Ecosystems, Tropical Rainforests, and Hot Deserts

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering small-scale UK ecosystems, global biomes, tropical rainforest ecology and deforestation, and hot desert environments and management.

Ecosystem

A natural system made up of plants, animals, and the environment, characterised by complex interrelationships between living and non-living components.

Biotic components

The living features of an ecosystem, such as plants and fish.

Abiotic components

The non-living environmental factors of an ecosystem, including climate (temperature and rainfall), soil, water temperature, and light.

Biome

A global-scale ecosystem, such as a tropical rainforest or deciduous woodland, defined mainly by the dominant type of vegetation that grows in the region.

Producers

Organisms that convert energy from the environment (mainly sunlight) into sugars (glucose) through photosynthesis.

Consumers

Organisms that obtain energy by consuming the sugars produced by producers, such as a pond snail eating aquatic plants.

Decomposers

Organisms such as bacteria and fungi that break down dead plant and animal material and return nutrients to the soil.

Food chain

A diagram that shows direct feeding links between producers and consumers in the form of a simple, linear sequence.

Food web

A diagram illustrating the complex network of feeding links and interrelationships between various producers and consumers in an ecosystem.

Nutrient cycling

The continuous movement and recycling of nutrients between biomass, litter, and soil, supported by inputs from rainwater and weathered rock.

Pingos

Ice mounds formed approximately $10\,000$ years ago in a tundra landscape whose collapse created depressions that became ancient freshwater ponds, such as those at Stow Bedon.

Eutrophication

A process caused by agricultural fertilisers washing into water bodies, where excess nitrates trigger rapid algal growth that depletes oxygen and causes fish to die.

Latosol

An infertile, deep, red tropical rainforest soil (also known as tropical red earth) coloured by the oxidation of iron and aluminium minerals.

Leaching

The downward washing away and removal of soluble nutrients (such as calcium and potassium) through the soil profile by heavy rainfall.

Canopy stratification

The structural arrangement of a tropical rainforest into distinct vertical plant layers, ranging from the forest floor to the emergent layer.

Emergents

Fast-growing tropical rainforest trees (such as the kapok) that out-compete other species to grow up to $45\,\text{m}$ high and reach sunlight above the main canopy.

Epiphytes

Plants that live perched on branches high in the canopy to access sunlight, obtaining nutrients and moisture directly from the air and rainwater rather than soil.

Lianas

Woody climbing vines rooted in the ground that use tree trunks to reach high into the canopy to display their leaves and flowers to the Sun.

Buttress roots

Massive, ridged aerial roots that support the base of tall rainforest trees, assist in water transport, and increase surface area for gas exchange.

Drip tips

Tapered leaf tips adapted to shed torrential rainforest rain quickly, preventing leaf damage and the growth of moss and mould.

Evapotranspiration

The combined transfer of moisture to the atmosphere through evaporation of water from ground surfaces and transpiration from plant leaves.

Primary rainforest

Natural tropical rainforest that is untouched, undisturbed by human activities, and remains in its original condition.

Selective logging

A sustainable timber harvesting method in which only fully grown, mature trees are cut down, leaving younger trees to continue growing and preserving the forest canopy.

Slash and burn

A traditional subsistence farming method where small patches of forest are cut down and burned to clear land and release nutrients into the soil.

Soil erosion

The removal and stripping away of unprotected topsoil by the actions of wind and rain, commonly accelerated when vegetation is cleared.

Ecotourism

Responsible travel to natural areas that educates visitors, protects the environment, and generates sustainable revenue for local communities.

Debt-for-nature

An international financial agreement where a country's foreign debt is cancelled or reduced in exchange for guarantees to protect and conserve its natural rainforests.

Succulents

Plants that survive in arid conditions by storing moisture within their fleshy roots, stems, leaves, or fruit.

Tobas and johads

Traditional water storage ponds in the Thar Desert, consisting of natural depressions (tobas) or man-made structures (johads) used to collect rainwater.

Desertification

The degradation process by which fertile or semi-arid land gradually becomes desert, primarily driven by climate change and unsustainable human activities.

Salinisation

The buildup of mineral salts on the soil surface caused by the rapid evaporation of irrigation water in hot, arid climates, which reduces soil fertility and harms vegetation.

Ponding banks

Low walls enclosing sections of land to store water, encourage infiltration, and prevent soil erosion in dryland environments.

Contour traps

Embankments built along the natural contour lines of slopes to capture runoff and prevent soil from being washed downhill during heavy rainfall.

Appropriate technology

Simple, low-cost, and sustainable machinery or tools made from accessible materials that suit the skills and economic conditions of local communities.

Stone bunds

Low stone walls between $0.5\,\text{m}$ and $1.5\,\text{m}$ high built along slope contours to trap water and topsoil, enhancing crop yields and reducing desertification.