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Ecosystems - Coggle Diagram
Ecosystems
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Small Scale
Ecosystems
Hedgerow
(New Forest)
Location
- New Zealand
- Chile
- Canada
- Europe
- USA
- UK
- 40-60° N/S of equator
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Components
- Decomposers: Fungi + Worms
- Consumers: Ladybirds + spiders
- Producers: Hawthorn + Blackberry bushes
- Animals: Finches + Foxes
- Plants: Bluebells + Oak
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Tropical Rainforests
Layers
- Emergent (contains tallest trees in the rainforest with some growing to 50m)
- Canopy (thickest, home to many species)
- Under Canopy (shorter younger trees)
- Shrub (2% of sunlight reaches this floor)
Climate
- same all year round
- high rainfall (~2000mm/year)
- 20-28°C
Soil
- high levels of nutrients in the topsoil
- trees grow > animals benefit
Deforestation
Farming
- forest is cleared to make space for cattle grazing
- 200 million cows in the rainforest
- Cattle grazing accounts for 80% of deforestation
- Brazil produced 9.7 million tonnes of beef (2021)
Logging
- trees are cut down to make furniture and paper products
- accounts for only 2-3% of total deforestation
Hydroelectric Power
- building dams generates HEP - which floods large areas of forest
Road building
- Roads are built ton transport logging lorries but has impacts on wildlife corridors
- 4,000km Trans Amazonian Highway connects Peru, Colombia and Ecuador to the Brazillian Coast
Mining
- Amazon Basin is rich in natural resources like iron ore, copper, tin, aluminium
- trees are cleared to access resources underground
- makes up 10% of deforestation in the Amazon
Impacts
Positives
- Farming makes money for Amazonian countries (e.g. Brazil exported $600M of beef in march 2018)
- Mining creates jobs for people (e.g. a mining company in Peru employs over 8000 people)
Negatives
- Brazil loses 100 tonnes of topsoil per hectare each year which can lead to poor soil quality and flooding
- 70% of the world's plants and animal species are found in rainforests - deforestation leads to losing habitats and extinction
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Adaptations
Animal
- Jaguar has spotted fur to blend with patches of sunlight
- can move quickly and has muscle strength to kill animals swiftly
- Toucan's large beak helps to break fruit high up in the canopy
- Live in holes in trees where they can tuck their breaks in under their wings and cover its colours to blend in and avoid predators
Plant
- Drip Tips are pointy tips that encourage rainfall to flow off
- ensures weight of water doesn't damage the plant
- doesn't allow fungi to grow in it and rot the plant
- Lianas are vines that climb up the trunks of other trees
- reaches the sunlight and allows it to photosynthesis
Importance
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70% of the plants that have proven anti-cancers properties are only found here - can help develop medicine for years to come
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Sustainable Management
Selective Logging
- only same trees are cut down
- maintains the forest structure and allows rainforests to regenerate
- horses and helicopters be used instead as they reduce damage to the wildlife compared to trucks
- Saravak uses helicopter logging
still affects biodiversity but to a smaller extent
Debt Relief
- LICs borrow money from wealthier countries/orgs
- have to pay it back with interest
- countries use logging, farming, etc to pay it back
- reducing debt = rainforests can be conserved
- no guarantee cancelled debt will be spent on conservation
- debt should be payed off in exchange for guarantee money spent on rainforest conservation
- e.g. USA reduced Peru's debt by $25 million in exchange for rainforest conservation
Deserts
Climate
- average annual temperature 30°C
- < 25mm of rain /year
- dry air
- high pressure
Soil
- thin, sandy, rocky
- generally grey in colour
- have little organic matte
Plants
- very thin leaves/spines to reduce water loss
- roots to reach deep underground water
- soak up water rapidly
- lack of leafy vegetation due to no nutrient cycling taking place
People
- population of 2 million
- Tuareg people known for camel trading, cattle and being blacksmiths
- nomads who travel from place to place
Interdependence
- Plants depend on rainfall and underground water storage so they can photosynthesis
- People rely on camels in order to gain access to travel
- Plants can help to bind soil together - preventing soil erosion
Adaptations
Plants
Cacti
- Tap Roots are 7-10m long and reaches deep under the ground to access water supplies
- Stores water in their stems/leaves (succulents), which is important when there's lack of rain
Animals
Camels
- Humps store fat - which contains nutrients to help them keep on going when there's lack of food
- Fur on hump - provides shade during high temperatures and warmth during the night
Economic Challenges
Extreme Temperatures
- Large diurnal temp. range (night - 0°C, day - 40°C) caused by lack of clouds - makes physical work difficult due to extreme heat so mining and farming restricted to certain times of day or times of year (e.g. Morocco 3°C at night, Algeria 51.3°C at day)
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- Heat can cause illness and death - which prevents people from working and causes income reduction and a deduction in QOL
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- Tourism can be seasonal because of extreme temps (e.g. best time to visit Morocco is Autumn or Early Spring) which means income isn't regular for people in the tourism industry so there's no stable way of life
Inaccesibility
- Sahara Desert spans 3000mi from east to west combined with lack of major roads means that materials have to be transported via air - which is expensive and increases prices of goods, meaning people can't buy goods and stagnates development and prevents government from putting money into services like healthcare and transport
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- Mali has 3500 healthcares total which means people living in rural areas outside of major cities receive minimal healthcare
Poor Water Supply
- Rainfall is unpredictable and very low (e.g. Chad receives less than 70mm of water a year), and water is essential for survival and required in every industry so prevents companies from setting up factories/plants and reduces the ability to boost the economy
Economic Opportunities
Tourism
- Egypt gets 9 million tourists each year, makes up 11% of its GDP and 10% of the workforce
- gives opportunities for jobs + employment for locals for specific fields
- higher income contributes towards GDP
- increases tax money
- government can reinvest into services like healthcare
- seasonal so incomes aren't stable
Farming
- In 2017 Morocco produced 90,000 metric tonnes of dates which were exported all over the world
- gives opportunities for jobs + employment for locals
- higher incomes from exporting goods
- contributes to a higher GDP
- higher taxes
- more money reinvested into services
resources are finite so will run out and labour is limited due to intensive heat
Renewable Energy
- 12 hours of sunlight everyday is ideal for generating solar power
- Morocco built the world's largest solar panel farm
- creates jobs, lowers energy cost and attracts companies which contributes to higher income which in turn leads to more money invested into services
Mineral Extraction
- Sahara has huge oil and gas reserves
- 60% of Algeria's income comes from this industry
- gives opportunities for jobs + employment for locals
- higher incomes from exporting goods
- contributes to a higher GDP
- higher taxes
- more money reinvested into services
resources are finite so will run out and labour is limited due to intensive heat
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