Flashcards
ecosystems
Cards in this deck (57)
- 1What is an ecosystem?It is a natural system which links together the living and the non living environment.
- 2What is a biome?It is an ecosystem on a global scale e.g. the rainforest.
- 3What is flora?It is the plants.
- 4What is fauna?It is the animals and decomposers.
- 5What are other terms for non living and living?Non living - abiotic
Living - biotic - 6Examples of a non living environmentSolar energy.
Water.
Air ( oxygen, carbon dioxide).
Rocks and soil. - 7Examples of a living environmentFlora.
Fauna. - 8What has human activity done to many ecosystems?It has increasingly interrupted, and even destroyed many ecosystems.
- 9what is the main source of energy in an ecosystem?Sun
- 10what is an ecosystem made up of?Energy from the sun.
Climate - sun and rain.
Living creatures.
Vegetation.
Rocks and soil. - 11how is the energy passed through an ecosystem?By producers and consumers
- 12describe the food chain, going from the beginning; give examples.Suns energy.
Non-living environment; air, water, rocks and soil.
Producers; grass and leaves, green plants, photosynthesis.
Consumers; herbivores, grass eaters, deer and rabbits.
Consumers; carnivores, meat eaters, lions and owls.
Decomposers; bacteria and fungi. - 13Describe the nutrient cycle in the taiga.Plants use nutrients from the soil to help growth.
Dead leaves and branches fall from trees forming a litter layer on the soil.
Decomposers such as beetles and fungi grow in the litter.
Leaf litter breaks down slowly in the cold conditions.
Nutrients from leaf litter return to the soil.
Roots are shallow so they can take in nutrients near the surface. - 14What are the three non-living parts of the tundra eco-system?Soil; Rocks and the atmosphere.
- 15what are the two ways that nutrients enter the soil?Leaf litters and decomposers
- 16what does input mean? Give examples.The most important input is energy (particularly light) from the sun, which drives photosynthesis and so enables plants to grow. Other inputs include animals that arrive from elsewhere, and water, transported into the ecosystem by precipitation or rivers.
- 17What does output mean? Give examples.Nutrients are transferred out of the system in a number of ways. Mainly through animals physically moving and water can move out of the ecosystem in rivers and by evapotranspiration, through flow and groundwater flow.
- 18What is a flow? Give examples.Within an ecosystem nutrients can be transferred from one store to another, for example from the soil to the vegetation through capillary uptake by plant roots.
- 19What are stores mean? Give examples.The three main stores of nutrients are in the vegetation, plant litter and soils.
- 20What are producers? Give examples.Or autotrophs are the first and lowest layer on a trophic level. They consist of green plants and produce their own food through photosynthesis using energy from the sunlight.
- 21What are primary consumers? Give examples.Or herbivores occupy the second trophic level. They consist of insects, fish, birds and mammals, which eat the producers.
- 22What are secondary consumers? Give examples.Or carnivores are the third trophic level. They are meat eaters and survive primarily by consuming the herbivores.
- 23What are the tertiary consumers? Give examples.Are at the top of the trophic pyramid. They are the top predators and eat the secondary consumers. They maybe omnivores.
- 24What are detritivores or decomposers? Give examples.Operate at each trophic level. A detritivores is an animal that feeds on dead material or waste products; a decomposer is an organism that breaks down dead plants, animals and waste matter. Fungi and Bacteria are decomposers.
- 25What is the trophic level?Energy transfer within an ecosystem can be illustrated using a pyramid diagram showing the four main trophic levels. At each trophic level, some of the energy contained is available as food for the next level in the pyramid.
- 26What is the location, climate and main rainforests in the world of a tropical rainforest?Location - Normally 5 degrees north and south of the equator; Near the equator; Main forests are the Amazon, Congo, and Indonesia Rainforest.
Climate - High annual rainfall totals over 2000mm; Convectional rainfall; High temperatures all year round (27 - 29 degrees Celsius); Very small temperature range = 2-3 degrees Celsius; Very humid - vegetation grows all year round. - 27What are the 5 layers of the rainforest? Working from top to bottom.Emergent layer. (at the top).
Canopy layer.
Understory layer.
Immature layer. (ground layer).
Herb layer. (ground layer). - 28Why do trees in a rainforest grow so tall?Because they are competing for sunlight.
- 29Why do trees need buttress roots?At the bottom of the trees there are Buttress roots. They need these roots to absorb water, take in nutrients, and for anchoring themselves to the floor. They are shallow roots because the goodness/nutrients are at the top layer of the soil.
- 30When are stilt roots used by trees and why?Stilt roots are used by the trees living near or in the river to anchor themselves down because the river/water is moving.
- 31Why do leaves have drip tips ?To get rid of excess water, so the leaves don't rot and die.
- 32Why do some trees have big leaves?To collect as much sunlight as possible.
- 33Why do some trees have shiny waxy leaves?So the water can run off. Also when the rain falls the vein down the middles acts as a 'gutter'.
- 34Why do flowers need to be bright and colourful?To attract insects so they can be pollinated. Also so that they stand out from the greenery.
- 35Why do trees have bark?Bark on trees helps to protect them from the weather and insects/bugs. Bark is normally thin. Branches are at the top of trees.
- 36What are Lianas, and what do they do and why can they cause a problem?Lianas are rope like vines, which help to anchor the trees and they are all intertwined. They cause a big problem when cutting trees down, because they often bring down other trees because they are all linked by the lianas.
- 37What are epiphytes, are they harmful?Epiphytes, these are plants that grow on other plants and trees. They don't cause trees any harm. They get their nutrients from the air.
- 38What is the nutrient cycle when the rainforest ground is protected by vegetation from heavy rainfall?Nutrient cycle developed in an area of natural tropical forest (heavy daily convectional rainfall intercepted by tree canopy).
Numerous fallen leaves.
Leaves decay rapidly to form humus.
Nutrients added to the soil.
Rich soil.
Rich tree growth. (and the cycle continues in a circle). - 39What is the nutrient cycle when the rainforest ground is not protected by vegetation from heavy rainfall?The cycle after an area of forest has been cleared (heavy rainfall hits ground).
Fewer leaves.
Less humus.
Few nutrients added to soil; others are leached downwards and are lost to the plants.
Soil becomes less fertile.
Poorer-quality vegetation and soil erosion. (the cycle continues in a circle). - 40What are the different ways that water is stored in the rainforest?Through atmospheric moisture.
Interception storage.
Water in plant tissues.
Surface storage water in puddles and soil moisture. - 41Explain the water flow cycle in the rainforest.Water flows from the atmosphere to the forest and back again, because the precipitation falls and some of this is caught in the leaves which creates drip flow and also stem flow from the branches and trees. And then this is evaporated from the soil and also evapotranspiration takes place so that the water floe goes back into the atmosphere and the cycle continues.
- 42What does the canopy of the rainforest reduce, why?It reduces the risk of soil erosion, because the canopy leaves intercept the rain before it hits the ground, and the water droplets lie on the leaves.
- 43The canopy acts like an umbrella, how does this prevent a lot of rain hitting the ground?When a tropical storm comes when the raindrops hit the ground with such force it can cause soil erosion. The canopy helps intercept a lot of the rain, so less soil erosion can take place.
- 44What can areas of rainforest supply for local communities, and why?It can maintain a steady supply of water for local communities, because the forest maintains an even supply and constant water to the rivers, so for people near these rivers it is their water supply. This is due to the rainforest cycle.
- 45Why could damaging the structure of the rainforest affect local people, as well as people in the wider region?Because if the rainforest water cycle were to be broken, the water supply of millions of people could be put at risk. Also the total amount of water flowing in the rivers would be reduced and the supply would become more uneven with periods of low water supply punctuated by sudden flooding. This would be due to a lack of trees which intercept and keep the rainfall even.
- 46Why is the cloud forest climate cooler and wetter than the lowland forest?Because they are in the mountain regions and they are often blanketed in cloud or mist making the atmosphere have a lot of moisture in it. (this is due to the link between rainfall and altitude).
- 47Where is the Monteverde cloud forest situated?It is situated in Costa Rica, Monteverde, in between Central America.
- 48Why does cloud height affect the frequency of mists in the cloud forests of Monteverde?Because the higher the cloud height the more moisture, so when it rises over the mountains of Monteverde, the more moisture that condenses and produces more low-level cloud and mist. So if they had low cloud height then there won't be as much moisture which means less mist.
- 49What are the three regional consequences of deforestation in Costa Rica?Less cloudy conditions, which means organisms adapted to the cloudy conditions will lose their habitat.
Mountain watersheds will be different so this could affect drinking water supplies or the water for hydro-electric facilities.
If you destroy the Monteverde's forest, they cannot feed the lake arenal hydro-electric project, which could effect the water budgets. - 50How will the new conservation zones in the monteverde cloud forest help wildlife? And what are these area called?It will help wildlife by maintaining their habitats and allowing them to roam between existing conservation areas and national parks, these are called wildlife corridors.
- 51Where is Kaktovich village?It is in Alaska in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It is situated near the sea.
- 52Kaktovich is near the sea, so it can get more food resources, why is this?Because it can get food from the sea as well as land.
- 53What do the caribou on migration face difficulties with?They face difficulties from the gwich'in tribe who hunt the caribou. Also from global warming, which causes heavy snow in winter, which delays their migration.
- 54How does global warming effect the gwich'in tribe?Global warming delays the caribou's migration. Which in turn effects the Gwich'in people because they rely on the migration for caribou meat and skins.
- 55Where are the Kaktovich people happy to receive wealth from oil companies?Because they can use the money for new schools, clinic, post office, and power plants.
- 56Why do the gwich'in people dislike the oil companies?Because they need the caribou and with the oil plant going up it could effect the caribou's migration, which will effect them greatly.
- 57Why does oil extraction in Alaska cause mixed views?Because it is bringing in more money, to help build new schools etc.. However it can have an effect on the wildlife there, which could led to an effect on the people like the Gwich'in tribe.
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- GCSE Geography (Theme 2) Flashcards on ecosystems, created by Rebecca Smith on 04/06/2016.
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- Rebecca Smith
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