HUMAN GEOGRAPHY - PAPER 2

Fragile

A term used to describe those natural environments that are sensitive to and easily abused by human activities

Adaption (to climate change)

Changing lifestyles and economic activity to suit a different climate, such as farming different crops or installing air conditioning

Agro-Forestry

Combining agriculture and forestry, as in the planning of windbreaks in areas suffering from wind erosion or growing trees for fuel

Clear Felling

The practice of cutting down all trees on a site

Deforestation

The felling and clearance of forested land by humans

Desertification

Thespread of desert-like conditions into semi arid areas

Drought

A long, continuous period of dry weather (below average rainfall)

Ecological footprint

The impact a person or community has on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resourses

Famine

A widespread shortage of food, in worse cases it can lead to starvation and even death

Fossil Fuel

Hydrocarbon fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas that cannot be “remade,” because it will take tens of millions of years for them to form again

Global Warming

A slow but s rise in the earths temperature, it may be caused or partly caused by the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses, which increase the greenhouse effect

Malnutrition

When people lack a balanced, sufficient diet, often not getting enough good or lacking key nutrients

migration

When people move from one area to another. The UN defines this as moving for more than 1 year

Orbital Changes

Changes in the way the earth orbits the sun, on very long timescales which can change the earths climate

Overgrazing

Putting too many animals on grazing land so that the vegetation cover is gradually destroyed

Permaculture

A type of agriculture that is both high-yielding and sustainable because it is based on and takes advantage of natural ecological processes

Population pressure

When there’s too many people for the resources (water, farming) of an area to support

Selective Logging

The felling, at intervals, of mature trees in a forest of mixed age, or the extraction of the most valuable trees from a forest

Solar Logging

Changes in the energy emitted by the sun (seen as changing sunspots of the sun’s surface) which can alter earth’s climate

Soil Erosion

The removal of soil by wind and water by the movement of soil down slope

Sustainability

Actions that minimize the negative impacts on the environment e.g pollution and promoting human health

The three processes that are responsible for making environments more fragile

1. Soil erosion

2. Desertification

3. Deforestation

Top 5 countries with the highest ecological footprints

1. China - 5.1B Hectares

2. U.S.A - 2.6B Hectares

3. India - 1.5B Hectares

4. Russia - 848M Hectares

5. Brazil - 551M Hectares

Examples of Fragile environments

• Arid and semi arid environments

• Tropical rainforest

• Cold environments

• Coral reefs

How arid and semi-arid environments fragile

The lack of precipitation and moisture reduces the environment’s ability to recover if damaged

How tropical rainforests are fragile

Deforestation and wildfires lead to large areas being cleared. Infertile soils make it difficult for plants to re-establish

How cold environments are fragile

Low temperatures reduce the ability of the environment to recover as plants cannot regrow

How coral reefs are fragile

Pollution and damage by tourists kill the coral and it struggles to re-establish

Natural causes of desertification

• Soil erosion which leads to loss of nutrients.

• Rainfall patterns becoming less predictable, leading to drought

• Reduced vegetation leading to less nutrients in the soil

• Any rainfall happens in short, intense bursts

Human causes of Desertification (explanation)

• Overgrazing leading to all the vegetation due to the numbers of animals or the land not having the chance to recover

• Overcultivation leading to nutrients being taken up by crops leaving none for future vegetation to grow

• Deforestation removing shade for soil and there is no roots to bind the soil together, increasing erosion whilst decreasing infiltration and interception

• Population Growth puts increased pressure on the land since people raise more animals and grow more crops

Soil Erosion

The washing/blowing away of top soil, reducing fertility of the remaining soil. Its a natural process which is worsened by humans

Wind Erosion

In drier parts, the wind can easily blow away the dry soil, eroding it

Sheet erosion

Usually occurs in parts of the world where there is moderate rainfall, when rain falls on the bare soil it begins to was away the top of the soil

Gully erosion

Takes place in areas with high rainfall occurs, such as during tropical storms, this high around of water can cut gillies in slopes, often in lands with little vegetation

Natural causes of desertification

• Soil erosion

• Rainfall Patterns

• Reduced Vegetation

Human causes of desertification

• Over-grazing

• Over-Cultivation

• Deforestation

• Population pressure

Sahel

A narrow belt of land in northern-central Africa, spanning across an arrange of countries bordering the southern edge of the Sahara desert. It’s a semi-arid climate, which is always hot, but still sometimes able to have enough rainfall for shrubs, and plants to grow.

Sahel region covers

• Senegal

• Mauritian

• Mali

• Burkina Faso

• Niger

• Nigeria

• Chad

• Eritrea

• Sudan

What happened to the sahel

Before the 1960’s the land was doing well, rainfall was enough, crops and plants could grow, however there was a big population increase which put pressure to strip the land of more resources to manage the population. The climate began to decline with people still putting pressure on the land. After the 1970s crop failure became normal along with droughts, leading up to the deaths of around 100,000 people

Natural causes of deforestation

• Tree diseases

• Forest fires

• Extreme weather

• Parasites

Human causes of deforestation

• Building of settlements

• Agriculture

• Road Building

• Logging

• Mining

• Hydro-power (Building damns and reserves)

Consequences of soil erosion

• Malnutrition rises

• Migration away from the land

• Famine and starvation

• International aid needed

Primary sector

Jobs in this sector involve the extraction of raw materials from the natural environment

Primary sector - Example

Jobs in Agriculture, mining and fishing

Secondary Factor

Jobs in this sector involve manufacturing things

Secondary sector - Example

Factory workers, construction workers, car industry, textile production

Tertiary sector

Jobs in this sector involve providing a service

Tertiary sector - Example

Jobs in teaching, nursing and beautician

Quaternary

Jobs in this sector involve research and development E.G IT

Quinary Sector

The highest levels of decision making in an economy

Quinary sector - Examples

The top business executives, officials in government, science, universities, non-profit organisations, healthcare, culture and media, or STEM employment

De-industrialisation

When (an especially heavy) industry moves away from an area

Manufacturing

The production of goods/products for sale

Mechanisation

The process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand / with animals to exclusively work with machinery

Outsourcing

Work sent elsewhere to save costs

Raw materials

The basic materials from the ground or the earth, int heir unprocessed state

Demographics

Information about the population and the groups within it

Social change

Changes to the society, changes to institutions or behaviours

Globalisation

Is the process of interaction and integration among people

Transnational corporations

Operate in more than one country

Disposable income

Income remaining after deduction of taxes and social security charges, available to be spent or saved as the individual wishes

Megacity

Cities with a population of over 10 million people

Formal sector

Jobs where people work in regular employment, pay taxes and have formal employment rights. This economic activity can be formally tracked by the government

Informal sector

Unofficial work, usually without regular pay work and workers rights. Untracked by the government

Paratransit

Service that supplements public transport systems by providing individual rides without fixed routes of timetables

Unemployed

Not being in paid work but currently available for work

Under-employment

Not having enough paid work or not doing work that makes full use of their skills or abilities

Energy Mix

Combination of energy resources used to meet the energy needs of the country

Energy security mix

The ability of a nation to secure sufficient, affordable and consistent energy supplies for it’s domestic, industrial, transport and military requirements

Sustainable

to meet the needs of the present without compromising the future generations ability to meet their own needs

Primary energy

Energy which doesn’t undergo a conversion process. E.G Coal, natural gas and fuel wood

Secondary energy

Is derived from primary that undergoes processing - E.g Electricity, petrol etc

Fossil fuels

Coal, oil gas - Are non renewable

Renewable

They come from a source which is not depleted when used

Non-Renewable

Finite sources, once used they cannot be replaced

Carbon footprint

The amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organisation or community

Solar power

A renewable energy resource which draws energy from the sun using solar panels, to convert energy into electricity

Solar panels average

Most homes install around 15 solar panels, producing an average of 30KWH of solar energy daily

Solar energy - Advantage

• Environmentally friendly

• Easy installation

• Long-term use

• Reduces energy bills

Solar energy - Disadvantage

• High initial costs

• Unreliable (sunlight varies with weather season, time

• Uses a lot of space

Hydro-electric power

A renewable energy source. In which a dam will hold water in a man-made lake or reservoir behind it, the flowing water is released through the damn and a turbine connected to a generator will spin producing energy. The water will then return to the river on the downstream of the damn

Hydro-Electric power advantages

• Reservoirs/ damns can also control flooding which can provide water in times of shortage

• Often located in remote, mountainous sparsely populated areas

• No greenhouse gases released

• Water used is free

Hydro-electric power disadvantages

• Can only be located in certain areas

• Damn is expensive to build

• Large areas of land flooded

• Visual pollution

Wind power

A renewable energy source, using large blades of turbines to generate electricity.

Wind power average

Wind power generates around 200KWH per person daily on

Wind power - Advantages

• No air pollution

• Cheap to run

• Few safety issues

• Takes up less land

Wind power - Disadvantages

• Can be dangerous to some wild life (e.g birds)

• Large and noisy

• Limited by location

• Many turbines are needed to produce

Biofuels

A renewable energy source which uses fermentation of biomass materials such as animal/agricultural wates, used for the transportation of fuels and other things like heating and electricity generation

Bio-fuels advantages

• Reliable source

• Widely available

• Find use for organic waste materials

Biofuels - Disadvantages

• Can contribute to deforestation

• Release of CO”

• Can be expensive to set up

Geothermal energy

A non-renewable energy source where energy stored in the form of heat beneath the surface of the solid earth is extracted. This is used for heating, generating electricity etc

Geothermal - Advantages

• No CO2 or greenhouse gases emitted

• Reliable source which doesn’t run out

• Doesn’t depend on the weather

Geothermal - Disadvantages

• Geothermal power-stations can only be built in suitable areas

• Sulphuric gases and harmful minerals may surface

• High set up costs (Installation costs could be up to $45,000)

Nuclear energy

A non-renewable energy source which uses nuclear reaction to produce electricity, such as the splitting of uranium atoms (process called fission). This generate heat to produce steam, which is used by a turbine generator to create electricity

Nuclear energy - Advantages

• Fewer greenhouse gases

• Small amount of wastes

• Good use of materials such as uranium

Nuclear energy - disadvantages

• Harmful radiation in waste, which can cause cancer

• Issues with waste disposal

• High costs of building and decommissioning of power stations

Fossil fuels statistic

Takes up 80% of the world’s used energy sources.

Fossil fuels

Contains materials suchh as coal, oil and natural gases which are formed naturally in the earth’s curst from the remains of dead organisms, these are extracted and burned as fuel.

What can fossil fuels be used for?

They can be used to provide heating, power engines or to generate electricity

Fossil fuels - Advantage

• Cost-effective

• Raw materials for it found very easily

• Generates a large amount of energy and electricity