Paper 1 - physical geography - the living world

Guve an exmaple of a small scale Uk ecosystem

Freshwater pond ecosystem

Defintion of producers, consumers, decomposers, food chains, food webs and nutrient cycling?

Producers - an organism that makes its own food

Consumer - a living thing that eats other plants and animals.

Decomposer - organisms that feed on plants or other animals for energy

Food chain - The connections between different organisms (plants and animals) that rely upon one another as their source of food

Food web - A network of food chains, showing how they all link together

Nutrient cycling - A set of processes whereby organisms extract minerals necessary for growth from soil or water, before passing them on through the food chain − and ultimately back to the soil and water

How are ecosystems balanced components?

through interactions between biotic and abiotic components, and through energy cycling

What is the impact on the ecosystem of changing one component?

The consumers who consumed the component will also reduce or become extinct

How are global biomes distrubuted and what are their characteristics?

by climate. (Latitude, air pressure and winds are important factors that determine the climate of a place.)

What are physical characteristics of a tropical rainforest?

Climate (28°c and 2000mm of rainfall a year)

Soil (not very fertile)

Vegetation

How do plants adapt to physical conditions?

Leaves - drip leaf with waxy surface for surface run off

Buttress roots - allows them to reach sunlight, large roots to absorb soil from the soil

Lianas - twist around trunks to reach sunlight

How do animals adapt to the physical conditions?

Parrots and toucans - large beaks to crack nuts, sharp claws to grip brabches

Poison arrow frogs - warn predators their posionous

Sloths - moss grows in fur for camoflauge, move slow to advoid being seen by predators

Issues related to biodiversity in rainforests

Reduce due to deforestation- lose habitats and homes

How are rates of deforestation changing?

Increasing in countrys such as peru, indonesia and thailand

Decreasing in brazil

Case study of a tropical rainforest

Amazon rainforest

Causes of deforestation

Commercial farming, logging, road building, mineral extraction, energy development, population growth

Positive and negative impacts of deforestation

Negative - reduce biodiversity, soil erosion, climate change

Positive - economic development - tourists (roads, hotels, jobs)

How are tropical rainforests valuable to people and the envirorment?

Provides goods (medicines, food, nuts, spices ect.)

Services (trees prevent soil erosion, climate change)

What is the benefits of selective logging?

Selevtive logging (helps preserve the rainforest)

Ecotourism and how it manages the tropical rainforest?

sustainable

tourism that creates jobs for local people whilst ensuring that the money generated is used to protect and conserve the tropical rainforest for future generations

How do international agreements protect the rainforest?

2006 international tropical timber agreement (restrict trade in tropical rainforests)

Forest stewardship council (fsc)

What are debt-for-nature swaps?

provide $100 billion to restore nature and help countries adapt to climate change, according to a report.

What are the physical characteristics of cold envirorments (polar)

Little to no soil

Few plabts sirvive the climate

No pernament settlements

What are the physical characteristics of a tundra envirorment?

Soil - permafrost

Climate - average temp between -6°c and -12°c

Indigenous people live there

Plants adaptations of cold envirorment?

Cushion plant - compact, low growing, help surivive in cold windy places

Artic poppy - hair stem to regain heat,

Cotten grass - small seeds that can be easily dispersed by the wind for survival

Animals adaptations of cold envirorment

Polar bear - thick fur for heat, large feet for grip on ixe

Artix fox - camoflauge, small ears for heat loss

Cold study case envirorment

Alaska

Development opportunities of a cold envirorment

Mineral extraction, energy, fishing, tourism

Challenges of devloping a cold envirorment?

Extreme temp

Inaccessibility

Buildings and infrastructures

Why are cold environments valuable and need protecting?

Fragile envirorment, and takes years to recover

How can technology help protect cold envirorments?

Stilts to raise trans alaskan pipeline, insulin of the pipe to reduce the risk of thawing permafrost