Transcript PowerPoint-presentatie

2 Landscape zones in the world
2.1 Life in the Amazon
Tropical rainforests
 The Amazon region in South America consists
of dense, impenetrable, tropical forests.
• These forests are located in the tropics,
on both sides of the equator. It is always
hot there and there is a lot of
precipitation.
• The trees and plants grow in layers at
different heights. So it is always quite
dark in the forest. Many different species
of plants, trees and animals live there:
the biodiversity is high.
2.1 Life in the Amazon
Deforestation
 One fifth of the Brazilian rainforest
has disappeared since 1970
because of deforestation.
• Reasons for deforestation:
- uneven population distribution
- extraction of natural resources
(gold, uranium, rubber, wood)
- road building
- large-scale agriculture
2.1 Life in the Amazon
Sustainable use
 The forests are the home of the native population, the Indians. The
biodiversity is huge. Some species are still undiscovered. Sustainable
management is important in order to conserve the forest.
• Forests can be sustainably
managed if only a few trees are
felled and young trees are
allowed to grow. This is called
reforestation. New pieces of
forest are also planted.
2.2 Life in a dry region: Mali
Mali: a poor and dry country
 Mali is in Africa and is a very poor country.
It is 33 x as big as the Netherlands.
• It consists of steppe and desert, because it
is so dry there. There are grasses and
shrubs in the steppe, but in the desert the
only vegetation is at oases. An oasis is a
place where there is water.
 It is a bit wetter in the south: this is where
savannah is found with grasses, shrubs and
clusters of trees.
2.2 Life in a dry region: Mali
Surviving in dry regions
 People who live in dry regions have to deal with water shortages.
• Nomads are people with no
permanent home. They go from
place to place with their
livestock.
Very few livestock per hectare:
extensive livestock farming.
• At oases people make fields by
applying irrigation.
2.2 Life in a dry region: Mali
The Sahel: a vulnerable region
 The Sahel is in the region between the savannah in the south and the
desert in the north.
• Precipitation in the Sahel is very unpredictable. There is often a risk of
famine.
• A lot of food is needed for the
fast-growing population. So the
farmers allow too much livestock
to graze in small areas. This is
called overgrazing which can
cause desertification. Then there
is no more vegetation to stabilize
the soil.
2.3 Inuit in Greenland
Kalaallit Nunaat
 Inuit means ‘people’ or ‘a people’.
They were called Eskimos in the
past. They live along the coast of
Alaska, Northern Canada and
Greenland.
• They survive by hunting seals, polar
bears, reindeer and whales.
Previously, they travelled around
in kayaks and sleighs, but now they
also have snow scooters and cars.
2.3 Inuit in Greenland
Tundra
 Greenland has a cold climate. The average temperature is never higher
than 10ºC.
• So there are no trees. Inuit live north of the tree line, in the tundra. Moss,
grasses and shrubs grow here.
• The tundra is covered in ice and snow
for 9 months of the year. The upper
layer of soil melts in summer. The layer
beneath is always frozen: permafrost.
The meltwater cannot sink into the
soil in summer. So it is very marshy
then.
2.3 Inuit in Greenland
Snow and ice
 It never thaws in the middle of Greenland. The layer of perpetual snow
is pressed into land ice of more than 3 km thick.
• Sea ice forms on the sea. Frozen
sea water is also called pack ice.
Pieces break off in summer. We call
these icebergs drift ice.
2.4 Habitation in the world
Climate and landscape zones
 Weather and climate are two different things.
• Weather is what is happening in the atmosphere at a specific place and time.
• Climate is the average weather in a large area during a period of 30 or 40
years.
• Landscape zones are characterized by the vegetation that grows there.
The vegetation is dependent on precipitation and temperature. A diagram
of the average temperature (red line) and the average precipitation (blue
bars) is called a climate chart.
2.4 Habitation in the world
2.4 Habitation in the world
Population distribution in China
 The population is spread unevenly across the Earth’s surface.
There are also big differences in China.
• Most of the Chinese live in big cities in the east of the country. Places where
lots of people live together are called: population concentrations.
• The west of China is sparsely populated. It is very dry (Gobi Desert) and cold
there (Himalayas) and there is a lot of relief.
2.4 Habitation in the world
Habitation in landscape zones
 There are also differences in population distribution globally because of
natural conditions.
• Regions are sparsely populated because they are too high, too dry, too
cold or infertile.
• Regions are densely populated if
they get enough precipitation and it
is not too cold. Billions of people live
in deciduous forest areas in the
temperate zone.
Most of the original vegetation
has disappeared and has been
replaced by arable land: fields and
meadows.