take place of the old ones (afforestation)

Question 42

Desertification definition

Answer 42

Desertification is the process of land turning into desert as the quality of soil declines

Question 43

What is the biggest impact of deforestation

Answer 43

I think the biggest impact of deforestation is the risk of endangering animals. I think this because no matter where you’re chopping down wood there were always going to be ecosystems that you were devising one of the most famous examples is probably orangutans and how they’re forced out of their habitats when people forest for palm oil. However, the release of CO2 is also massively important because of how important climate change and temperature increases for our entire world.

Question 44

Are ecosystems interconnected

Answer 44

Yes, ecosystems are interconnected something that affects one food chain or ecosystem will almost certainly have effect on another.

Question 45

Reasons for desertification

Answer 45

Population growth - the population in some desert areas increasing in places where there are developments in mining and tourism adds greater pressure for resources. Removal of wood - the roots of the trees no longer hold the soil together so it is more vulnerable to soil erosion. Over grazing - sheep and cattle eat the vegetation and it can’t grow back in time Soil erosion - made worse by overgrazing and removal of wood which is primarily caused by population growth. Climate change - environment is getting warmer and dry less rain