The Living World case studies

DECIDUOUS WOODLANDS- Epping Forest, Essex
1. background
  1. North-east of London, 2500 ha, largest area of public space near London
  2. 70% is dw
  3. rich variety of wildlife- 3 species of woodpecker, stag beetles and fallow deer
2. Early uses and management
  1. Hunting, farming and collecting firewood
  2. Pollarding- sustainable management, accounts for the presence of some ancient trees
  3. 19th century attempts to buy..
    1. 1878 Epping Forest Act of Parliament, must be unenclosed and unbuilt on
      1. since 1878, managed by City Of London Corporation
3. Recent Management
  1. 1600 ha of forest a Site Of Special Scientific Interest and a European Special Area Of Conservation
    1. protection for trees and flora and fauna supported by them
  2. City Of London Corporation Planning Responsibility
    1. car pars, toilets, refreshment facilities, maintaining footpaths
    2. 3 easy-access parks for people with disabilities
    3. allowing old trees to die naturally
    4. controlling riding and mountain biking
    5. re-pollarding- since 1981 1000 trees
    6. encourage grazing
    7. preserving ancient earthworks and buildings
    8. maintaining ponds and preserving herd of fallow deer
TROPICAL RAINFORESTS- THE AMAZON
1. background
  1. largest rainforest- 8 million km2
  2. Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana
2. DEFORESTATION
  1. since 1970 over 600000 km2 destroyed
  2. Causes
    1. Cattle Ranching (60%)
    2. small-scale subsistence farming (33%)
    3. logging
    4. Mining
    5. road construction
    6. dams and fires
    7. commercial farming
  3. Impacts
    1. Environmental
      1. habitat destruction & loss of biodiversity
        endangered species in Brazil risen from 218 in 1989 to 628 in 2008
      2. carbon stores- Amazon stores 100 billion tonnes of carbon
        D releases some of this as CO2
    2. Social
      1. local ways of life affected
        Brazilian Rubber Tappers lost livelihoods as rubber trees cut down
        native tribes forced to move- Guarani tribe in Brazil- land taken for cattle ranching and sugar plantations
      2. conflicts between landowners, farmers and native people
        2009 riots in Peru- hundreds of native Indians killed or injured
    3. Economic
      1. farming makes a lot of money- 2008 Brazil made $6.9 billion from trading cattle
      2. mining industry creates jobs- Buenaventura Mining Company in Peru employs over 3100 people
  4. Sustainable Management Strategies
    1. Peru
      1. Replanting 100,000 km2 of forest before 2018
      2. Madre De Dios region has 70 lodges for ecotourists
    2. Brazil
      1. banned mahogany logging and seized timber from illegal logging companies
      2. Brazilian Forest Code
        landowners have to keep 50-80% of land as forest
      3. National Parks
        Central Amazon Conservation Complex
        25,000 km2
        World Heritage Site
        black caimans and river dolphins
    3. Reducing debt
      1. 2008, USA reduced Peru's debt by $25 mil in exchange for consevation
DESERT IN A LEDC- THE THAR DESERT
1. background
  1. Rajasthan, north west India and Pakistan
  2. 200,000 km2
  3. sandy hills with mobile sand dunes and clumps of thorn forest vegetation
2. Economic oppurtunities
  1. Subsistence farming
    1. some crops sold at local markets
    2. Kohlis tribe descendants of hunter gatherers
  2. Irrigation and commercial farming
    1. Indira Gandhi Canal 1958
      1. Two main cities that benefitted- Jaisalmer and Jodhpur
        2,500 km2 of land under irrigation
      2. drinking water
    2. cotton and wheat crops
  3. Mining and Industry
    1. gypsum, feldspar, phospherite
    2. stone reserves of limestone and marble
    3. hide and wool from livestock
  4. Tourism
    1. desert safaris on camels, based at Jaisalmer
      1. local people jobs as guides or rearing camels
3. Future challenges
  1. Population pressure
    1. densely populated, 83 pple per km2
      1. pressure on fragile ecosystems and overgrazing &overcultivation
  2. water management
    1. excessive irrigation led to waterlogging
    2. salinisation salts poisonous to plants deposited on ground surface
    3. unsustainable fall in water tables
  3. soil erosion
    1. caused by overcultivation and overgrazing- takes years to reform
  4. Fuel
    1. reserves of firewood dwindling, people use manure instead of using it to tend soil
  5. Tourism overdevelopment
4. Sustainable management
  1. 1977 Desert development programme, restoring ecological balance
    1. Stabilising sand dunes
      1. shelterbelts
    2. Forestry
      1. Prosopis Cineraria- well adapted, many uses- firewood, building material, pods provide animal fodder, shade
      2. Scientist developed Ber Tree- plum tree provides large fruits and survives in low rainfall
      3. Thar Desert National Park
Desert in a MEDC- The Sonoran
1. background
  1. Arizona USA
    1. Tourism- recent trend = retirement migration
      1. Leisure resorts and housing complexes
        Marana- business town and leisure resort with an agricultural heritage
      2. short- term holidaymakers and long-term migrants
  2. diversity of flora and fauna- saguaro cactus
  3. money enables physical difficulties of deserts to be overcome
    1. Air conditioning and cheap energy supply in the USA
    2. Water irrigation easy
2. Management
  1. 1998 Sonaran Desert Conservation Plan
    1. inventory of the county's natural and cultural resources
    2. native plant protection
    3. hillside development restrictions
    4. buffer zones around areas of ecological significance
    5. home design recommendations to conserve energy and water

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The Living World case studies

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	Created by georgie.proctor over 10 years ago