Ecosystems, Tropical Rainforests, and Droughts

Vocabulary flashcards covering ecological concepts, biomes, UK habitats, tropical rainforest characteristics, and drought types and case studies from the lecture transcript.

Ecosystem

A natural environment that includes the flora (plants) and fauna (animals) living and interacting within that environment.

Biotic components

The living parts of an ecosystem, consisting of flora, fauna, and bacteria.

Abiotic components

The non-living parts of an ecosystem—including climate, soil, and water—that determine which species can survive.

Eutrophication

An alteration of nutrient levels in water caused when fertilisers leach into the water system, which can disrupt the ecosystem and collapse food chains.

Biome

A large-scale global ecosystem whose distribution and characteristics are determined by climate factors such as latitude, air pressure, and winds.

Taiga

A coniferous forest biome found in Scandinavia, Russia, and Canada, where evergreen trees thrive in a cool temperate climate.

Halophytic plants

Wild, salt-tolerant shoreline plants, such as samphire and kale, that grow along coastlines and are gathered via wild foraging.

Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs)

Designated protected marine areas, such as the $91$ zones around England, established to protect underwater habitats and species of national importance.

Lianas

Woody vines rooted in the ground that climb up rainforest trees to reach sunlight, producing leaves and flowers in the canopy.

Drip tips

Pointy tips on leaves that allow rainwater to run off quickly without breaking or damaging the leaf surface.

Buttress roots

Large, ridged tree roots that create an expansive surface area to provide physical support for large trees in thin rainforest soils.

Epiphytes

Plants that grow on tree branches high up in the rainforest canopy and absorb nutrients directly from the air and water rather than from soil.

Debt-for-nature swaps

International agreements in which a creditor country cancels a portion of another nation's debt in exchange for the debtor nation conserving its tropical rainforests.

Selective Management System

A sustainable forest management practice used in Malaysia involving planned logging of mature, commercially viable trees over a $40$-year cycle to allow forests to re-establish.

Drought

An extended period of abnormally low rainfall relative to the normal conditions of a specific region, lasting from weeks to months or years.

Meteorological drought

A type of drought that occurs when the amount of precipitation received in a specific area falls below the historical average.

Hydrological drought

A type of drought where reduced precipitation depletes water supplies, resulting in reduced streamflow, soil moisture, groundwater, and lake or reservoir levels.

Agricultural drought

A drought condition where meteorological and hydrological deficits affect agricultural activities, notably through decreased soil moisture or reduced reservoir reserves for irrigation.

El Niño

A climatic phenomenon characterized by warming surface temperatures of the Pacific Ocean along the central South American coast, disrupting storm patterns and causing droughts in Indonesia and Australia.

La Niña

A climatic phenomenon characterized by cooling surface temperatures of the Pacific Ocean near central South America, disrupting storm paths and leaving North and South America prone to drought.

Desalination plants

Industrial facilities that convert seawater into safe drinking water to safeguard urban and agricultural supplies against severe drought conditions.

The Sahel

A semi-arid region south of the Sahara desert stretching across Africa from east to west that receives between $250\,\text{mm}$ and $450\,\text{mm}$ of annual rainfall in only one or two months.