Summary
Summary GGH1502 Summarised Study Notes
- Course
- Institution
- Book
Latest summarized notes for exam preparation. for assistance. All the best on your exams!!
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
More summaries for
-
GGH1501 ASSIGNMENT 02 SEMESTER 1 2023
-
GGH1501 ASSIGNMENT 02 SEMESTER 01 2023 (877516)
-
GGH1502 MCQ EXAM PACK 2022
Seller
Follow
iStudy
Reviews received
Content preview
GGH1502NOTES
,Learning Theme 1 – the physical environment
1.1 Intro
- Climate is the characteristic condition of the atmosphere near the earth’s surface at a certain place
on earth
o Determining factors: air temperature & precipitation
o Determines what plants and animals inhabit a region
- Three components: Climate, animals and plants are interwoven to create biomes
- Biome: a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups that are adapted to a
particular environment
o Major biomes: desert, forests, grasslands, tundra, aquatic environments
o Each biome consists of many ecosystems
- Changes in environments cause a ripple effect in other parts
1.3 Classifying the natural world
- The natural world can be divided into 4 subsystems:
Lithosphere - Earth’s crust and upper part of the mantle
- consists of rocks (igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary) soil & sediments
- Weathering occurs where the lithosphere is exposed to the atmosphere. This gives
rise to the formation of soil
Atmosphere - Gaseous layers surrounding the earth
- Extends to a height of approx. 480KM above the earth’s surface
- divided into 4 part, temperatures change with height:
Troposphere, Stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere
- Weather occurs in the troposphere (lowest part)
- responsible for the distribution of climates
Biosphere - the part of the earth where all organisms live
hydrosphere - The water at or near the earth’s surface; liquid, solid or gas.
- Includes oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, ice, water vapour in atmosphere
The interaction of these subsystems are studied.
- The atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere function together to create the environment of the
biosphere.
- Ecology is the study of relationships and interactions between living organisms and between the
organisms and their environment.
- Ecosphere: the environment and the collection of living organisms that interact with one another and
with their non-living environment.
- Eight Biomes
Tundra - Absence of trees
- Vegetation: grasses, herbs, mosses, lichens, small woody plants adapted to
shorter growing seasons
- Little precipitation, soils are nutrient poor
- Cold climate
- Shallow soils – permafrost
- Animals hibernate or migrate in the colder season
- Located north of the Arctic Circle
Coniferous forest - Winters are cold, summers are longer than tundra
(boreal forest / taiga) - Vegetation: mostly conifers – pine/fir/spruce
- Trees are tall, narrow shape and needle leaves
- Subject to periodic fires
- Burn regeneration cycle is NB for deer’s, bears and insects
- Soils are acidic
Temperate forest - Trees are deciduous
- Almost Exclusively to N. Hemisphere
- Tall broad leaf trees
- Climate is seasonal with abundant water supply during growing season
GGH1502
, - Amphibians (salamanders/frogs) occur here
Tropical rain forest - High amounts of rainfall and warm temps. Throughout
- Vegetation: trees are evergreen, broad-leaved and pollinated by animals,
many kinds of vines & epiphytes(ferns/orchids)
- Most nutrients are stored in biomass, soil contains little organic matter
- Display multi-layered canopy – low levels of vegetation on ground due to
lack of light
- Large biodiversity
Tropical savannah - Flank tropical rainforests – Africa & S. America
- Vegetation: trees are widely spaced, grasses grow between
- Herds of grazing mammals, carnivores and scavengers occur
- Climate is warm all year, dry season for several months – fires
- Fires maintain the openness of the savannah ecosystem and are important
in nutrient cycling
Temperate grasslands - Great expanses are located in Eurasia (Steppe), N. America (prairie), S.
America (Pampa) & small patches in SA (veld)
- Trees are absent
- Vegetation is dominated by herbaceous plants, mostly grasses
- Climate is temperate, seasonal and dry
- Soils are deep and rich in organic matter
Desert - Hyper-arid desert supports very little plant life, with some species adapted
to high and variable temps.
- Temp. range: high due to lack of moisture and rainfall
- Characterised by bare rock and sand dunes
- Fog is an important source of moisture in coastal deserts
- Sporadic and intense rain may promote rapid growth of annual plants and
animals, which lie dormant.
Chaparral - Found around Mediterranean (Maquis), California (Chaparral), S. Australia
/Mediterranean/ (Mallee), Chile (Mattoral) & SA (Fynbos)
Maquis - Summers are hot and dry, winters are cold and moist
- Low evergreen trees and shrubs have thick bark and small, hard leaves
- Soils are low in nutrients
- Fire –summer – NB for development and regeneration
Morphoclimactic regions
- Morphoclimactic regions: Areas which are characterised with landforms associated with a particular
climate
Tropical humid Rainforest, rainy climate with no winter, either constantly moist or with monsoon
rains. E.g. Brazil, Central Africa
Tropical humid Savannah, rainy climate with either a dry summer or winter season. E.g. Central Africa
– Tanzania/ Kenya
Dry Desert of arid climate. E.g. Egypt, UAE
Dry Steppe or semi-arid climate e.g. Parts of Russia
Warmer humid Rainy with mild winters – incl. Mediterranean, Humid subtropical, Marine West Coast
Climates). e.g. Namibia, Mediterranean
Cooler Humid Rainy with severe winters – incl. continental warm & cool summer and sub-arctic. E.g.
Alaska & Northern Russia
Polar Tundra climate. E.g. Arctic Circle
Polar Ice caps. E.g. Greenland
1.4 Time and Spatial Scales
- Timescales range from geological time scale (millions of years) to human time (days, years, decades)
o The effects of human activities change according to the time scale that is used
- In a study of environmental change, choosing a suitable spatial scale is just as important as choosing
an appropriate timescale.
o Spatial scales range from the microscopic to the macro
- Significance to humans is the NB factor
GGH1502
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller iStudy. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $2.84. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
81298 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now