GCSE Geography: The Living World

What is classified as a cold environment

regions that experience temps below 0 degrees celsius, resulting in a short growing season and high adapted wildlife

where are cold environments located (3)

- high latitudes (surrounding polar regions)

- experience less intense sunlight

- high altitudes (mountains)

different types of cold environments (3)

polar: areas surrounding the poles (90N and 90S) such as antarctica or greenland

Tundra: Areas of high altitudes with low temps and short growing seasons. Permafrost which can thaw seasonally in lower latitude regions (canada and russia)

Alpine: cold, mountainous regions with snowy conditions and warmer summers (himalayas and alps)

polar environment characteristics (5)

Climate: Temps consistantly below 0. Inland temps fall below -50 degrees. Very little snow falls. In Vostok (Antarctica) less than 50mm of snowfall.

Soils: lacks nutrients and frozen covered in thick ice sheets

Plants: mosses and lichens, lacks biodiversity

animals: highly adapted, southern ocean filled with wildlife (seals) , polar bears found on the fringes of polar environments

people: 4 million people live in arctic, no permanent residents of antarctica.

Tundra Environment characteristicsics (5)

Climate: less extreme than polar, temp below freezing in winter, may be above freezing in summer, short growing seasons, high precipitation in coastal regions as rain or snow

Soils: Poor nutrience and permafrost. Can thaw in summer making it waterlogged and boggy

People: More people live in tundra but lives are still influenced by cold temps

Animals: More biodiversity, more diverse wildlife on land and plants, more food options (foxes, hares)

Plants: low growing, mosses,, too cold for trees

adaptations of plants and animals in cold environments (5)

- thick insulating fur and layers of fat. Polar bear's fur is hollow to increase insulation

- Alter behavior to limit exposure to cold environments. Tundra animals hibernate until winter is over.

- plants grow low to ground in tightly packed structures (cusion shaped) to reduce exposure to harsh winds and insulate the plant

- flowering and seeding happens in short time periods to it can take place in very short summers

- water loss is reduced by thick, waxy leaves and hairy stems can insulate plants

fragility of cold environments (4)

- take a long time to recover from disruption, or may never recover

- Animals and plants are already adapted. When change happens, they find it difficult to cope with change

- slow nutrient cycle, so things take longer to decompos,e so plants take longer to grow

- lack of biodiversity so limiting food chain. e.g. species of krill is declining in antarctic so penguins migrate to different areas, affecting seal populations

cold environment benefits to people (4)

- mineral and natural resources (gold, silver, coal, oil, gas)

- tourism

- fishing

- scientific research

why is oil problematic (2)

- pipelines can crack and equipment can fail in ocean or land. Oil stays in environment for a long time unless cleaned which can be toxic to wildlife

- geopolitical tension

human impacts on cold environments (5)

- pollution: global warming (sea levels rise causing flooding, invasive species and habitats destroyed, co2 released via permafrost)

- exploitation of resources: oil spills, disruption of plants and animals via mining

- Infrastructure and development: off-road vehicles destroying ground, environemental damage from constructions (displacing wildlife and environment damage)

- Fishing and whaling: food chains disrupted and endangerment of species

- Tourism: Ship crash (oil spills), trampling on plants and disruption of animals, foreign objects into the nutrient cycle (plastic)

why we should keep cold environments protected as wilderness area (3)

- the ecosystem and food chain is deligcate and fragile so human intervention may throw off the complicated balance

- many native endangered and rare species that need to be protected and human intervention may put them at risk

- developments are complicated and could be high risk and expensive to operate and the frozen land and severe weather could cause too much disruption and may not be economially viable to develop some areas

e.g. transporting and drilling oil in the antarctic as it is too expensive to transport across a huge continent

why we should not keep cold environments protected as wilderness area (3)

- very important area for scientific research as the area is untouched by humans so effects of pollution, construction and exploitation do not interfere with data

- scientsists can take accurate readings of remp, cloud cover

- lots of evidence for past climate change (drill deep down into ice sheets to extract ice from hundreds of thousands of years ago_

how they balance development with conservation of the environment (4)

- using technology to minimise environmental impact

- implementing environmental laws

- international agreements like regulating actions of many countries

- conservation groups who campaign and research to protect environments

trans- alaska pipeline (6)

- 800 mile long pipe

- transports oil across alaska from prudhoe bay to valdez

- built to use instead of ships which is obstructed by arctic sea ice in winter

- built on stilts to ensure permafrost is not melted by the hot oil and reduces risk of pipe freeze thawing as it is kept away from the ground and insuluated

- migrating animals such as the caribou can pass underneath the pipeline so their migration patterns are not interrupted

- the oil flow can be blocked at multiple points in the pipeline if there is a leak

Government action (5)

- create laws and regulations that citizens and companies must follow such as issueing fines or prosecution

- environmental protection laws to ensure any activity is done with minmal impact

- creating quotas for fishing, hunting or resource extraction in cold environments minimises food chain and wildlife disruption

- nature reserves and desginated areas where oil drilling and development is banned

- investments into environmental science (national oceanic and atmospheric administration in usa which protects marine habitats and oversees fisheries to check the activity is sustainable)

ATS

The Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) collection of international agreements that work to protect the arctic from damage by humans

The Antarctic Treaty (1959) (6)

- 53 countries signed

- antartica should only be used for peaceful means

- used for scientific research, all research has a right to be shared and cooperated on

- all stations and operations can be inspected at any time

- antarctica is not any country's territory, it is a global common

- nuclear activity is banned

The protocal on Environmental protection to the antarctic treaty (1991) (3)

- bans all activities relating to mineral resources, aside from scientific purposes, so no mining or fuel extraction

- committee for environmental protection is established, to advise and give recommendations to members

- added regulations such as waste management and marine pollution

conservation groups benefits (3)

- politically unbiased

- less powerful than government

- can incorporate public interest

ASOC (6)

- formed in 1978 as secret negotiations a framework for mineral and gas prospecting in atarctica

- overall environmental protection in antarctica

- monitoring and extending marine protected areas

- wildlife conservation

- krill conservation (important food source for marine life)

- climate change and antarctic governance

charities (4)

- greenpeace and wwf to enhance conservation of cold environments

- collecting data and information of governments to monitor reliability and accuracy of other data

- reporting issues and findings to governments and public to spread awareness and boost donations

- creating petitions, lobbying and campaigning for change however these need to be discussed by governments once reached a certain number of signitures

ecosystem

- natural system in which a community of plants and animals interact with each other and their physical environment

different scale ecosystems (2)

- small scale: local ecosystem such as freshwater pond or on the seashore

- global -scale: large regions of the world with similar environmental conditions (climate, vegetation and soil type). (biomes)

producers

- organisms that convert energy from the environment (sunlight)into sugars (glucose)

consumers

- orgnasisms that recieve energy from consuming living organisms or eat producers and recieve energy from the sugars

decomposers

- break down organic material and release nutrients from this organic matieral into the soil which are absorbed by plants to grow (fungi and bacteria)

food chains

- how producers and consumers interact with the ecosystem

2 examples of a food chain

- algae, midge larva, small fish, carnivorous fish, heron

- grass, cow, human

food webs

- show the complicated relations between organisms and how they interact with one another through different several food chains

nuttrient cycling (5)

- fuel plant and animal frowth such as nitrates and phosphates

- come from phosphorus containing rocks and minerals break down by weathering releasing nutrients into soil

- chemicals in the atmosphere can be washed out with precipitation

- special bacteria can absorb chemicals from the air and store them in the soil

- animals and plants die and decomposers break up their organic matter into nutrients

impact of change within ecosystems (5)

- introduction od diease can change population size whichj affects food chains

- extreme weather/climate and natural disasters so ponds dry up such as in australia a deought dried up many duck ponds

- introduction of a new species alter food chains (wolves in yellowstone national park lead to the elks stop overgrazing which lead to beavers building damns (new habitat))

- human activities like removing a hedhe or building a road can disrupt animal behavior or alter the nutrient cycle

- removing a top predator, higher levels of consumer, reducing producer levels

Eutrophication (4)

- agricultural fertilisers wash into ponds and freshwater ecosystems when it rains

- algae grows rapidly due to the nutrients in the fertiliser which stops light from penetrating

- plants cant photosynthesise so they don't produce oxygen

- oxygen depleted waters can't support aquatic life for respiration causing animals to die

example of upland glaciated area in the uk (2)

- snowdonia

- for hiking summits

Tundra (5)

- 60-70 degrees

- treeless

- low precipitation

- short growing season, poor nutrient soil, lack of biodiversity

- permafrost

Taiga (4)

- 50-70 degrees

- coniferous forest (deought resistance)

- retain leaves to maximise photosynthesis during short summers

- longer growing season

Temperate deciduous forest (4)

- 40-50 degrees

- deciduous vegetation to reatin moisture

- highly seasonal temps

- moderate precipitation

temperature grassland (4)

- 30-40 degrees

- dominant vegetation due to periodic fires

- low precipitation

- hot summer,s cold winters

desert (5)

- 30n and s

- very low precipitation

- temp fluctuates

- very low nutrients

- covers 1/5th of world

tropical rainforest (4)

- species rich ecosystem

- warm moist climate

- very high precipitation

- very quick nutrient cycle

savanna (4)

- 15-30 degrees

- temp stays around high 20 degrees

- distinct wet and dry seasons

- wildfires, vegetation adapted to this

mediterranean (4)

- 40-45 degrees

- mild moist winters, hot dry summers

- frequent wildfires

- dense shrubs and fruit trees

nutrient cycle in tropical rainforest (4)

- vegetation rapidly grows as conditions are favourable for plant growth

- vegetation decays and decomposes rapidly due to hot moist conditions and decomposes in system

- nutrients enter top soil but are quickly absorbed by plants or washed away so nutrience does not penetrate deeper soil

- shallow roots take up nutrients on forest floor

layers of the rainforest (4)

- emergent layer

- canopy

- understory

- forest floor

plant adaptations (4)

- buttress roots: large above ground roots look like ridges to keep tree stable without growing roots far down ino the soil and ensure roots recieve enough air

- leaf structure: drip tips allows excess rainfall to fall off the leaf quickly. flexible stems that move to find light for dense canopy to block light from reaching lower levels

- lianas: woody vines adapted to dark lower levels, grow underground but vines wrap around the trees so they can access nutrients on the forest floor and light in canopy

- epiphytes: plants that live on the surface of other plants to steal nutrients and they grow high on trees to recieve more sunlight

animal adaptations (4)

- sloth: camoflauge and move slowly to make it harder for pred to spot

- spider monkey: long, strong limbs to help climb through rainforests

- flying frog: webbed hands and feet and flap of loose skin that stretches to glide from plant to climb

- toucan: long, large bill to reach and cut fruit from branches that are too weak to support its weight

interdependance

abiotic and biotic factor of the ecosystem interact and influence eachother which are important to keep an ecosystem in balance

causes of deforestation (7)

- subsistence farming: farmers only produce enough crops for their family than for profit and they clear land using slash and burn so soil becomes infertile

- commercial farming: agriculture with direct intention of making profit, clear huge areas for plantations or cattle ranches mostly done illegally. cattle accounts up to 80% of deforestation in amazon

- logging: cutting trees for wood. clear feling is clearing of all trees in one area

- road building: provide access to transport goods and heavy machinery for construction, mining, logging

- mineral extraction: vast reserves for metals, gemstones and fossil fuels in rainforest

- energy development: hydroelectric power (80% of brazil power is hydroelectric), dam construction requires a lot of land

- population pressure: more people, (transmigration) 825,000 families moved from java to rural areas in between 1950-1990

value of rainforests (7)

- natural resources: 25% of all medicines come from rainforest

- clean water: 20% of world's fresh wate ris sourced from amazon basin

- atmosphere: produce 28% of the world's oxygen

- research: relatively untouched by humans

- wildlife: 750 species of trees

- communities: depend on rainforest to survive

- carbon sink

how to protect rainforests (4)

- education and conservation

- ecotourism

- international agreements

- selective logging and replanting

svalbard (5)

- located between norway and northpole

- popluation: 2700

- temp exceed 10 degrees and -20 in winter

- glaciers cover 60% of land

- fishing, mineral extraction, energy, tourism

mineral extraction in svalbard (2)

- provides 300 jobs

- coal mine stopped due to drop of price in coal

energy developments

- burning coal, looking into geothermal energy and getting it from iceland

fishing

- rich in marine life (150 species of fish) to trade fish in other countries

tourism (6)

- unique wildlife (polar bears)

- glacier walks

- northern lights

- extreme acitivites

- 2011, 70k people visited longyearbyen

- 300 people have jobs

challenges in svalbard (9)

- extreme temps such as below -30 some days darkness 24/7

- many warm and windproof layers

- remote location and climate for transport goods

-only 50km road in longyearbyen

- only way to travel is boats in summer, snow mobiles in winter

- houses built on wooden stacks

- fungi would decompose the wood

- 10% of svalvard population had to evacuate due to risk of avalanches

- pipes are raised above ground and heated so it does not freeze

malaysian rainforest (2)

- 67% covered in rainforest

- 2000-2013 14% of malaysia forest cover was destroyed