SUST 124 9/13

Biomes:

  • Tropical rainforest
  • Temperate rainforest
  • Coral reef
  • Desert
  • Boreal forest/taiga
  • Savannah
  • Chaparral
  • Tundra
  • Temperate grassland

  1. Where is your biome located?

  2. What are the most significant characteristics of your biome?

  3. Identify and explain an environmental problem in your biome.  What is the problem,  what is the cause, what (if any) are the solutions?  What are the social and economic impacts of the problem?

  4. The boreal forest (or taiga) biome is located across the upper northern hemisphere, stretching across northern portions of North America and Asia.

  5. Taigas are notable for their dense coniferous forests and cold climates.  Because the soil lacks nutrients and the climate is so cold, forest floors tend to be made up of lichens, mosses and mushrooms that do not need to take deep root to survive.  They tend to be relatively flat areas.

  6. Deforestation is an issue that significantly affects the health of taigas.  Logging, specifically clear cutting methods, destroy the biome by removing habitats for animal species, reducing soil health, and making erosion and flooding both more likely and more damaging.  When the trees are removed, the ground is no longer anchored, and upper levels are eroded down to permafrost and bedrock.  

The Human Environment

        Continuous Resources–inexhaustible

        Renewable Resources–potentially exhaustible

        Non-renewable Resources–exhaustible

Theories Explaining Why Environmental Issues Occur

        –sociocultural imbalances and human driving forces explain the human dimension behind environmental issues

        Theories:

  1. Non-malthusian: demographic pressure leads to overuse and misuse of resources
  2. Ignorance–ignorance of the working of nature means that mistakes are made, leading to unintentional consequences
  3. Tragedy of the commons–overuse or misuse of certain resources occurs because they are commonly owned
  4. Poor valuation–overuse or misuse of resources because they are not properly valued in economic terms
  5. Dependency–inappropriate resource use by certain groups is encouraged or compelled by the influence of more powerful groups
  6. Exploitation–overuse or misuse of resources are pursued deliberately by a culture driven by consumerism
  7. Human domination over nature–environmental issues result from human misapprehension of being above rather than part of nature