Transcript Loss of diversity and importance of rainforestsx

Brainstorm
• List the factors that you think lead to a loss of
diversity.
• Do you think the loss of diversity is the same
from country to country?
• Why / why not?
Learning outcomes
• You will all be able to:
– Identify the factors that lead to a loss of diversity
• Most of you should be able to:
– Discuss the value of tropical forests in contributing to
global biodiversity
• Some of you might be able to:
– Explain why tropical rainforests are vulnerable to
disturbance.
Natural Hazards
Volcanic eruption
Landslide
Avalanche
http://www.uvm.edu
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/3025/aus
tralia-threat-volcanic-eruption
http://www.preview-risk.com
Earthquake
Tsunami
Natural fire
http://www.floridaforestservice.com/publi
cations/fires_natural_role.html
http://tsun.sscc.ru/
http://library.thinkquest.org/
Environmental disasters
Loss of tropical rainforest
Oil Spills
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/15/forests.brazil
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/oil_spills.htm
Habitat fragmentation
Pollution: (topic 5)
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Spraying of pesticides
Oil spills
Factory emissions
Fertilizer run-off
Toxic chemical in the food chain
Climate change
http://wildflowerturfblog.wildflowerturf.co.uk/2012/02/16/habitat-fragmentation/
Overexploitation
North
Atlantic
Bluefin tuna
http://my.telegraph.co.uk/blueplanet/page/9/
http://bio1152.nicerweb.com/Locked/media/ch56/overexploitation.html
Introducing non-native species
Japanese Knotweed
Black rat (Rattus rattus)
http://www.cumberlandcd.com/~amcclain/ccwa/knotweed.html
Grey squirrel
homepages.abdn.ac.ukl
http://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/10117
Rhododendron
http://www.donnan.com/rhododendron.htm
Rabbits
Red Fox
http://animal.discovery.com/mammals/rabbit/
http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter/nsf/WebPages/LBUN-5K43KE?open
Australia
Cane Toad
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/9328504/
Camels
http://www.camelsaust.com.au/history.htm
Modern Agricultural practices:
• GM crops
• Monocultures
• Pesticides
Spread of disease:
• Bird flu
• BSE
• Tuberculosis
• Domesticated to wild and vice versa
Importance of tropical rainforests
• Read the article and try to remember as many
of the facts as you can…
• We will have a test!
See how many you can remember…
• If Amazonia were a country, it would be the
world.
• More than 20 percent of the world’s
Amazon Rainforest.
largest in the
is produced in the
• More than half of the world's estimated
species of
plants, animals and insects live in the tropical rainforests.
• One hectare (2.47 acres) may contain over 750 types of
1500 species of higher plants.
and
• Rainforests once covered
of the earth's land surface; now
they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining
rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years.
What makes rainforests valuable?
• Individually on the piece of paper provided
write down your ideas.
• Think about the following factors:
– Biodiversity
– Climate
– Oxygen
Another factor - “Green politics”
• What do you think “green politics” are?
• What do you think is the relationship between
rainforests and “green politics”?
Rainforests are often called biodiversity hotspots.
What is it that makes them so
diverse in terms of species?
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They contain a lot of long-lived species
and it has taken thousands of years for
them to develop. If they are damaged
it will take a long time for them to
regenerate. Why?
Read the facts from the National Geographic article “Rain
Forest Threats” and relate this to what we have been looking
at on the loss and retention of diversity.
Using this, write down the factors that make rainforests
vulnerable to disappearance.
Think about:
– The complexity of the ecosystem
– Soil nutrients
– Human activity
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/rainforest-threats/
Check learning outcome booklets
• You should be able to do:
– 4.2.1 – identify factors that lead to loss of
biodiversity
– 4.2.2 – discuss the perceived vulnerability of
tropical rainforests and their relative value in
contributing to global biodiversity