Geography topic 1

• We depend on nature for air, water, and space for recreation with family. crucial roles like pollination by bees contribute to our food supply and crop growth.
• nature and humans mutually depend on each other
• Residents take care nearby nature areas for thriving flora and fauna, promoting sustainable enjoyment while preventing irreversible damage.
• Nature areas :offer spaces for recreational activities and positive encounters with wild animals - improved mental health.
• Nature areas lower air temp, remove pollutants, provide recreational space and improve water quality
• Lower air temp :Vegetation provides shade and reduces amount of sunlight that reaches the surface. It cools the air through evapotranspiration as plants released water vapour. This process uses heat from the surrounding, thus cooling it
• Removal of Pollutants: During photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen. Pollutants are removed from air when they are intercepted by leaves & washed away by rain. Wetland plants also trap suspended materials eg pollutants and absorb excess nutrients in the water, improving water quality.
• Singapore has 4 nature reserves and 35 parks providing us with ample space for recreational activites
• Waterways Watch Society organised waterway clean-ups for schools to pick up trash from Marina Reservoir using bicycles, kayaks, or boats. More than 1,000 participants fished out 2,429kg of trash in 2020.
• impact of visitors to nature areas: when people hike on non designated vegetation trails, they will trample on vegetation damaging plants and causing soil compaction. This prevents rain water to infiltrate into the soil causing higher surface runoff and soil erosion,as rain water washes away soil particles
• increase in tourism resulted in soil erosion and habitat degradation in bukit timah nature reserve in 2014. Public access was denied for 2 years as the soil erosion worsened
• worsening polution : littering of food items, not properly discarding food waste and feeding wild animals will lead to a change in wildlife behavior.
• people will disturd wildlife. This results in human-wildlife conflicts eg harmful wildlife feeding which makes animals associate food with people, leading them to snatch people’s belongings
• Wildlife from nature areas may harm humans : Close proximity between urban areas & forests & increase in wildlife - increase wildlife attacks as animals are confused when they ventured to urban places for food.
• To prevent damage to natural habitat in Central Catchment Nature Reserve, Cross Island MRT Line will be built around the Reserve. This limited the development on singapore transport. lead to homes being taken over to facilitate construction