2. What are the elements and organisms involved in supplying this main ingredient?

Transcription

1 World Geography 3200/3202 Unit 3 Text Questions Name: Read Pages What is the main ingredient for life? 2. What are the elements and organisms involved in supplying this main ingredient? 3. Describe the process whereby this ingredient is made available. 4. What is an ecosystem? 5. Differentiate between producers, consumers and decomposers 6. Identify examples of producers and consumers in fig.63 on page 94.

2 7. Differentiate food Chain and food web 8. Give an example of a food chain from fig. 6.4 on page Draw and example of a food web which the human being is a part of. Read Pages What is a food pyramid? 11. Why are there fewer organisms at each trophic levels in a food pyramid?

3 12. Assume you are a farmer trying to decide whether to plant wheat for humans or hay for cattle. If your only concern is to use Earth s energy most efficiently, which would you choose? Why? 13. What other concerns might a farmer have? 14. How can a food pyramid help us understand how pesticides such as DDT can reach toxic levels for organisms at a higher trophic level? 15. Read the following description of an ecosystem. In a particular pond, bluegill sunfish have two sources of food. One source is plankton living in the reeds near shore. The other source is larvae living near the bottom of the pond in more open, central areas. The sunfish feed much more on larvae than on plankton, since the larvae give them more food energy and help them grow bigger, faster. Largemouth bass are introduced into the pond. The bass feed only on small sunfish-they can not catch and eat larger ones. They also have trouble feeding in the reeds and prefer feeding in more open areas. What is the probable impact of the largemouth bass on the ecosystem.

4 16. A biologist studying a meadow ecosystem estimated the following population numbers for organisms: 105 mice clover 8 red-tailed hawks grasshoppers make a pyramid for the ecosystem, labeling each level with the name of the organism and their populations. 17. Describe the effect a grass fire would have on the hawk population. 18. Describe the effect the introduction of a pollutant would have on the meadows food web. Read Pages Case Study P. 99 How the Arctic s Being Poisoned 19. Summarize the viewpoint of many aboriginal people in the Arctic regarding the amplification of DDT and other toxic chemicals in their environment.

5 20. Summarize the viewpoint of many government officials in developing countries regarding the use of DDT. 21. What world policy would you develop for the use or restriction of DDT? Explain your viewpoint. 22. The spruce budworm is the larval form of a moth that lays eggs on the tips of conifer leaves. When the larvae emerge they eat the needles of the tree. Heavy infestation of the worm defoliate the tree and kill it, and have resulted in damage to extensive areas of coniferous forest in eastern Canada. Two solutions to the problem are as follows: spraying of insecticides to kill the budworm; introducing a biological agent called BTK designed to kill the budworm. Proponents of insecticide spraying argue that it is the most effective means of protecting the forest, while opponents maintain that spraying is harmful to wildlife, the forest ecosystem and human health. The point out that one of the first chemicals used in spruce budworm spraying proved to be very toxic to wild bees. Proponents of biological control claim that BTK poses little or no threat to forms of life other than the budworm. What do you think was the effect of spraying, which poisoned bees, on blueberry cultivation in the spraying areas? 23. What effect might spraying have on bird populations and other organisms?

6 24. What might happen if the forest were simply left alone? 25. What concerns would you have if you lived in an area that had been sprayed for 25 years? Read Pages Explain the concept of climax vegetation. 27. Describe the Climax Vegetation in the coniferous forest ecosystem. 28. Analyze the world ecosystem map in fig. 6.8 on page 102 and identify the most widespread ecosystem in the high latitudes the name of the forest ecosystem in the low latitudes the most predominant ecosystem in South America the continent that do not experience a tundra ecosystem the name of the ecosystem in your area Ecosystem

7 Read Pages Use fig. 6.9 on page 103 to identify the ecosystems having the following rainfall and temperature conditions. Ecosystem Average Annual Temperature Average Annual Precipitation Identify the ecosystem described in each row of the table below: Ecosystem Climatic conditions Vegetation - month-long rainy seasons alternate with month long dry seasons - tall grasses with occasional trees - long, snowy winters in which water is frozen and not available for plant growth - summer have moderate temperatures - long growing season - abundant rainfall - warm summer temperatures - thick forest of evergreen trees (pines, fir, spruce and cedars) with small, thin needle leaves - broad leaf trees, which lose their leaves in winter - largest trees, (oak, beech, maple, hickory) form dense forest canopy, permitting some light to filter through to help smaller trees grow - smaller trees (dogwood) underneath - lowest forest layer consists of shade-tolerant shrubs and herbaceous growth - forest floor covered with leaf litter layer providing soil nutrients

8 - annual rainfall insufficient for tree growth - high summer temperature - grass (short or tall) - warm temperatures all year - high amounts of rainfall - cold temperatures all year - small amount of precipitation - summer short - growing season 6-8 weeks - winters long (6 to 9 months) - temperature variations extreme (hot in daytime, cold at night) - very little rainfall ( less than 25 cm. Per year) - precipitation falls during very short period of time or at intervals several years apart - many variety of broadleaf evergreen trees of all sizes - forest canopy shuts out sunlight from forest floor - plants such as ferns, orchids, and peppers live and in the larger trees - no trees - limited plant life, with shallow roots, remain close to the ground to absorb ground heat - example: moss, lichens, short grasses, dwarf shrubs, and stunted woody plants - plants include cactus and several other species - plants ten to have thick skins or extended root systems 30. Match each climograph to an ecosystem you identified in the table above.

9 Read Pages Case study The Yanomami Cultural Group of the Amazon Rainforest 31. The Yanomami traditionally used the environment to meet their needs and wants. Describe how they accomplished this in terms of: Their food Their Methods of Obtaining Food Their Shelter Other Elements of Their Culture

10 32. Develop and defend a position on whether or not mining and logging should be allowed in the state of the Amazonas. (Note: the environmental damage of clearing the rainforest is examined further in the case study on page 119 to 120 of this chapter) 33. In 1997, several conflicts erupted between indigenous groups and the developers of ecotours. With the support of government officials, businesspeople have built tourist lodges and airstrips, on land used by indigenous people for hunting. Tour operators regularly take tourists to visit indigenous communities without seeking permission from the communities. Ecotours are advertised as adventures in rediscovering the meaning of life by visiting a natural world undisturbed by civilization. Learning about the way of life of indigenous cultures is one of the selling features of the tours. Consider the possible world views of the: Yanomami, the business people, government officials

11 Ecotourists. Which aspects of their world views have created the conflict? 34. Plot the data in the chart below? Year Carbon Dioxide PPM Year Carbon Dioxide PPM

12 what trend do you see? 35. With increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, temperatures rise and the climate in all world ecosystems of the world become warmer. Describe how global warming and changed climates might affect: plant and tree species in ecosystems animal species in ecosystems

13 the predictability of weather systems, especially violent ones the distribution of deserts 36. A probable consequence of global warming is a rise in sea levels. How would this rise affect low lying areas of the world like Bangladesh? 37. Using the chart below answer the following questions Country Total emissions (million of tons in 1992) Per Capita emission United States China Russian Federation Japan Germany India Ukraine United Kingdom Canada Italy France Poland

14 Mexico Kazakhstan South Africa World A) Which five countries are the highest per capita producers of carbon dioxide? B) What percentage of the world s total carbon dioxide emissions do these five countries produce? C) What percentage of the world s total do the United States and Canada produce? D) Where does Canada rank in total carbon dioxide emissions? E) Where does Canada rank in per Capita emissions? F) China, the world s most populous nation, is greatly increasing its use of coal, which is the highest producer of carbon dioxide emissions of all fossil fuels. Why should this be of concern to the world? 38. Environmentalists and others appeal to individuals and businesses to use energy more efficiently and to reduce their use of fossil fuels in their lifestyles and economies. Suggest three ways that you as an individual can carry out this task. Read Case study Ranching in Brazil Pages How has ranching disrupted fragile relationships in the tropical rain forest ecosystem?

15 40. The government of some tropical countries now regularly set aside fragments of rainforest as conservation reserves. What problems do you see in this attempt to protect the rain forest ecosystem? 41. Develop a position for or against a Brazilian government official who argues the Amazon rain forest is strictly an economic resource for Brazilian to develop as they see fit. Read Pages Compare the world ecosystems map in fig. 6.8 on page 102 with figure 7.11 on page 122. In which ecosystem is the threat of decertification the greatest? Read Pages Using the world ecosystem map in figure 6.8 on page 102, judge the validity of the following statement: Although the total quantity of the water resource on earth s surface is not a problem, its availability for human use is explain your viewpoint. Read Pages

16 44. What factors do you think would affect the rate at which the soil forming processes act? 45. What factors do you think would cause soil profiles to vary? For example what factors might affect the content of humus, or the relative thickness of each soil horizon? Read Pages Use fig. 8.5 on page 137 to locate each soil type. Then on page 75 and find the climatic characteristics of each region. Then fill in the other parts of the chart. Soil type Climate features of soil type region Leaching/Eluviation (strong/weak) Capillary Action (strong/weak/moderate) Podzol Chernozem Desert Latosol tundra 44. Soil fertility is measured in terms of a soil s humus content relative to the amount of ground down bedrock it contains. Why do you think humus is such an important Factor in soil fertility? 45. How would climatic conditions affect soil fertility in each of: grassland

17 Tundra Rain forest 46. Identify the textural class of soil to which each of the following combinations belong. sand % clay % silt % class

18 47. What texture would you expect to find in a soil sample from: The Sahara desert The Nile River delta The Brazilian rain forest The Tundra 48. Refer to fig on page 141 which two regions of the world suffer most from decertification? 49. Using fig. 6.8 on p.102, explain why the decertification problem is greatest in these regions. 50. List the causes of soil erosion. 52. Examine the photographs on page 143 and tell whether they are strip cropping, cover cropping, terracing or contour ploughing. top left top right bottom left bottom right Picture Classification

19 53. Using your knowledge of soil formation and soil loss, evaluate the validity of the following statement: Soil is a plentiful resource keep this in mind World: 25 % desert 10 % bogs, swamps and marshes 25 % parent material (Bedrock) 8 % permanently frozen 20 % thin soil