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Carbon - Growing demand for resources - Coggle Diagram
Carbon - Growing demand for resources
Deforestation
Land-use cover
as population increases and development continues, the demand for resources increases
Demand:
due to population increase and increase in economic development, the demands for resources have increased
climate change leading to changes in weather patterns has led to an increase in the demand for water resources in some areas
climate change has also put pressure on food resources
Deforestation - Carbon:
has major impacts on terrestrial carbon stores
there is a reduction in photosynthesis to absorb the CO2. less absorption of CO2 means a reduction in carbon stores, and more in the atmosphere
amount that was stored in biomass above and below ground decomposes to release more CO2
Deforestation - water cycle:
leads to a reduction in interception and infiltration, increasing surface runoff and soil erosion, leading to an increased risk of flooding
without vegetation returning the water to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration, a reduction in annual rainfall can be seen
Afforestation:
vegetation esp tress, are significant carbon store due to sequestering carbon through photosynthesis
refers to planting of trees on land that has either been previously deforested or not vegetated
counter acts negative impacts of deforestation
promotes infiltration and percolation in order to regulate water cycle
helps promotes a reduction in CO2 levels, due to increase in carbon store
Forest loss
the amount of forest that is lost is closely related to the current economic development of a nation
Forest loss:
due to rising demands for them, biofuels like palm oil are being grown in deforested regions
tropical rainforest e.g. SE Asia has been deforested in order to form large-scale palm oil plantations
process leads to massive amounts of carbon dioxide being released into atmosphere
Implications for humans:
palm oil production is required to meet the currently increasing demand
local communities have been forced to migrate due to the impacts
has economic implications for those who have been previously dependent on the rainforest for their resources and income
threatens indigenous way of life
has led to over 700 conflicts over land in 2016
Forest protection:
UN's data shown that only HICs are seeing an increase in forested land
annual net loss of rainforest is half that of the 1990s because of an increase in the hectares gained
HICs tend to have temperate forest which is seeing an increase in forested area, whilst tropical forest regions have highest deforestation
Water
Ocean acidification
the process where the oceans become more acidic can have disastrous impacts on the ecosystems that exist there
refers to the process of more CO2 being absorbed into the ocean, which means the pH decreases
when there is a higher concentration of CO2 absorbed into the ocean, it converts largely into carbonic acid
when there are lower concentrations of carbon dioxide when CO2 absorbed, the carbonate ions promoted healthy coral growth
Impacts on coral reefs:
corals can only survive between 23-29 degrees
coral bleaching happens when the water is too warm, causing algae to be ejected and leaving the coral white
acidic water makes coral disintegrate
Impacts on other life:
if reefs lost many other animals are dependent on them
coral reefs provide shelter for 25% of marine species
can provide shorelines protection from storms and large waves
fish that live in reefs can support local fishing industries
tourism can thrive around coral reefs
Effect on temperatures on water and carbon stores
Increased evaporation rates:
changes in global temp increase evaporation rates
changes to temp could lead to changes in the air circulation system, could result in tropical storms moving further away from the equator as sea surface temp reaches 27 degrees
Drainage basin stores:
with increased temp, there is a rise in the rate of evaporation and so in water vapour
due to warmer temp precipitation falls as rainfall
high temp means snowmelt begins earlier
can alter river regimes, with higher discharge in the winter because of higher rainfall and spring snowmelt happening earlier
thawing of permafrost can lead to water infiltraiting and percolating deeper
Threats to ocean health
ocean environements provide food, protection and income for the communities that develop around them
Developing nations:
the poorest nations will be most dependent on their oceans as food supply + income
climate change leads to changes in coastal environment, which leads to changes in the location and amount of species.
North Atlantic has increased in temp and the plankton that is used to cooler water dies
Toursim:
coral bleaching has been seen in Great Barrier Reef which can impact the tourism industry of these regions and can lead to a spiral of decline
oil spills, less common, but are devastating to coral and marine ecosystems
Coastal Protection:
mangroves provide significant coastal protection and are found along tropical coasts, bind sediment together with their extensive root network, protecting the shore from storm surges + preventing erosion
50% of all mangroves have been lost since 1950s largely due to tourism
Climate change
Human causes
enhanced greenhouse gas effect
causes an increase in global temp
greenhouse gas emissions increase because of the burning of fossil fuels and carbon stores are reduced because of human activity
Change in climate belts:
change in temp impacts air circulation system
current system sees low pressure and high rainfall at the equator with high pressure and low rainfall at the poles
change in temp may cause these systems to shift into a different position, leading to rainfall patterns changing
with 2 degree increase in temp 5% of world's climate zones have changed
Frequency of droughts:
shift in climate zones = areas which are cold are decreasing and areas dry are increasing
arid and semi-arid areas are likely to expand further within continents e.g. Sub-Saharan Africa
Europe and Western Asia are seeking highest threat from risk of drought
Amazonian drought events
Drought:
causes tress to die and plant growth rates decline, resulting in the forests losing their ability to be a carbon sink during a drought
as result of dead organic matter forest fires can break out quickly, releasing CO2 back to atmosphere
Amazon droughts:
in 2005 and 2010, Amazon suffered droughts
rainforests and other vegetation found within the Amazon basin holds 17% of the world's terrestrial vegetation carbon.
Future uncertainity
Factors to uncertainty
Natural:
how oceans will respond to the upcoming changes in climate is uncertain
sea surface temp might rise, leading to increased likelihood and intensity of tropical storms
increased glacial melt will increase sea level rise
increases in atmospheric carbon will cause ocean to become more acidic, leading to problems with coral and other organisms
Human:
resources and energy available to us in the future depends on many factors
economic growth is frequently linked to carbon emissions, especially in developing nations where deforestation is occurring for land-use change
emerging nations may still have high rates of fossil fuel consumption to support their secondary and tertiary industry progression
Feedback mechanisms
Where something that happens in a system has a knock-on-effect on the rest of the system
Peat:
soil formed from vegetation that is partly decayed - as a result of the low decomposition, this soil contains high amounts of carbon
if peat dries out, the water table drops, but decomposition rates also increase, leading to more carbon emission release
peatlands also emit methane, which contributes to the greenhouse gases