Living world

• Ecosystem


  A complex natural system made up of abiotic and biotic factor
• Producers


  Organisms that make their own food
• Consumers


  Organisms that eat living producers and/or other consumers for food.
• Decomposers


  organisms that break down wastes and dead organisms and add nutrients to the soil
• Biotic factors


  living parts of an ecosystem
• abiotic factors


  nonliving parts of an ecosystem
• nutrient cycle
• Changes of an ecosystem due to human activity

  Ponds maybe drained for farming

  Hedgerows removed to increase size of fields

  Deforestation

  Agricultural fertiliser can lead to nitrates increase growth of algae
• tundra biome


  Very low temperatures, very little rainfall, mostly as snow. Very small trees, a few herbs, mosses and lichens.
• Polar Biome


  Extreme cold means very little fauna or flora e.g. birds, seals, penguins in Antarctic
• tropical grassland biome


  located north and south of the equator, often called savannas

  winters are warm and dry

  summers are hot and rainy

  rainfall 18-50 inches each year
• tropical rain forest biome

  climate is warm and humid all year long and there is a lot of rain; abundant plant and animal life can be found here
• Desert Biome


  An extremely dry area with little water and few plants
• Why should tropical rainforests be protected?

  Biodiversity, climate change, climate, medicine, resources, water and people
• Where are tropical rainforests found?

  Around the equator between the tropics
• orangutans adaptations


  large arms to swing and to support in the tree canopy
• How can rainforests be managed sustainably?

  Selective logging and replanting

  Conservation and education

  Ecotourism

  International agreements
• Layers of the Rainforest


  emergent, canopy, understory, forest floor
• Causes of deforestation


  Logging

  Mineral extraction

  Population pressures

  Commercial farming

  Subsistence farming
• Impacts of development in Malaysia pros

  Development for land and mining leads to more jobs

  Pay taxes which can be used to improve public services

  Minerals are valuable so expensive
• Impacts of development in Malaysia cons

  Pollution of water sources can lead to water shortages

  Fires can cause harmful pollutants

  Plants used for medical Brigitte could be extinct

  Loss of biodiversity due to loss of species

  Greater contributions of co2 towards climate change
• Sustainable management in Malaysia

  agro-forestry

  selective logging

  education

  afforestation

  forest reserves

  ecotourism
• Where are hot deserts found?

  between 15° and 30° north and south of the equator
• Characteristics of hot desert

  very hot during the day, very cold during the night -diurnal temperatures.

  very dry - < 250mm of rain a year.

  dry, infertile soil
• Deserfication


  Land is gradually turned into desert

  Result of natural events and human mismanagement
• Causes of desertification


  Soil erosion

  climate change

  Over grazing

  over cultivation,

  Fuelwood

  Salinisation
• Desertification can be reduced

  Water and soil management

  Ponding banks

  Contour traps

  National parks status

  Tree planting
• Magic stones in Burkina Faso

  reduces desert soil erosion and builds walls along contour lines where water gathers to increase production by 50%
• opportunites desert


  mining-iron ore and uranium

  energy-high sunlight-solar

  oil

  farming-Toshka project -$70 billion transfer water from lake Nasser to western desert

  tourism-camels and provides lots of jobs, sandboarding and carting
• Location and background of Sahara Desert

  Northern Africa(Chad, Egypt, Algeria ,Niger, Sudan and Tunisia)

  population of £2.5 million
• challenges desert


  extreme temperatures, poor water supply in parts of the desert, and inaccessibility in more remote regions