Unit Title: Sustainable Management of Natural

Environments

Grade year 4/5- Handout

Change Causality, Management Identities and

and intervention, Scale Relationships /Fairness
(processes) and Development (e-
assessment)

Key concept Related concept(s) Global context

Statement of inquiry:
Human intervention and management of processes are a cause that
may affect the Identities and relationships in various environments
causing change at a large Scale.

Important Terms/ definitions-

1. Biomes- major (global scale) regions of physically similar, but not

taxonomically related, vegetation and animals (life zones, ecoregions)
Each biome type has a distinctive form of vegetation (physiognomy).
Biomes are distinct biological communities that have formed in response to
a shared physical climate.

2. Ecosystems-An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and

other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a
bubble of life. Ecosystems contain biotic or living, parts, as well as abiotic
factors, or nonliving parts. Biotic factors include plants, animals, and other
organisms. variety of ecosystems are spread across the world, each with
distinctive interacting characteristics and components. They range from
small (eg a freshwater pond) to global (eg. the desert biome).

An ecosystem is a natural environment and includes the flora (plants)

and fauna (animals) that live and interact within that environment. Flora, fauna
and bacteria are the biotic or living components of the ecosystem. Ecosystems
are dependent on the following abiotic or non-living components:

 climate - the temperature and amount of rainfall are very important in

determining which species can survive in the ecosystem
 soil - the soil type is important as this provides nutrients that will support
different plants
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 water - the amount of water available in an ecosystem will determine what
plants and animals can be supported
The biotic parts of the ecosystem have a complex relationship with the abiotic
components - changing one will lead to a change in the other.

Ecosystems are very sensitive to change. The living(Biotic) and non-

living(Abiotic) components of the ecosystem can be altered by either natural
factors or human management.

Changes to the ecosystem caused by natural factors include:

 drought
 flood
 fire
 disease
Changes to the ecosystem caused by human management include:

 introducing more fish (fish stocking)/ invasive species

 altering the drainage of the land which may influence the amount of water
 changing the pH level of the water
 altering the nutrient levels of the water if fertilisers are leached into the water
resulting in eutrophication.
The global distributions of ecosystems are distributed on the basis of the
following factors-
The distribution of large-scale ecosystems (biomes) is determined by climate.
Latitude, air pressure and winds are important factors that determine the climate
of a place.

Latitude

Latitude is one of the most important factors in determining global climate

patterns.

In the lower latitudes, such as the tropics, temperatures are the highest. This is
because the sun's rays travel a shorter distance to the Equator and are therefore
more concentrated.

However, in the higher latitudes, such as the polar regions of the world,
temperatures are lowest. This is due to the sun's rays travelling a longer distance
and being spread over a wider area of the Earth's surface. When these rays

Created by Ms. Manisha Vsudevan

approach the Earth, they do so at a sloping angle, resulting in lower surface
temperatures.

High and low air pressure

Differences in temperature lead to variations in air pressure around the

world. Low-pressure areas are created when air rises. This is called low pressure
because the weight of the air above the Earth's surface is lower than
average. High-pressure areas are created when air sinks. This is called high
pressure because the weight of the air is above average when it sinks to the Earth's
surface.

Low-pressure areas are associated with cloud and precipitation(rainfall) because:

1. as the air rises it cools, condenses and forms clouds

2. the water droplets in the clouds increase in size
3. they eventually become too heavy to be held and fall as precipitation
The air above the Equator is very hot and rises, creating an area of low pressure.
The Equator experiences high amounts of rainfall due to this rising air resulting in
a warm and wet equatorial climate (eg Amazon and Congo tropical rainforests).

High-pressure areas are associated with dry, warm and settled weather conditions.
This is because sinking air does not result in precipitation.

Winds
The air travels in the upper atmosphere and sinks at approximately 30° North and
30° South of the Equator. When the air sinks it creates an area of high pressure.

These high-pressure areas experience very dry and warm conditions resulting in
a hot desert climate (eg the Sahara and Kalahari deserts). Winds blow from areas
of high to low pressure, which transfers the air from where it is sinking to where
it is rising. This continual transfer of wind maintains the pressure belts of high and
low pressure which creates different global climatic zones.

3. Sequestration- The removal and storage of carbon from the atmosphere in

carbon sinks (such as oceans, forests or soils) through physical or biological
processes, such as photosynthesis.
4. Nitrification- The process of changing Amonia into Nitrates in order to be
able to be absorbed by the plants which is useful for their growth and
reproduction.
https://bam.files.bbci.co.uk/bam/live/content/zgxd6fr/medium
5. Carbon cycle-
The continuous flow of carbon from the land and water through the
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 atmosphere and living organisms makes up the global carbon cycle. It
contains reservoirs where carbon is stored and features dynamic flows of
carbon between the carbon pools. Forests are one of the largest reservoirs of
carbon on Earth, and therefore their storage and release of carbon have a
great impact on the global carbon cycle. With 10% of the world’s forests,
Canada’s carbon balance is especially dependent on the flow of carbon into
and out of forest ecosystems.
Forests absorb carbon from the atmosphere through carbon
sequestration, which describes the uptake of carbon through
photosynthesis. This carbon is then used to create new plant biomass,
such as leaves, roots and wood. Carbon makes up about half of the dry
weight of wood. Young forests have high growth rates and therefore
sequester carbon at a faster pace than older forests. While they pull
carbon out of the atmosphere quickly, at these early stages of
development they do not yet store large amounts of carbon. Older
forests can store carbon in much larger quantities as these trees have
been growing for longer periods of time and have built up large carbon
stocks. However, the rate at which forests can sequester carbon from the
atmosphere declines with age, meaning that older forests cannot take in
carbon as rapidly as forests at a younger developmental stage. In addition to
being stored within living plant biomass, carbon is also stored in detritus
(such as leaves, branches and downed wood) and soil.

6. Food web- Food webs consist of many interconnected food chains and are
more realistic representation of consumption relationships in ecosystems.
A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and
energy pass as one organism eats another

7. Ecological cycle- Ecological cycles are the various self-regulating

processes that recycle the earth’s limited resources – water, carbon,
nitrogen, and other elements - that are essential to sustain life.
Understanding how local cycles fit into global cycles is essential to make
the best possible management decisions to maintain ecosystem health and
productivity for now and the future.

Ecological succession- Gradual predictable changes to an ecosystem or

habitat
Trophic -
Anthropogenic- refers to what is caused or influenced by humans. When discussing
climate change, it is often used to refer to emissions produced as a result.
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/lesson/ecosystem-imbalance-world/

Created by Ms. Manisha Vsudevan

 8. A baseline is a benchmark that is used as a foundation for measuring or
comparing current and past values. The baseline can be considered the starting
point against which all future values are measured. Whenever there are changes in
the ecosystem the baseline shifts.

9. Stakeholders- stakeholders are people, organizations, or political entities

interested / benefitted by and/or affected by the outcome of management
decisions.

Distribution of global ecosystems

The map shows the distribution of the global ecosystems or biomes (especially
Marine and rain forest).

Created by Ms. Manisha Vsudevan

 Characteristics of biomes

 Tundra - found near the North and South poles. Very few plants and animals
can survive here.
 Taiga (coniferous forest) - found in Scandinavia, Russia and Canada.
Evergreen trees thrive in this cool temperate climate.
 Temperate deciduous forest - found across Europe and in the USA. These
trees lose their leaves every year and thrive in mild and wet conditions known
as a temperate maritime climate.
 Temperate grassland - found in Hungary, South Africa, Argentina and the
USA. Consists of grass and trees that thrive in a temperate continental climate
of moderate rainfall and mild conditions.
 Chaparral or evergreen hardwood (Mediterranean) - found around the
Mediterranean Sea, around Perth and Melbourne in Australia and California in
the USA.
 Desert - found near the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Conditions here are
very hot and dry. Plants and animals are specially adapted to survive in the
harsh conditions.
 Tropical rainforest - found near the Equator. The climate is hot and humid and
many different species can be found here.
 Savanna grassland - found mainly in central Africa, southern India, northern
Australia and central South America. Long grasses and a few scattered trees are
found in these hot and dry conditions.
Ecosystems change gradually between the Equator and the Poles.

Created by Ms. Manisha Vsudevan