The Living World

Question 1

What is an ecosystem

Answer 1

Unit including all the biotic parts and abiotic parts in an area

Question 2

What’s a food web

Answer 2

Lots of food chains and how they overlap

Question 3

What’s a food chain

Answer 3

Shows what eats what

Question 4

The ways ecosystems can change - human and natural

Answer 4

Cut down - humans

Heatwaves - natural

Question 5

What is a biome

Answer 5

a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat

Question 6

Where are biomes located around the world

Answer 6

Biome characteristics. Tropical forests are found near the equator in Central and South America, parts of Africa and Asia. They are hot and humid and contain a huge variety of plants and animals - around half of all the world’s species.

Question 7

Info on a tundra

Answer 7

Found at higher latitudes
Above 60* in Northern Europe, Alaska and northern Canada
Winters are v cold
Summers are brief
Little rainfall
Hardly any trees- vegetation includes misses, grasses and low shrubs.
Layer of permafrost (permanently frozen ground)

Question 8

Info on grassland

Answer 8

Two types
Savannah: in between tropics
Distinct dry and wet seasons although rainfall is still relatively low
Most vegetation is grasses w a few scattered trees

Temperate grasslands: higher latitudes
More variation in temperature and less rainfall
No trees here- just grasses

Question 9

Info on temperate deciduous forest

Answer 9

Mid latitudes 
Four distinct seasons 
Summers warm
Winters mild
Rainfall all year 
Deciduous trees lose leaves to cope with colder weather

Question 10

Info on polar

Answer 10

North and south poles
Very cold
Icy
Dry
Not much grows at all
Remain dark for several months each year
Growing season is very short-about 2 months

Question 11

Info on hot desert

Answer 11

Between 15-35* both and south of the equator
Little rainfall
Got during day
Cold at night
Shrubs and cacti are sparsely distributed in sandy soil

Question 12

Info on tropical rainforest

Answer 12

Around equator
Between tropics
Hot and well all year
Lush forest with dense canopies of vegetation forming distinct layers

Question 13

What’s the climate like in the Amazon rainforest

Answer 13

Same all year round - no definite seasons
It’s hot (20-28*C only varies by a few degrees around year)?
Near equator sun is overhead all year round
Rainfall is very high around 2000mm per year
Rains everyday usually in afternoon

Question 14

What’s the soil like in the Amazon rainforest

Answer 14

Isn’t very fertile
Heavy rain washes nutrients away
Nutrients are at the surface due to decayed leaf fall but this layer is very thin as decay is fast in the warm moist conditions

Question 15

What’s the plants like in the Amazon rainforest

Answer 15

Most trees are evergreen to take advantage of the continual growing season. Many trees are really tall and the vegetation cover is dense- very little light reaches the forest floor. There are lots of epiphytes (plants that grown on other living plants and take nutrients and moisture from the air) e.g. orchids and ferns

Question 16

Where are rainforests located

Answer 16

Along the equator

Question 17

Where’s the Amazon rainforest

Answer 17

Brazil

Question 18

Ways plants have adapted to rainforests

Answer 18

Tall trees for sunlight w buttress roots support
Thick wavy leaves pointed tips (drip tips) - weight of water doesn’t damage plant and no standing water for fungi or bacteria to grow in. Wavy coating helps repel the rain.
Smooth thin bark
Four distinct layers
Climbing plants
Drop their leaves

Question 19

Ways animals have adapted to the rainforest

Answer 19

Live in canopy w strong limbs
Flaps of skin so they can glide
Short pointy winds so can manoeuvre
Camo
Nocturnal
Adapted to low light levels-anteaters have a sharp sense of smell and hearing so can detect predators without seeing them
Can swim-jaguars can cross river channels

Question 20

Cause of deforestation in the Amazon

Answer 20

Population pressure
Mineral extraction (gold and iron ore) 
Energy development (building damn to generate hydro-electric power floods large areas of forest) 
Commercial logging (felled to make money-road building for logging also requires more clearance) 
Subsistence farming (forest cleared so farmers can grow for themselves and families)

Question 21

What are the environmental impacts of deforestation

Answer 21

No trees to hold the soil together heavy rain washes away the soil (soil erosion) this can lead to landslides and flooding.

With out a tree canopy to intercept the rainfall and tree roots to absorb it more water reaches the soil. This reduces the soil fertility as the nutrients in the soil Are washed away out of reach from plants

Trees removed CO2 from the atmosphere also burning vegetation and to clear Forrest produces CO2 so deforestation means more CO2 in the atmosphere which adds to the greenhouse affect

Question 22

What are the economic impacts of deforestation

Answer 22

Logging farming and mining create jobs
Lots of money is made from selling timber mining and commercial farming
In the long term deforestation can destroy the resources that countries depend on e.g.timber and reduces attractiveness of the area to tourists
Livelihoods of some locals are destroyed as deforestation can cause the loss of the animals and parts that they rely on to make a living

Question 23

What are the ways tropical rainforest can be sustainable be managed

Answer 23

Selective logging
Replanting
Eco-tourism
International hardwood agreement
Reducing debt
Education
Conservation

Question 24

What is selective logging

Answer 24

Only some trees felled just the order or inferior ones this is less damaging as less trees are taken from each area so the overall structure has kept this means the forest will be able to regenerate so it can be used in the future the least damaging forms a horse login and helicopter login Dragging the trees out of the forest or moving in with helicopters

Question 25

What is replanting

Answer 25

New trees are planted to replace the ones that cut down
More trees in future
Same types of planted which are cut down so variety of trees is kept
Some countries this is a law

Question 26

What is eco-tourism

Answer 26

Tourism that minimises damage to the environment and benefits local people
Small numbers of visitors in an area at a time
Eco-tourism provides a source of income for local people as they can act as guides provide accommodation and transprt
If there employed in tourism I don’t have to log to rely on money

Question 27

What’s international hardwood agreements

Answer 27

Hardwood is a general term for word from certain tree species the world tends to be fairly dense and hard I’m used to make things like furniture for example mahogany and teak
Hi demand for hardwood from consumers in richer countries mean some tropical hardwood trees are becoming rarer as people are chopping them down and selling them
There are international agreements in place to try reduce illegal logging and promote hardwood from sustainably managed forests

Question 28

What education in terms of sustainable management

Answer 28

Education of the international community about the impacts of deforestation can encourage people to buy products are certified from sustainable manner sources
Locals may not know impacts as they try to make money in the short term by illegal logging to overcome their own poverty
Educate ways to reduce the impacts decreases the damage
Educate alternative ways to make money

Question 29

What is reducing debt in terms of sustainable management

Answer 29

Lots of rainforests are in LICs
L icy countries often borrow money from wealthier countries to fund development schemes or cope with emergences
Money must be paid back with interest
These countries often allow money from blocking farming and mining in the room for us to pay back debt
Reducing the debt means countries don’t have to do this
Debt can be cancelled by countries
Better solution is a conservation swaps

Question 30

What’s conservation in terms of sustainable management

Answer 30

Country set up national parks and nature reserves within rainforests in these areas damaging activities are are restricted. However a lack of funds can make it difficult to police the restrictions

Resulting in some countries have set up funds which overseas governments and businesses can invest in the countries get the money in exchange for rainforest conservation
New can be used to enforce restrictions on damaging activities and to promote sustainable use of the rainforest

NORWAY PAID $1 BILLION INTO BRAZILS AMAZON FUND TO BE USED FOR CONSERVATION

Question 31

What desert did we study

Answer 31

Thar in India

Question 32

Where are hot deserts found

Answer 32

The hot deserts of the world are located between 15° and 30° north or south of the equator. This is a zone of subsiding or sinking air. Air that rises due to the intense heat at the equator divides to flow north and south. When it reaches 15° to 30° it begins to sink because it has lost so much of its heat.

Question 33

Climate in hot desert

Answer 33

Little rainfall less than 250mm per year
Termperatures extreme
Hot in the day (45C)
Cold at night (5C)

Question 34

Plant adaptations in the that desert

Answer 34

Long roots 
Succulents 
Spines and toxins 
Small leaves and spines = low SA
Seeds only germinate when rained

Question 35

Animal adaptations in desert

Answer 35

Nocturnal
Lizards and snake can tolerate high temperatures
Store large amounts of fat which can break down to water
Get water from what they eat most animals minimise water loss from sweat and urine
Triple eyelids long eyelashes close nostrils large flat feet

Question 36

Challenges for development in the that desert

Answer 36

Extreme temperatures
Inaccessibility
Water supply

Question 37

Why is extreme temperatures a challenge for development in the that desert

Answer 37

Due to lack of cloud cover, daily temperatures can range from over 40C to below freezing at night. Exposure to high temperatures can cause illness or death and healthcare maybe a long distance away

Hot season is often too hot for tourists so employment in tourism industry can be seasonal

Question 38

Why is inaccessibility a challenge in development in the that desert

Answer 38

Sahara is huge and people and material have to travel long distances often by air which can be expensive
It’s difficult to provide services
Expensive pipelines have to be built to transport to remote areas
Takes 5 days by truck to transport salt from salt mines in mali out of the desert

Question 39

How does water supply provide a challenge in the that desert

Answer 39

Sahara has very low annual rainfall (<70mm in places)
Rainfall is unpredictable and most rivers only flow during part of the year
Providing enough water for workers,industry or irrigation is extremely hard
Deep boreholes are used to extract water store but thi isn’t sustainable as supply isn’t replenished
Some desert resources are so valuable that new developments find ways of supplying water they need

Question 40

What’s desertification

Answer 40

Degradation of land so it become more desert like

Question 41

Why is desertification a problem

Answer 41

Desertification reduces the ability of land to support life, affecting wild species, domestic animals, agricultural crops and people. The reduction in plant cover that accompanies desertification leads to accelerated soil erosion by wind and water.5 Dec 2007

Question 42

How can we reduce desertification

Answer 42

Water management
Tree planting
Soil management
Appropriate technology and

Question 43

Explain how the different strategies of reducing desertification work

Answer 43

Water management- use drip irrigation
Tree planting- windbreakers to protect soil, stabilise sand to prevent desert from encroaching on farm land. Protects plants by providing shade- recuces *C and evaporation rates
Soil management- leave areas to rest in between grazing
Appropriate technology - cheap + sustainable + easily available materials that are easy for locals to maintain. E.g. sand fences
Solar cookers use suns energy to heat food
Cheap and easy to make and don’t require fuel wood to work