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

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/3025/australia-threat-volcanic-eruption http://www.preview-risk.com

http://www.floridaforestservice.com/publications/fires_natural_role.html

Volcanic eruption

Natural fire

Landslide

http://www.uvm.edu

Avalanche

http://tsun.sscc.ru/

Tsunami

http://library.thinkquest.org/

Earthquake

Environmental disasters

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/15/forests.brazil

Loss of tropical rainforest

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/oil_spills.htm

Oil Spills

Habitat fragmentation Pollution: (topic 5)• Spraying of pesticides• Oil spills• Factory emissions• Fertilizer run-off• Toxic chemical in the food chain• Climate change

Overexploitation

http://my.telegraph.co.uk/blueplanet/page/9/

http://wildflowerturfblog.wildflowerturf.co.uk/2012/02/16/habitat-fragmentation/

http://bio1152.nicerweb.com/Locked/media/ch56/overexploitation.html

North Atlantic Bluefin tuna

Introducing non-native species

http://www.cumberlandcd.com/~amcclain/ccwa/knotweed.html

Japanese Knotweed

homepages.abdn.ac.ukl

Grey squirrel

Black rat (Rattus rattus)

http://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/10117

http://www.donnan.com/rhododendron.htm

Rhododendron

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/9328504/

Cane Toad

Australia

http://animal.discovery.com/mammals/rabbit/

Rabbits

http://www.camelsaust.com.au/history.htm

Camels

http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter/nsf/WebPages/LBUN-5K43KE?open

Red Fox

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 largest in the world. • More than 20 percent of the world’s is produced in the Amazon Rainforest. • 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 and 1500

species of higher plants. • 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?

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?

www.tumblr.com

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