Geography

• 2% of sunlight reaches the forest floor
• 200,000 - 250,000 baka people remain in African Rainforests
• What is an Ecosystem made up of?

  Abiotic and Biotic elements (Flora and Fauna)
• Why is the equator so hot?

  Because of the curvature of the Earth, the equator gets 12 hours of sunlight each day.
• Why do plants stretch out in the shrub layer?

  To maximise sunlight.
• What is a biome?


  A biome is a large-scale ecosystem
• Where do Baka People make their villages?


  Nearby Rivers
• What is the farming method of the Baka?


  Shifting cultivation
• What is a hunter-gatherer?


  Someone who hunts their own food and gathers their own fruit
• What is leeching?


  Where heavy rains wash away the top layer of soil and the nutrients in it.
• How does it rain so much in the rainforest?


  The equator is a low pressure zone, so pressure is released from the ground, warm air rises through evaporation and condenses, and when the clouds contain too much condensation, it rains.
• Where is the Amazon?


  South America
• Where is the Rainforest of Central America?


  North America
• Where is the Congolese Rainforest?


  Africa
• Where is the Bornean Rainforest?


  South East Asia
• Where is the Daintree Rainforest?


  Oceania
• How much of the Earth do Rainforests cover?


  6%
• Why is soil reddish brown?


  Because of the presence of iron oxide
• What is the average temperature of rainforests?


  28°
• What is the average precipitation per year in rainforests?


  2000mm
• What is the process Baka people use to clear land, and why do they do it?


  Slash and burn, they slash to clear the land and burn because the ash fertilises the soil
• Why is there rapid decomposition in the rainforests?


  Because of the hot, damp climate
• What is the opposite of commercial farming?


  Subsistence farming
• What is subsistence farming?


  Subsistence farming is farming only enough to feed yourself and your family
• What is the nutrient cycle of the rainforest?


  1 Trees shed leaves all year round

  2 Rapid decomposition

  3 Nutrients return to soil

  4 Shallow roots absorb nutrients

  5 More trees grow
• What does deforestation lessen?


  Oxygen, Moisture, Evapotranspiration, precipitation
• How does deforestation affect the soils?


  Soil is left bare, therefore nutrients are washed away (leeched), and no leaves are returned to the soil, so no nutrients are absorbed
• What is the shifting cultivation process?


  Clearings are made, soil quickly loses fertility so frequent moves are required. The clearings are abandoned and eventually regain fertility
• How long is the soil good for?


  2-5 years
• What are farmed/burned areas called?


  Chagra
• What are the causes for deforestation?


  Clearing for cattle pasture, commercial agriculture and commercial logging.
• What percentage of deforestation is because of cattle pasture?


  70%
• What percentage of deforestation is because of commercial agriculture?


  25%
• What percentage of deforestation is because of commercial logging?


  5%
• What are the consequences of deforestation?


  1 Release of CO2 into the atmosphere

  2 Contribution to enhanced global warming

  3 loss of plant and animal species

  4 extinction of 137 plant species per day

  5 soil erosion (disintegration)

  6 flooding

  7 droughts