geography terms

• altitude


  Elevation above sea level
• altitudinal zonation


  the change in ecosystems at different altitudes, caused by alterations in temperature, precipitation, sunlight and soil type
• Carbon squestration


  natural or artificial process- capture of carbon from atmosphere into long term storage.
• carbon sink


  natural stores for carbon containing chemical compounds like CO2 or CH4 (methane)
• carrying capacity


  maximum population of a species an ecosystem can support
• coniferous


  needles instead of leaves, most have cones, evergreens
• deciduous


  Trees and shrubs that shed their leaves in autumn and grow in spring ( follows four seasons)
• diurnal temperature range


  Difference between highest day & lowest night temperature
• ecosystem services


  a collective term for all of the ways humans benefit from ecosystems
• green revolution


  20th century development where new varieties of crops and better technology led to dramatic increases in crop yields in some developing countries
• humus


  organic material formed from decaying plants, animals and other organic matter
• impermeable


  rocks that do bit all water to pass through (eg clay)
• industrialisation


  where mainly agricultural society changes and begins to depend on manufacturing industries instead of
• ITCZ (intertropical convergence zone)


  a belt of low pressure which circles the Earth generally near the equator where warm moist trade winds come together creating a high area of precipitation
• latitude


  distance north or south of the Equator, measured in degrees
• open cast mining


  A type of mining that extracts resources from open quarries rather than digging tunnels underground to reach mineral deposits.
• peat bogs


  A wet, spongy area where all the soil is made up of decayed plant material
• weathering


  the physical chemical or biological breakdown of aikido rock by the action of weather or plants
• biome


  a large scale ecosystem
• Ecosystem


  A communities of organisms interacting with the abiotic environment
• biosphere


  living layer of earth between the lithosphere and the atmosphere
• substinence farming


  growing/farming the minimum amount to sustain life
• commercial exploitation


  overuse of the biosphere for profit
• BRIC(S)


  Brazil, Russia, India, China, (South Africa)
• MINT


  Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey
• emerging economies


  Developing countries that have grown rapidly (brics)
• population and resources pessimistic view (Malthus)


  human population would grow faster than resources- wars, epidemics, famines- population crash until numbers balanced with resources
• population and resources optimistic view (Boserup)


  as population grew to the point resources were becoming sparse, technology would find ways to increase supply to fit demand
• biomass


  the total mass of organisms in an ecosystem
• canopy


  A leafy roof formed by tall trees
• CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species)


  lists species that cannot be commercially traded as live specimens or wildlife products
• ecotourism


  tourism that minimises harmful impacts on the environment which aims to use tourism to help local communities
• food chain


  A series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten
• geographical conflict


  disagreement and differences of opinion linked to the use of places and resources
• HEP (hydroelectric power)


  use of fast flowing water to turn turbines which produce elecricity
• indirect threat


  when there is no direct cause between one thing happening and another thing being damaged
• food web


  complex network of overlapping food chains that connect plants and animals in biomes
• leaching


  when minerals are washed downwards through soil by rainwater
• NPP (Net Primary Productivity)


  the measure of how much a new plant and animal growth- or biomass- is added to a biome each year, measured in grams per square metre per year
• REDD


  Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation