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biomes - Coggle Diagram
biomes
people and the biosphere
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water can be polluted by industrial pollution or contaminated by bacteria - water pollution affects developed and developing nations
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humans need to drink water to survive. the waster has to be clean and not contain water-bourne diseases like cholera, which can kill humans
vehicles need energy to transport food, clothing, water and everything else
humans can survive 3-4 weeks without food, but only 3-4 days without water
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energy is created by burning wood, burning fossil fuels or by solar/hydroelectric power
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these things are bad for people's quality of life, the productivity of their work, and the development of the country
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when the human body doesn't have enough food, it has low energ, has a less effective immune syste, can do less manual labour and can do less thinking
if people do not eat enough food, they are said to be malnourished
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taiga
Although the soil in taiga forests in nutrient-poor, it still contains some minerals and nutrients for plants to consume and survive.
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If anything damages plant life, the primary consumers and secondary consumers will be affected
If anything affects the secondary consumers, then the number of primary consumers will grow, the amount of plant life eaten will rise and there may not be enough plants to support the growing primary consumer population.
The shade from the tree canopy and preserve permafrost all year round, giving plants a water source
Primary consumers must migrate to where their plant food is and secondary consumers must migrate to where their prey is
As well as providing food, plants and large coniferous trees provide shade in the summer and shelter in the winter.
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This melting process releases water. This can create floods, but also releases trapped carbon, adding more CO2 into the environment, worsening the greenhouse effect
Because the trees in a rainforest are evergreen, leaves are dropped gradually and consistently throughout the year
Decomposers operate very efficiently in warm, humid and moist conditions. Because of this, any organic matter like leaves is broken down (decomposed) very quickly in rainforests.
The rainfall mixes with the nutrients from decomposition and the nutrients are then absorbed back into the soil.
In taiga forests, enzymes operate slowly, and rainfall does not transfer nutrients easily.
Because decomposition happens slowly, the majority of nutrients in taiga forests are stored in the dead leaves (that are decomposing), rather than in the soil.
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forests
tropical forests are found near the equator. Tropical rainforests are found in areas like the Amazon jungle or the Daintree rainforest in Australia
of all the forest types, Boreal forests are found at the highest latitudes
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temperate deciduous forests are found in Europe, the USA and China. They can be identified by their four seasons with the treas shedding leaves in winter
they are usually located between the tropics, where it is always hot and the humidity/moisture is high
tropical rainforests
there is an interdependence in the vegetation (such as epiphites which grw on other plants/trees which are common)
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mammals like gorillas in the Congo, jaguars in the Amazon, and sloths in Central America live in rainforests
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reptiles and amphibians like frogs, snakes, lizards and crocodiles inhabit rainforests
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many of these animals have adapted by evolution and natural selection to survive in the tropical rainforest biome
rainforests can have up to 80 inches (2,000 mm) of rain per year
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there is lots of rain/precipitation, for example the Amazon has 80 inches of rain each year
all year, temperatures range from 21°C to 30°C
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biodiversity
Scientists estimate that there are between 3 million and 50 million different species living in the Earth's rainforests.
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rainforests cover 6% of the world's surface area and contain 50% of the world's species of flora and fauna
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rich biodiversity, rainfull, and warm temperatures meansthere are very productive ecosystems
Deforestation, construction and economic development threaten biodiversity
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The Amazon rainforest is in Brazil. In Brazil, 110 of the 700 species of mammals living there are endangered.
The Black Spider Monkey has become an endangered species because of the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
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temperate forests
there are some plant species, but less of a range than in tropical rainforests
in winter, the temperate forest recieves less sunlight than in summer
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mammals (like squirrels and hedgehogs), birds (such as owls) and insects can live here
in autumn, the broad-leaved trees loose thir leaves. This leaf litter decomposes and the broken down nutrients enter the soil
because there is a reasonably strong plant ecosystem is temperate forests they suppor moderate animal populations (but not as many as tropical rainforests)
becuase of this, soils are rich and good for farming
Boreal forests
animal diversity is low in boreal forests, especially compared to tropical and temperate forests
animal species must be adapted to cold, dry climates. Such species include wolves, elk, black bears and eagles
common species include coniferous trees such as pine and fir, lichen and low-growing moss
needles from the coniferous trees take a long time to decompose whent they fall becuase of the cold, dry climate. This means that soils are thin, acidic and lacking in nutrients
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grasslands
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the American Midwest, the Argentinian pampas and South Africa are examples of grssland biomes
in grasslands, there is a wet and dry season and as you would expect, the dominant vegetation is grass
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tropical grasslands
trees can live in tropical grasslands. the more rain there is in an area the more trees that the tropical grassland are able to support
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in dry seasons, the grass dies
lots of insects (beetles, grasshoppers, ants, termites, and mosquitoes) live in grasslands
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in the Ilanos of Columbia, large cats like jaguas and pumas can survive
however, rain at the start of the wet season can wash these nutrients away
large mammals like antelope, lions, rhinos, and zebra live in African savannahs
the tropical grasslands are found close to the equator. Because of this tropical grasslands experience lots of sunshine and high temperatures of 20°C to 35°C
temperate grasslands
bison, wild horses, gazelles, and wolves live in the Great Steppe and North American prairies
soils are relatively thick and rich in nutrients because hot summers mean decomposition happens quickly
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hot desert
there is almost no rainfall, temperatures are very high in the day and freezing in the night
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cactuses and other plants with evolutionary adaptions to deal with lack of water are the only plants that survive
deserts
there aren't many plants in the desert, so leaves don't fall often and therefore don't decompose so nutrients cannot be recycled
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cacti, some small grasses, and thronbushes are one of the only types of plants which can survive in the desert
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snakes, lizards and other amphibians are best suited to live in the desert
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it doesn't rain every week in the desert, usually a desert will only get 10-20 inches of rain in one burst ever 1-2 years
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some mammals and birds do live in the desert at some times of the year but the percentage of animals in the desert that are mammals is very low. Because of high temperatures in the day, desert mammals are likely to be nocturnal
tundra
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winter temperatures are usually below freezing, it does't rain much and the dominant types vegetation are grasses and moss
environments like the Arctic, Alaska, Finland and places close to the North pole are tundra biomes. In other words, places with high latitudes
just beneath the soil, there is a permafrost layer (ground that is always frozen)
tundra
the indigenous Inuit people live in the tundra in Canada and because of the fossil fuel supply, some people who work for oil compaies like Shell or Exxon will work on oil fields in canada or Siberia
in tundra regions, permafrost covers the ground with a tiny layer of infertile, acidic soil on top of it
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in tundra regions, the same plants exist but are able to grow more. Some trees can survive in the tundra
Alaska, Finland, and Siberia are examples of tundra biomes
in the tundra, there is a little more biodiversity than in polar regions, with animals like wolves, small mammals (like the Arctic fox and Arctic hare), reindeer, owls and mountain goats
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levels of rainfall are low in both polar and tundra regions, but it rains more in tundra regions
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Malthus' theory
He thought that the Earth's population would get so big, that the Earth's resources wouldn't be able to produce enough food and energy for people to survive.
He thought this would lead to wars over resources, famine, and mass deaths. He called this the 'point of catastrophe'
In 1798, Thomas Malthus predicted that the world's population would grow so quickly that it surpassed the amount of available resources
Fortunately, Malthus' theory has not yet been proven. The world's population is over 7 billion and the Earth seems to be able to support this.
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Boserup's theory
She argued that there was no incentive to find new or better resources when there were plenty of resources
Once populations started rising quickly, humans would find new resources, new energy sources or new technology to support the human population.
Ester Boserup claimed that humans would always find or generate enough resources to support the human population
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biomes are large scale ecosystems that have distinctive vegetation, climates end eco-systems that vary around the world