definitions

• ecosystem


  a group of biotic organisms interacting with the abiotic parts of an environment that live together in a habitat

  can be small or large
• abiotic


  non-living

  eg- sunlight, pH, moisture, wind, soil, nutrient availability
• biotic


  living

  eg-plants, animals, fungi, algae, bacteria
• biodiversity


  variety of life
• food chain


  what eats what
• food web


  lots of food chains and how they overlap
• biomes


  large scale ecosystems with distinctive vegetation

  depends on climate of the area-different parts of the world have different biomes
• lianas


  wood creepers rooted to the ground but are carried by trees into the canopy where they have leaves flowers and maximum sunlight
• buttress roots


  massive roots above the surface to help support the base of the tall tree and help transfer water

  also help in o2/co2 exchange due to surface area
• leaves with flexible bases


  helps leaves turn to the sun
• thin smooth bark


  allows water to flow down easily and stops other plants from growing on the tree surface
• epiphytes


  plants which live on trunks and branches of other plants allows them to make the most of the sunlight in the canopy layer
• emergent 


  fast growing trees out compete other trees for sunlight

  eg-capoc
• drip tip


  allows heavy rain to drip off the leaf- prevent algae from growing which could prevent photosynthesis as it blocks sunlight
• deforestation


  large scale cutting down and clearing of forest environments
• clear felling


  all trees cut
• logging


  cutting trees
• selective logging


  only cutting trees you want (or when they've reached a certain height)

  less damaging but still reduces biodiversity
• sustainable development of the rainforest


  allowing the use of natural resources within the rainforest in a way that preserves them for the future, but also allowing development and doesn't effect the health of the people who live there
• agroforestry


  grow crops (eg coffee) under the canopy
• forest reserves


  national parks
• afforestation


  opposite of deforestation->replant trees to maintain canopy
• desertification


  the degradation of semi-arid land

  a process by which fertile land becomes drier and less productive becoming desert
• transmigration 


  move