battle for the biosphere revision
TRANSCRIPT
Battle for the BiosphereRevision Summary
Remember this is a summary and you need to use your book to add detail to your revision
Distribution of Biomes
WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE
THE LOCATION OF BIOMES?
Global Factors
Latitude – influences temperature and amount Of sunlight
Low Pressure
Low Pressure
High Pressure
High Pressure
AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION – WHERE THERE IS LOW PRESSURE THERE IS MORE RAINFALL. THIS HAPPENS ON THE EQUATOR AND THE JOIN OF THE FERREL AND POLAR CELL. THE MORE PRECIPITATION THERE IS THE MOST LIKELY THERE WILL BE PLANT GROWTH.
Local Factors
Temperatures decrease by 1oC for every
100m in height. Lower temperatures
affect plant growth.
Altitude
Marine Influence and Continentality
CONTINENTALITYAway from the sea the land heats up
quickly in the warm season. This
increases temperatures and
reduces precipitation.
MARINEThe sea cools the
land in the hot season and warms it
during the cold season. This
increases precipitation.
The Biosphere provides uswith many good and services
Goods1. Food and crops2. Meat, fish, hides, timber
and fuelwood3. Drinking water4. Water for irrigation5. Fruit, nuts, other products
such as rubber6. Biomass which can be
burnt for energy7. Medicines
Services1. Forests remove carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere. This reduces global warming.
2. Forests give out oxygen – purifying the atmosphere.
3. Reefs and mangroves provide protection from coastal storms.
4. Reefs an rainforests provide attractive scenery for tourism.
5. Forests protect from soil erosion and intercept precipitation – preventing flash flooding.
The Amazon RainforestThe biosphere is being degraded by humans
What degrades the Amazon Rainforest?
Mining projects such as the Grans Carajas programme which brought iron mines
Hydroelectric Dams along the Amazon’s
tributaries have flooded forest valleys
New Roads – the construction of new
roads such as the Trans-Amazon Highway
leads to forest loss
Agriculture – huge areas of forest have been
cleared for commercial agriculture in particular for growing soya beans
Clearance for timber – especially for
mahogany and teak which are made into
furniture
Population growth in Brazil has meant that more land is needed
for farms and housing
How does climate change
degrade the Biosphere?
Biome Impact of Climate Change
Impact on biome
Coral Reefs Sea surface temperature increase
Coral bleaching and coral death
Desert/ arid areas Lower precipitation Deserts get hotter, growth of deserts, loss of grasslands
Alpine/ Mountains Temperature increase, lack of snowfall
Habitats affected, glaciers disappear, loss of alpine plants
Arctic / Tundra Increase in annual temperature
Vegetation changes, melting of tundra
Coastal marshes Sea level rise, increase in storm frequency
Habitat loss in deltas and estuaries
Wetlands Increase in summer temperatures
Wetlands dry out
Tropical Rainforests Increase in temperature
Drought, species struggle to survive
High altitude cloud forest
Increase in temperature
Extinction of some species
Scale Strategy What are the aims? How does it protect the biosphere?
GLOBALRAMSAR Convention A global agreement to protect and conserve
Wetlands around the world.
CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species)
A global agreement which aims to stop the trade in products such as elephant ivory to help protect endangered species.
World Heritage Sites Over 800 sites around the world have been declared as World Heritage Sites. They are protected against development and destruction.
NATIONAL (UK)
National Parks Protected areas such as the Lake District National Park. They are managed and help to stop the destruction of the environment.
Community Forests Have been established to provide new areas of trees near major cities.
LOCAL Heartwood Forest (Hertfordshire – near Sandridge)
To create the largest native area of woodland plus wildflower meadows.
How can we conserve the biosphere?
Sustainable management of the biosphere - Kilum Forest Reserve, Cameroon
Mount Oku – Mountain Rainforest
• clearing forest for agriculture• the grazing of large flocks of sheep and goats leading to soil erosion• out of control forest fires in the dry season• using the forest as the main source of fuel
Major Threats:
Cameroon’s Government and
Birdlife International have joined together to
form a forest reserve
Sustainable management of the biosphere - Kilum Forest Reserve, Cameroon
Why is it sustainable?The reserve conserves the
ecosystem for future generations while
ensuring local people can still use the ecosystem for
resources.
What they have done in the Reserve:
1. Made a reserve which is zoned.2. The Core Conservation Zone is fully
protected.3. The Buffer Zone can be used by
humans to provide them with goods and services.
4. They have planted tree nurseries.5. They have encouraged ecotourism6. They have planted crops beneath
trees so they don’t have to be deforested.
7. The size of the reserve is large enough to support wildlife and
different species.