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Ecosystems - Coggle Diagram

- - - - The nutrient cycle diagram is the key to understanding the TFR ecosystem. The biggest store is biomass (B), which is all the living things in the TRF (biotic characteristics). When leaves fall or branches drop into the litter store (L), they decompose very quickly due to the hot and damp conditions. This provides plentiful nutrients that are easily absorbed by plant roots. However, as these nutrients are in high demand from the rainforest's many fast-growing plants, they do not remain in the soil (S) for long and stay close to the surface of the soil. The trees have shallow roots because the only fertile part of the tropical rainforest soils are a very thin nutrient layer right at the surface. The nutrient cycle returns nutrients to the biomass store very quickly.
      - If the rainforest is cleared for agriculture it will not make very good farmland, as the soil will not be rich in nutrients.
      - Another biotic factor is human activity. Humans play an important role in many TRF ecosystems. People hunt animals for food, spread the seeds of rainforest plants through the fruits, nuts and seeds that they eat, and affect the ecosystem through their use of fire.
    - - When warm temperatures and moist conditions are perfect for chemical weathering of the bedrock, which releases minerals into the soil. However, tropical rainforest soils are often 30 or 40 metres deep so these nutrients don’t reach the upper layers. The constant rainfall means that a lot of water travels down through tropical rainforest soils. As it trickles through the soil, the water takes nutrients and mineral salts with it. This is called leaching. Leaching makes tropical rainforest soils low in nutrients
  - - - They move through canopy very slowly
      - Green algae grows in the sloth's fur
      - Long sharp claws
      - Fur grows the other direction to most animals
    - - Four toes on each foot, two facing forward, and two facing backwards.
      - Brightly coloured feathers
      - Long bills
      - Very good eyesight
    - - Exceptional swimmers
      - Spotted pattern called rosettes which consist of a spot within a spot.
      - Primarily nocturnal
      - Long, slender tails
      - Paws are padded
    - - Small adhesive pads on their toes consisting of a groove that runs right around the pad.
      - Fatal poison on and within skin
      - Bright coloration
  - - - ->7000 drugs have origins in TRF plants + animal products(E.G in Madagascar is the rosy periwinkle which is the basis for a drug that treats childhood leukaemia the sales for this is US$160 million per year).
      - -Bananas grow in the TRF which is now a US$5 billion global industry
      - -TRF is called “the lungs of the world” as it produces a huge amount of oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis
      - -wood such as ebony has valuable properties for furniture manufacturing
    - - -maintaining biodiversity as it is the most biodiverse ecosystem on earth it has between 50-90% of the worlds species
      - -Climate change buffer the trees of the TRF soak up 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year
      - -The indigenous people of the TRF it is there home and the basis of their culture and sense of identity
      - -RECREATION
        
        -River boat rides a way to see the flora and fauna as the roads are poor
        
        -Zip wires are constructed through the canopy and under the canopy for tourism.
        
        -Nature trails on the forest floor or in the canopy which can be organised with trained guides who can teach you about the TRF.
  - - - Changes to tropical rainforest structure
        
        Most trees drop their leaves in the dry season to avoid water loss through transpiration.
        
        There is no canopy in the dry season and thick underbrush can grow among the trees.
        
        The lack of vegetation in the dry season means animals are adapted to live on stored food or go into a sort of hibernation. Biodiversity is still high but much lower than in TRF.
        
        Trees have deep roots to reach groundwater (no buttresses) or are adapted to store water, for example the baobab trees with their swollen trunks.
        
        The falling leaves make a deep litter layer, but decomposition is very slow in the dry season so the soil becomes a bigger store of nutrients and the biomass store is smaller.
        
        The vegetation cover in many areas currently covered by TRF is likely to change to seasonal tropical forest, similar to that in the more wooded areas of tropical grasslands. This happens when the dry season starts to last for several months.
      - Changes to tropical rainforest function
        
        Less vegetation cover means that when it does rain, surface runoff will increase because of a reduction in infiltration. More sediment will be carried into drainage systems, polluting water quality. Increased silt in the rivers harms some freshwater species.
        
        The TRF ecosystem itself influences precipitation because of the vast amounts of water vapour that are pumped out by the extensive vegetation. Less dense forest means lower rainfall in surrounding areas.
        
        TRF on mountains is known as ‘cloud forest’. These forests have a function called ‘cloud stripping’ where they soak up moisture from passing clouds like a giant sponge. The slow release of this water into the drainage system provides areas downstream with a steady supply of water all year. Drier conditions could stop this ‘cloud stripping’ function.
        
        Drier forest emits more C0₂ than it soaks up, and if dry forest burns in forest fires, the added increase of C0₂ is colossal. Droughts in the Amazon TFR in 2005 and 2010, for example, are estimated to have each added 5 billion tonnes of C0₂ to the atmosphere.
        
        The vital services provided by TRFs could be significantly impacted by hotter, drier conditions.
      - Changes to tropical rainforest biodiversity
        
        TRF plant species cannot tolerate drier conditions – they cannot survive prolonged drought or forest fires. Temperatures in TRF ecosystems are very similar all year round and species cannot cope with fluctuations. For example, researchers have reported seeing the deaths of whole colonies of flying fox bats as heat levels spiked above limits they could tolerate.
        
        As conditions become drier and warmer, other plant species suited to the new conditions would spread out and out compete TRF species. This may also include the spread of pests and diseases that TRF species are not immune to.
        
        Not all areas of the TRF ecosystem would be affected in the same way, however. As temperature drops by one degree with every 100 metres, TRF on hills and mountains would not heat up so much. Some biodiversity would be preserved if species were able to migrate to these higher areas.
  - - - It is home to 1000 species of bird and 60,000 species of plants
      - 10 million species of insects live in the Amazon
      - It is home to 20 million people, who use the wood, cut down trees for farms and for cattle.
      - It covers 2.1 million square miles of land
      - The Amazon is home to almost 20% of species on Earth
      - The UK and Ireland would fit into the Amazon 17 times!
      - It is home to 1000 species of bird and 60,000 species of plants
      - 10 million species of insects live in the Amazon
      - It is home to 20 million people, who use the wood, cut down trees for farms and for cattle.
      - It covers 2.1 million square miles of land
      - The Amazon is home to almost 20% of species on Earth
      - The UK and Ireland would fit into the Amazon 17 times!
    - - The Amazon helps an emerging country, Brazil, to make money. They build roads into the forest, logging firms then go in and take out valuable hardwoods such as mahogany and cedar, worth thousands of pounds in richer economies like Europe. Then farmers, often cattle ranchers from big companies, burn the rest to make way for cattle pasture. 75% of cleared areas are used in this way. Many of the deforested areas follow roads and branch off from there. Deforestation is also worse in the South and South East of the Amazon basin, closer to major centres of population in Brazil.
      - CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION
        
        Subsistence and commercial farming – subsistence farming is where poor farmers occupy plots of the forest to grow food to feed themselves and their families. They clear forest and then burn it, hence the name slash and burn. They grow crops until the soil is exhausted and then move on. This contributes to deforestation but not as much as commercial farming (Farming to sell produce for a profit to retailers or food processing companies). The Brazilian region of Mato Grosso was affected by deforestation in the 1980s and 1990s. 43% of rainforest losses were in this region, an area almost ½ the size of France. It has been replaced by fields for grain and cattle. This has allowed Brazil to overtake Australia as the largest exporter of beef in the world. The land is also flat and easy to farm. It also has high temperatures and lots of rainfall.
        
        Logging – This involves cutting down trees for sale as timber or pulp. The timber is used to build homes, furniture, etc. and the pulp is used to make paper and paper products. Logging can be either selective or clear cutting. Selective logging is selective because loggers choose only wood that is highly valued, such as mahogany. Clear-cutting is not selective. Loggers are interested in all types of wood and therefore cut all of the trees down, thus clearing the forest, hence the name- clear-cutting.
        
        Road building – trees are also cleared for roads. Roads are an essential way for the Brazilian government to allow development of the Amazon rainforest. However, unless they are paved many of the roads are unusable during the wettest periods of the year. The Trans Amazonian Highway has already opened up large parts of the forest and now a new road is going to be paved, the BR163 is a road that runs 1700 km from Cuiabá to Santarem. The government planned to tarmac it making it a superhighway. This would make the untouched forest along the route more accessible and under threat from development.
        
        Mineral extraction – forests are also cleared to make way for huge mines. The Brazilian part of the Amazon has mines that extract iron, manganese, nickel, tin, bauxite, beryllium, copper, lead, tungsten, zinc and gold!
        
        Energy development – This has focussed mainly on using HydroElectric Power, and there are 150 new dams planned for the Amazon alone. The dams create electricity as water is passed through huge pipes within them, where it turns a turbine which helps to generate the electricity. The power in the Amazon is often used for mining. Dams displace many people and the reservoirs they create flood large areas of land, which would previously have been forest. They also alter the hydrological cycle and trap huge quantities of sediment behind them. The huge Belo Monte dam started operating in April 2016 and will generate over 11,000 Mw of power. A new scheme, the 8,000-megawatt São Luiz do Tapajós dam, has been held up because of concerns over the impacts on the local Munduruku people.
        
        Settlement & population growth – populations are growing within the Amazon forest and along with them settlements. Many people are migrating to the forest looking for work associated with the natural wealth of this environment. Settlements like Parauapebas, an iron ore mining town, have grown rapidly, destroying forest and replacing it with a swath of shanty towns. The population has grown from 154,000 in 2010 to 220,000 in 2012. The Brazilian Amazon’s population grew by a massive 23% between 2000 and 2010, 11% above the national average.
      - Impacts of deforestation
        
        Every time forest is cleared species are lost – so we lose BIODIVERSITY
        
        Climate Change - Burning the forest releases greenhouse gases like CO2. This contributes to the warming of our planet via climate change and global warming. In addition, the loss of trees prevents CO2 being absorbed, making the problem worse. The Amazon also helps to drive the global atmospheric system. There is a lot of rainfall there and changes to the Amazon could disrupt the global system.
        
        Economic development – Brazil has used the forests as a way to develop their country. The forest has many natural riches that can be exploited. In addition, Brazil has huge foreign debt and lots of poor people to feed, so they want to develop the forest. Many Brazilians see deforestation as a way to help develop their country and improve people’s standard of living.
        
        Soil erosion - the soils of the Amazon forest are not fertile and are quickly exhausted once the forest is cleared. The farmers now artificially fertilise the soil when in the past the nutrient cycle would have done this naturally. In addition, the lack of forest cover means that soils are exposed to the rainfall. This washes huge amounts of soil into rivers in the process of soil erosion.
  - - - Selective logging and replanting - Selective logging is selective because loggers choose only wood that is highly valued, such as mahogany. Clear-cutting is not selective. Selective logging is more sustainable than clear-cutting because other trees and plants do survive in the logging process and over time can allow the forest to recover. However, it does have major drawbacks. Although single trees are felled because they are valuable, other trees can be damaged in the process. This is because a felled tree can damage other trees as it falls to the ground once felled. Also, loggers need to access the wood, so have to clear some forest to make way for machinery.
      - Conservation and education - Conservation is all about the protection, preservation, management, or restoration of tropical forests and the ecological communities that inhabit them. In this case conservation would seek to manage human use of natural resources in tropical rainforests for sustainable social and economic uses. This includes the Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA), where the WWF works with the Brazilian government to protect parks covering 150 million acres of forest. Areas which are protected can then be used for education, scientific research and tourism. Recently large international businesses have supported conservation projects in exchange for carrying out scientific research or the provision of raw materials.
      - Ecotourism
        
        Another sustainable use is the development of ecotourism. Ecotourism is environmentally friendly tourism where;
        
        the people involved seek to protect the environment as much as possible
        
        there is education of the visitor
        
        some of the profits go back into conserving the rainforest environment
        
        the tourism is small scale with low visitor densities
        
        local people are employed and involved
        
        The Yachana Ecolodge is next to the Napo River - a tributary of the Amazon. It is set in its own, protected, 1200-hectare section of rainforest, which is home to thousands of species of tropical plants and animals. Its dining room serves the guests meals made from locally grown food. Most of the people who work at Yachana are local. They have jobs in the kitchen, dining room, garden - and help to look after the guests and their bedrooms. The lodge also employs Amerindian guides to show guests the forest environment and its creatures, how local people live and how they use plants for medicines. The Yachana Ecolodge offers a range of ecotourism activities. They involve visiting the natural environment in small groups and causing as little harm as possible to the area and to the local people. The activities help tourists to better understand the environment and the lives of local people.
      - International agreements about the use of tropical hardwoods - There are also international agreements on the uses of tropical hardwoods and logging. The International Tropical Timber Agreement was set up in 2006 to "promote the expansion and diversification of international trade in tropical timber from sustainably managed and legally harvested forests and to promote the sustainable management of tropical timber producing forests". 71 countries have signed up to the agreement sponsored by the United Nations.
      - Debt reduction. - The rainforests are often found in poorer countries that want to exploit them. Debt reduction or conservation swaps offer an alternative to poorer countries to the reckless exploitation of their natural wealth. These swaps basically see poorer countries have portions of their debts wiped out or paid for by richer nations or charities of richer nations in exchange for promising to protect or CONSERVE large parts of their natural environment. This has large scale global effects, by protecting the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. In 1984 the World Wildlife Fund came up with the idea of conservation swaps and in 1987 the first was launched in partnership between the Government of Bolivia and Conservation International (CI) for US$ 650000 which protected 3 natural areas. Many countries have since followed, including the Philippines, Sudan, Zambia, Ecuador and Uganda.
- - - - Deciduous woodland is a productive ecosystem with a large biomass because there is plenty of precipitation and summer warmth. However the biomass store is much smaller than in the tropical rainforest (TRF), where optimum conditions for plant growth are present all year.
      - The soil and biomass stores are of similar size in the deciduous woodland ecosystem. In the TRF, nutrients from the litter layer are very quickly cycled back into biomass. In the deciduous woodland the annual leaf fall adds a lot of nutrients to the soil. While temperatures are too low in the winter for soil bacteria to function and for much decomposition to occur, in the spring decomposition becomes rapid as temperatures rise. These processes make deciduous woodland soils very fertile.
      - Another biotic factor is human activity. Humans manage many deciduous woodlands, which has a big impact on these ecosystems.
    - - Woodland soils are not as deep as tropical rainforest (TRF) soils as they have not existed for so long and processes of soil formation are slower. The deep roots of the trees (biotic) help to break up the bedrock, and weathering of this rock adds nutrients to the soil (abiotic). There is much less leaching than in the TRF soils and it happens more gradually because rainfall is not as high or continuous as in the TRF. The leaf litter and ground layer of plants and tree roots prevents much surface run-off.
  - - - Oaks are large, strong trees which spread their branches horizontally, ensuring their leaves capture as much of the light as possible.
      - Oak leaves are broad and soft – their width maximises the amount of solar energy the oak can access and they are soft because they do not need a waxy coating to protect them from excess water loss.
      - In the autumn the supply of water to the leaves is cut off by a seal that forms between the leaf and the twig it is attached to. This causes the leaf to die and fall off. This enables the oak to survive through the short days and weak sunlight of the cold winter.
      - The leaves and the acorns contain lots of the acid tannin. Tannin is poisonous for some animals, for example horses, and tastes bitter to others such as deer. This gives the tree some protection against grazing.
      - Oaks have an enormous root system, securely anchoring the tree against winter gales and enabling it to access groundwater in drier conditions.
      - Oaks are mini-ecosystems in themselves, supporting 200 insect species. Their fruit, acorns, are large and packed with energy that the oak sapling uses as it starts to grow, and these are a valuable food source for animals. So that they do not support ever-increasing populations of animals who eat all of their acorns, oaks only produce a big crop of acorns every three years.
      - Oaks drop their leaves later in autumn than many other deciduous species, gaining the maximum advantage from their large canopies, but then are later to grow new leaves in spring than some other species.
      - Deciduous woodlands are often dominated by three or four species that are particularly well adapted to climatic conditions. In the UK the dominant deciduous woodland tree is the oak.
      - The dominance of oaks and other deciduous species such as beech and ash means that plant species in the subcanopy and herb layer have to be adapted to shady conditions for most of the growing season. Plants such as the bluebell are adapted to flower at the very start of spring, before the trees come into leaf, to maximise both light and access to pollinating insects.
    - - Migration – many bird species move south to warmer winter conditions. For example the swallow leaves the UK in September to spend the winter in Central Africa with more food available and warmer conditions.
      - Hibernation – some animals spend the winter in a deep sleep in which their metabolic rate drops very low, meaning they require only a little energy to keep them alive. Hedgehogs, dormice and bats hibernate, as do reptiles such as adders and grass snakes, amphibians such as frogs, newts and toads and many insects such as bumblebees, wasps, ladybirds, butterflies, moths and snails.
      - Food storage – storing food to survive on through the winter is an adaptation that squirrels use. Some species store nuts in piles on the forest floor (red squirrels), while others (grey squirrels) bury their nuts to hide them from other nut eaters (including other squirrels). Because squirrels do not always remember all their buried locations, this helps some acorns to germinate.
      - Animals in the deciduous woodland are adapted to survive in the cold winter, when there is not much food to eat.
  - - - TIMBER
        
        The ship HMS Victory built in the mid 1700’s, required timber from 6,000 trees.
        
        The UK produced 13 million tonnes of timber in 2014, which is mainly used in the construction industry to build homes. Timber is also used for furniture making. However most of the wood comes from Coniferous woodland as this type of timber is quicker to grow.
        
        In 2009 a total of 0.4 million tonnes of timber was produced from deciduous woodlands in the UK.
      - FUEL
        
        Air dried fuel wood is used in the UK for wood burning stoves and charcoal for barbeques (although around 80% of charcoal is imported). Wood burning stoves are becoming increasingly popular – 200,000 were sold in the UK in 2015. This has seen a revival in wood as a fuel with projections suggesting 2 million tonnes of wood per year are needed to meet demand.
        
        Some UK power stations are being converted to burn biomass – much of it wood pellets from deciduous and coniferous woodland.
      - NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS (NTFP) – these include such goods as forest moss (used by florists), edible fungi, venison (deer meat) and game shooting, Rearing birds such as pheasants and partridge for shooting is big business in the UK, and around 40% of these shoots take place in woodland.
    - - RECREATION – deciduous woodlands are a very popular location for many different recreation activities, including cycling, horse-riding, dog walking and nature walks. For example the New Forest, which became a National Park in 2005, has around 15 million visitors each year.
      - CARBON CAPTURE – like the TRF, deciduous woodland also acts as a store of carbon. It is estimated that the UK’s woodland captures 1 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere each year. About half of the UK’s forests are deciduous woodland.
      - CONCERVATION
        
        In the UK over half the area of woodland has public access. This is carefully managed to ensure that the woodlands are conserved correctly.
        
        Recreation – health benefits as most visitors take part in activities such as jogging, walking, cycling, dog walking etc.
        
        There are 250-300 million visits to woodlands each year in the UK. The Forestry Commission manages these visits to ensure that the woodlands can cope with the number of visitors.
        
        Woods are also the venue for more organised activities such as paintballing and Go Ape, which provides canopy walkways and zip wires. Go Ape has 30,000 users per year across its UK sites.
        
        Recreational visits to woodlands were valued at £484 million in 2010
        
        forest areas often preserve rare plant and animal species which are protected by law. For example, the New Forest is a very important habitat for woodland birds – 75% of the UK’s Dartford warblers live there, as well as rare birds such as the nightjar and honey buzzard. Recent surveys have shown a 95% decline in woodland bird numbers in the UK, so conservation of habitat is very important.
  - - - Timber extraction
        
        Timber has been extracted from UK forests for centuries. It was first used for house building and for fuel. The great cathedrals built across the country used thousands of trees in their construction. For example Salisbury Cathedral required 1,000 oak trees. English oaks were also used in ship building and the rise of the British Empire saw a great demand for timber in the late sixteenth century. In the 1600’s the British monarchy ordered an overhaul of navy ships and about 3,000 tons of timber was felled from the New Forest each year. A survey of the New Forest in 1608 found almost 124,000 trees fit for navy timber. By 1707 that figure had fallen to less than 12,500.
        
        Further timber extraction occurred during the First World War as it was needed to build trenches. This led to the forested area of the UK being at an all-time low. Since 1919 the Forestry Commission has planted millions of hectares of land with new trees – however the majority of these were fast growing conifers.
        
        Instead of using native conifer species, the coniferous plantations were mostly non-native species such as Sitka spruce.
        
        The plantations were also monocultures – only one species was grown rather than a mix.
        
        The dense evergreen canopy meant there was no light for undergrowth, so the plantations had very low biodiversity, soils also became more acidic. They were also not popular with many people as they looked unsightly.
        
        Coniferous trees produce softwood, which grows faster than the hardwood of deciduous trees. This meant timber could be extracted sooner from coniferous plantations, generating money more quickly. The non-native conifer species are also faster growing than native conifers, and planting trees as a monoculture plantation made it much easier to grow and manage the plantation.
        
        Since the 1970’s the Forestry Commission has changed its planting policy. As trees are extracted for timber, they are replaced with broad-leaved trees such as oak and elm in an attempt to re-establish deciduous woodlands in the UK.
        
        However recently, the demand for timber as a fuel source has increased with the rising popularity of wood-burning stoves. Biomass boilers, which use wood chips as a fuel, have also been introduced.
      - Agricultural change
        
        The farming landscape of the UK has changed many times since the Middle Ages, causing deforestation. The dissolution of the monasteries (1536 - the seizure of Church properties by the state) and then the agricultural revolution (18th century - New farming techniques and improved livestock breeding led to amplified food production. This allowed a spike in population and increased health) saw great changes to the countryside in which landowners cut down large areas of forest to plant crops. This was linked to the growing population of the time and the fact that people moved to towns and cities and so were not producing their own food.
        
        As farming changed through the centuries, the amount of forested area in the UK has continued to decline. Some parts of the UK kept more of their forested area but, overall, the country’s forested area declined to a low of five per cent in 1919.
        
        Only a small amount of ancient woodland (7%) was cleared in the last 100 years for agricultural use. However, farming continues to have some negative impacts on deciduous woodland. Because woodland mostly exists in small blocks rather than as big forests, woodland is usually surrounded by farmland. The edges of the woodland are affected by the pesticides and herbicides that are sprayed on crops to control weeds. Woodland species are damaged by these.
    - - urbanisation and population growth
        
        As the population grew in the Middle Ages there was a greater demand for housing. This meant that trees had to be felled to provide beams to support roofs. Forests were also cleared to make way for towns, especially in the north of England where the industrial revolution was taking place. This sped up the deforestation which had taken place in the UK for centuries.
        
        The UK’s population has also increased significantly over the last 50 years, as the graph shows.
        
        The increasing numbers of people are linked to the clearing of deciduous woodland areas for both new housing (urbanisation) and new road construction.
        
        Experts say that the UK needs to build 240,000 new houses each year to keep up with the demand for housing – the Office for National Statistics predicts that the UK population will continue to rise to 74.3 million by 2039. However in 2014 less than one-half of that number were built. Developers would like to end greenbelt restrictions, which currently protect a lot of deciduous woodland near to cities and towns, to build new houses to meet this demand. Houses in semi-rural areas can be sold for a lot of money.
        
        The number of vehicles in the UK has increased every year since the Second World War (except in 1991). In 2013 there were 35 million vehicles on the UK’s roads. There is a great pressure to reduce congestion by widening carriageways, providing relief roads and bypasses, and to provide more service stations for road users. Deciduous woodlands can often be lost as a result.
  - - - Sustainability issues in the NF
        
        The visitors can do damage by trampling delicate plants; causing erosion by walking, cycling, horse riding, and car parking on verges; starting fires with barbecues, scaring wildlife and farm animals and their dogs; and dropping litter.
        
        The New Forest is used by people (called verderers) with rights to pasture ponies, pigs and other livestock in the Park. These livestock roam freely and are a popular tourist attraction. However sometimes animals are run over by visitors driving too fast through the forest. The ponies can also be dangerous if they have young foals.
        
        Timber is extracted from the New Forest, both softwood from conifer plantations and hardwood from deciduous trees. Some forestry operations are not compatible with visitors using the woodland for recreation and access has to be controlled.
        
        Half the woodland in the New Forest is privately owned and about 40% of that is not managed. It becomes very overgrown, with rotting timber on the forest floor, and is not so attractive to visitors.
      - Sustainable Management in the NF
        
        Woodland management
        
        Forestry in the New Forest is very carefully organised so that deforestation does not occur and conservation of the deciduous woodland ecosystem is promoted. The new forest produces 50,000 tonnes of timber each year.
        
        When conifers in conservation areas are cut down for timber, they are replaced by native species of deciduous trees such as oak. Deciduous trees are always replaced by more deciduous species. This means the percentage of deciduous trees is increasing in the New Forest.
        
        Pesticides are used sparingly to avoid damaging the ecosystem.
        
        The foresters cut down timber, plant new trees and cull deer in the winter, when there are the fewest visitors. This reduces the risk of injuries due to forestry activities
        
        Wildlife management
        
        Work in deciduous woodland between April and August is minimised so nesting birds are not disturbed.
        
        Sand lizards are a rare and endangered species preferring dry, open country. Sand lizards were extinct in the New Forest by 1970, however a reintroduction programme began in 1989. In 1998, 806 young sand lizards were released onto six selected sites and signs of breeding of previously released adults were seen. The program continues to be a success.
        
        Deer The New Forest is home to five different species of deer - fallow, roe, red, sika and muntjac. In the past, deer numbers have been controlled by hunting by man and by their natural predators (wolves, bear and lynx). Today, in the absence of these controls, it falls to the Forestry Commission keepers to keep numbers at a sustainable level. Deer cause damage to forest crops and also threaten grazing on adjacent lands and therefore must be regulated as part of the management of the New Forest.
        
        Birds - Plantations in the New Forest support a number of birds of prey including sparrowhawks, common buzzards, hobbies, kestrels and the rare honey buzzard, all of which are protected by law. Before any feeling is carried out in the enclosures, trees must be checked for nests, which if present are recorded and feelings will be delayed until the young have fledged the nest.
        
        Leisure and recreation management
        
        Different systems are used to control where visitors go: there are a lot of car parks in the New Forest so that people do not park on roadside verges; special cycle routes and cycle paths have been set up through the Park, which guide visitors away from vulnerable areas; barriers are used to stop access to areas, for example forestry work.
        
        Hotels and campsites in the New Forest are encouraged to join in sustainable transport schemes, such as the New Forest Tour – an open-topped bus – and electric vehicle and bike hire. Electric vehicle charge points are provided through the National Park.
        
        Green Leaf businesses are local businesses that have signed up to use local products where possible, to encourage walking and cycling, to set aside 10% of their grounds for local wildlife and generally to support sustainable use of the Forest.
        
        Education
        
        The New Forest Centre and Museum was opened in 1988, it provides a range of displays and activities which enable visitors to learn about the forest history and the sustainable management techniques which aim to preserve it for future generations.
        
        The 'Our Past, Our Future' New Forest Landscape Partnership Scheme is a National Park initiative to restore lost habitats, develop Forest skills and inspire a new generation to champion and care for the New Forest. In October 2013 the scheme received a £2.9 million Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Landscape Partnership grant. This will involve a series of programmes promoting learning, community involvement and landscape restoration. Working with farmers, landowners, communities, visitors and forest organisations to share and develop the necessary skills, and enthusiasm needed to care for the Forest and make it fit to face the challenges of the future.
        
        A visitor leaflet called ‘5 ways to love the Forest’ explains why visitors should drive slowly through the Forest or leave the car behind, about Green Leaf business and about the Forest Marque.
        
        The Forest Marque certifies that the local wood products are made from sustainable Forest timber.
        
        Conservation schemes are funded by the National Park authority and other sources. Local landowners can get grants to help improve biodiversity in their woodlands through planting native species and using traditional techniques such as coppicing to manage tree growth in the way the New Forest ecosystem has been managed for many centuries.
        
        Half of the forestry in the New Forest is managed by the Forestry Commission. This organisation runs courses in sustainable woodland management for private woodland owners and supports volunteers in conservation work
- - - - Distribution: Found in highland areas with heavy rainfall. This land is often too high to be used for crops. Examples in the UK include the Cairngorms in Scotland, North Yorkshire, the Pennines, Dartmoor, Exmoor and mid Wales
      - Characteristics: Moorlands have been created by people. Rough grassland and peat bogs; low growing plants. The hills used to be covered in trees and shrubs but the moorland ecosystem has developed through grazing the land with sheep and managing it for grouse shooting (e.g. controlled burning to provide the young shoots of heather that the grouse feed on). In many areas the moors are burnt to control the growth of plants.
      - Typical plants: soils are acidic and peaty so only certain plants can survive, such as bell heather and bracken.
      - Typical animals: red deer and foxes
      - Typical birds: buzzards and grouse
  - - - Distribution: Most of the lowland UK has heaths, around 95,000ha in all. Heaths are found in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire and the Gower Peninsula in Wales.
      - Characteristics: Heathlands have dry sandy soils which can have depressions that are peaty and boggy. The sandy soil is free draining, acidic and has few plant nutrients. In the past heathlands were used for sheep grazing and for building materials.
      - Typical plants: they contain small shrubs such as heather and gorse, but trees such as silver birch will colonise the area if they are not controlled.
      - Typical animals: rabbits and hares; they are particularly important for reptiles such as sand lizards.
      - Typical birds: nightjar and skylark
  - - - Distribution: Of the UK land area, 12% is woodland, 5% is ancient forest; 80% is less than 100 years old. The UK has many different types of woodland. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, native trees are broad-leaved, deciduous trees such as oak and ash. In Scotland the native tree is the Scots pine, although broad-leaved trees are also found in lowland areas. There are plantations of non-native conifers in many upland areas, such as the valleys of southern Wales and the Lake District.
      - Trees are the dominant plant. Broad-Leaved trees tend to be deciduous, which means they lose their leaves in autumn and regrow them each spring. This leaf fall provides rich humus for the wood.
      - Characteristics: Coniferous woods are made up of conifers which have needle-like leaves. They shed and replace their leaves throughout the year. Their seeds are protected by cones.
      - Typical plants: In addition to trees, mosses and lichens grow under the canopy, as well as plants such as bluebells and ferns.
      - Typical animals: roe deer and badger
      - Typical birds: Sparrow hawk and tawny owl
  - - - Distribution: Because wetland areas can be drained to make fertile arable land, only a small amount of wetland ecosystem is left in the UK. Wetlands in the UK range from ponds and streams to rivers like the Severn and areas such as the Somerset Levels, The East Anglian Fens and the Norfolk Broads. They are also found in central and northeast Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Soils here tend to be waterlogged and low in nutrients.
      - Characteristics: Lowland fens have peaty, fertile soils that are periodically waterlogged. They support lush vegetation. Much of the land has been drained to use as farmland.
      - Typical plants: reeds and bulrush grow along the sides of the streams. Bog mosses and sedges also common
      - Typical animals: otters, dragonflies, fen raft spider
      - Typical birds: mallard, curlews, little egrets and teal
- - - - The biosphere is being exploited in a number of ways to provide energy.
        
        Oil is extracted from the ground and used to power engines in many forms of transportation. The main use of oil for transportation is to power cars for private use. Other uses of oil are as a fuel to provide electricity.
        
        Coal has been mined for hundreds of years. It was first used as a fuel to heat people’s homes and later used to produce electricity. The extraction and use of coal has changed between different countries but coal is still a major energy provider in many countries of the world. More recently the biosphere has been exploited to provide green energy. Wind turbines have been built on land and at sea to provide energy using the power of the wind. Solar panels have been put in fields to provide electricity using solar radiation. More recently, the sea has been exploited to provide energy through the use of waves and tidal barrages.
        
        Biofuels are a valuable alternative to fossil fuels because they provide renewable energy. However, commercial production of biofuels means that huge areas of land are devoted to biofuel crops instead of food crops. Forest land has also been cleared for biofuel crops. This makes vital resources from the biosphere – food and fuel – more expensive for local people, and impacts on biodiversity. For example, a sharp decline in the number of orang-utans in Malaysia and Indonesia has been linked to the increasing number of plantations producing the biofuel palm oil.
    - - People use water in many ways. In a domestic situation water is used for drinking, washing, toilets and cleaning. It is also used in the production of electricity in thermal power stations. Farmers use water to irrigate their crops; this is more important in some countries than others, for example in the USA 37% of all water is used for irrigation. Water is also used by many different industries, from the food industry to the paper industry. In Canada the paper industry uses 45% of all water used by industry. Water is also used as a means of transporting materials and people from one place to another.
        
        All of these uses of water have had an impact on the water which is being used. The amount of water in the world is finite and human’s use of it is interfering with the water cycle.
        
        The huge demand for water around the world (for rapidly growing cities, for industry and for agriculture) means that other parts of the biosphere are deprived of water. One example is the Hamoun Wetlands in Iran. Here a combination of drought, rapid population growth, dam building in neighbouring Afghanistan and wasteful irrigation practices have caused wetlands to dry up.
    - - Minerals are a solid, naturally occurring non-living substance, such as coal or diamonds.
        
        Minerals have been extracted and used by humans for thousands of years. Gold and silver are easily recognised as minerals used in the making of jewellery, but silver is also used in the making of mirrors.
        
        An increasing demand for minerals has major impacts on the biosphere. An extreme example is mountain-removal mining, in which coal is mined by removing the tops of mountains to allow easier access to coal seams. This type of mining was developed in the Appalachian Mountains in the east of the USA.
- - - - Temperature range between 27°C and 30°C
      - Total annual rainfall 2,200mm
      - Soil: poor quality
      - Nutrients have been washed down through the soil due to heavy rain forming a hard pan
      - Vegetation is in 4 layers
      - Forest is evergreen
      - Animals such as sloth and howler monkeys
      - Epiphytes grow on the trees
    - - Example – Australia
      - Temperature range between 30°C and 35°C
      - Great temperature differences between day and night
      - Very unpredictable rainfall but generally very low
      - Sand or very coarse grained soils with good drainage
      - Only plants are short shrubs, such as prickly pear cactus, which stores water in its spongy tissue
      - Camels store fat in their humps which they can change into water when it's needed
    - - Example – Argentina
      - Temperature range between 10°C and 18°C
      - Total annual rainfall 500mm,
      - Most rain falls in summer months
      - Trees general not found in these areas
      - Grasses such as purple needlegrass and buffalo grass grow in these areas
      - The temperate grasslands in North America, known as the Prairies, have been converted into farmland
    - - Example – USA
      - Temperature range between 4°C and 17°C
      - Total annual rainfall 1,000mm
      - Trees lose their leaves in winter to reduce transpiration
      - Vegetation is in 4 layers
      - Animals such as rabbits and deer
    - - Example – Russia
      - Temperature range between -10°C and 15°C
      - Total annual rainfall 500mm
      - Trees have a thick bark to protect them from the cold
      - Needle leaves to slow down transpiration
      - Evergreen trees, which allows growth to start when weather warms up
      - Shallow root system because of shallow soil and frozen ground
      - Trees such as pine and fur
      - Animals such as red foxes and black bears