Topic 2 - Sustaining Ecosystems

Question 1

What is an ecosystem

Answer 1

a system in which organisms interact with each other and with their enviroment

Question 2

what is biotic

Answer 2

living things such as plants, insects and animals

Question 3

what is Aboitic

Answer 3

non-living things such as air , heat and rock

Question 4

what is flora

Answer 4

plant life occuring in a particular region or time

Question 5

what is fauna

Answer 5

animal life occuring in a particular region or time

Question 6

what is a food chain

Answer 6

they explain ecosystems, they show one species at a particular level where energy is transfered up to the next

Question 7

what is the nutrient cycle

Answer 7

a system where energy and matter are transferred between living organisms and non-living parts of the environment

Question 8

what is a biomass

Answer 8

the total mass of living organisms per unit area

Question 9

what is a biome

Answer 9

an area classified according to the species that live in that location

Question 10

what are the different types of biomes

Answer 10

• tropical rainforest
• tropical grasslands
• hot desert
• temperature forest
• tundra
• coral reefs
• temperature grasslands
• coniferous forest
• deciduous forest

Question 11

what are the layers of the rainforest

Answer 11

top layer:
- emergent (50 metres)
- canopy (recieves 70% of the light and most life occurs)
- U-canopy (trees 20metres)
- Shrub layer (small trees, adapted live in shad)
bottom layer:

Question 12

what is the rainforest soil profile

Answer 12

top layer:
- leaf litter (decomposes in heat)
- top soil (mixture of organic matter and minerals)
- sub soil (is deep due to rocks weathering below)
- rock (weathers quickly at high temperatures to form sub soil

Question 13

what is convectional rainfall

Answer 13

occurs when the heated air from the earth’s surface rises upwards along with the water vapour and gets condensed when it reaches a higher altitude

Question 14

what is the climate like in a tropical rainforest

Answer 14

• evening temp rarely fall below 22*
• temperature rarely rise above 32*
• most afternoons have heavy showers of rain
• at night no clouds so temperature drops

Question 15

what is the distribution like for tropical rainforests

Answer 15

• along the equator between the tropic of cancer and capricorn
• mostly found in south america, south east asia and central africa
• amazon rainforest (biggest)

Question 16

what affects of human activity on the rainforest

Answer 16

• logging
• agriculture
• tourism
• mineral extraction

Question 17

what adaptions are there to the rainforest

Answer 17

• moths: camouflaged to forest enviroment
• buttress roots: support tall trees and absorb nutrients
• drip tips: allows heavy rain to run off leaves easily
• lianas and vines: climb trees to reach sunlight and canopy

Question 18

case study: sustainability rainforest managment in cost rica

Answer 18

• loaction & backround: small country in central america, 6% of the worlds biodiversity, 6 million yourists a year
• ecotourism: directed toward natural enviroments, popular destination
• advantages: 80 new buisnesses open in Monterverde, 400 full-time and 140 part time jobs related to tourism
• disadvantages: land prices increased, deofrestation to clear for tourism industry

Question 19

what are some threats to costa rican rainforest

Answer 19

• cattle ranching and agriculture: clearing lands through slash and brun methods
• mining: large scale of soil and rock is being removed

Question 20

how is the rainforest managing to protect the rainforest

Answer 20

• government created 28 national parks with 24% of country land protect
• laws that deforestation has fallen from 1.8 to almost zero by 2005
• agroforestry ecourages growing trees and crops together to create better farming conditions
• afforestaction has led to the replanting of trees to replace original trees

Question 21

what is the disribution of the polar biome

Answer 21

• arctic: north region, 60*N aroundthe north pole
• Antarctic: a continent south of latitude 60*S around the south pole

Question 22

what is the polar climate like

Answer 22

polar areas are very cold with temperatures rarely reaching above 0C,
winters: below -40C
summers: maimum 10*C

Question 23

what are some land and sea features of arctic

Answer 23

• large areas of permafrost
• at sea most water is frozen over
• few plants
• mosses, grasses along coastal

Question 24

what are some land and sea features of the antarctic

Answer 24

• large and thick ice sheets
• a mountain range
• few species (polar bears, penguins, whales, seals and walrus)

Question 25

what is climate change like on polar regions

Answer 25

• global warming
• ice sheets and glaciers are melting
• sea levels are rising
• methan emmision are increaing
• creating big waves that are capable of causing coastal erosion

Question 26

what is included in the arctic soil profile

Answer 26

top layer:
- active layer
- permafrost
- bed rock
bottom layer:

Question 27

what are some effects of human activity in polar regions

Answer 27

• oil and gas exploration
• whaling
• tourism
• fishing

Question 28

case study: small scale sustainable management: clyde river in Canada

Answer 28

• location and backrouns: northern canada on the coast of baffin island
• features: 12 miles out to sea cover 3360km,high biodiversity
• sustainable management: no hunting or fishing, local cumminites only hunt what they need

Question 29

case study: global scale sustainable managment: antartic treaty system

Answer 29

• backround: signed by 50 nations in 1961, establashes freedom of scietific investogation and bans military activity
• basic principles: bans mining, promotes scientific reasearch and co-operation, protects the enviroemtns

Question 30

deforestation removes trees from rainforests, why do we remove them?

Answer 30

• resources like paper and wood
• mineral extraction

Question 31

what are two features of arctic flora

Answer 31

• short roots
• trees are configerous so the leaves dont shed in the winter

Question 32

why are rinaofrest soils considered to be amongst the poorest in the world

Answer 32

becuase the rainforest is very dense meaning that all the nutrients are competed for leading that the water gets washed away meaning the soil dosent have enough time to absorb so it is poor

Question 33

explain the importance of nutrient cycling in the rainforest

Answer 33

• otherwise plants will not grow aswell and not nearly as fast
• the nutrients cycle means that plants collect water and nutrients from the ground

Question 34

deffinition of a hot desert ecosystem

Answer 34

harsh climate, low biodiversity, thin soils, plants with long tap roots