2a) The Ecosystem as an open system Ecology Biosphere Biome Environment Biotic Components The study of living organisms

in relation to their environment The zone in which all living things are found A very large scale or global ecosystem Surroundings i.e. external factors which affect individuals/communities Living organisms found in an ecosystem e.g. animals, plants

Abiotic Components Inorganic or physical and chemical elements of an ecosystem e.g. soil, climate Biomass Litter Soil Humus Food Chain The total mass of organic matter present at any moment in an ecosystem The dead twigs, leaves and branches not yet decayed on the soils surface The decayed organic matter incorporated into the soil A series of organisms through which energy is passed as each organism provides food for the next organism in the sequence Trophic Level Trophic Pyramid Each level or stage in the food chain where energy is stored A diagram showing the biomass/number of organisms and energy loss from each trophic level by using different sized boxes Autotroph Organisms which obtain their energy from the sun or from inorganic sources e.g. green plants and some bacteria Heterotroph Organisms which obtain their energy either by eating green plants or by eating animals which have previously eaten green plants Nutrient Cycling Model Decomposition pathway Leaching The removal of soluble material in solution Shows the amount of nutrients stored in an ecosystem and the transfer of nutrients between the stores The breakdown of litter to humus

2b) Plant Succession Biogeography Plant Succession The study of the distribution of plants and animals over the earths surface The process whereby pioneer species colonise a newly available area. Plants change over time and form a sequence of changes that will eventually produce a balanced community of plants called the climatic climax vegetation Sere/Seral Stage A stage in a sequence of events by which the vegetation develops over a period of time Seral Stages A sequential and continuous change, involving a series of transitional plant communities heading towards the climatic climax community Prisere Complete chain of successive seres beginning with the pioneer species and ending with a climax vegetation Climatic Climax Vegetation Plagioclimax The point when the vegetation achieves its potential within the climatic limitations and is in dynamic equilibrium with the prevailing environmental conditions The plant community that has resulted from human activity that has permanently changed the climatic climax or succession e.g. Heather Moorland- Antrim Plateau

2c) Human Interaction with Ecosystems Mollisol/ Chernozem The soil of the mid-latitude grasslands, it is a fertile and means black earth. It is approximately 2 metres deep with a 3 layer horizon

Soil Erosion Monoculture Soil Conservation

The removal of soil by wind or water The specialisation of farming activities into the growth of a single crop The careful management of the soil which means ensured it is continued to be a renewable source

3a) Atmospheric Processes Global Energy Balance Weather Climate Vertical Heat Transfers Radiation Conduction Short wave radiation is absorbed by the ground surface. Infa-red radiation is then reemitted into the atmosphere, transferring heat away from the Earths surface When the ground absorbs solar energy, heat is passed up from one layer of solid particles to another. Heat may also pass directly from one air molecule to the next, transferring heat from the ground Convection When the ground is heated by the sin, air molecules above are also heated. As warm air rises, heat is then transferred vertically by the physical movement of warmed air molecules Latent Heat When water evaporates from oceans, heat is added in the process. When the warm air rises and water vapour cools, condensation occurs and latent heat is released into the atmosphere, therefore, heat is transferred vertically from the surface Horizontal Heat Transfers Heat is transferred away from the tropics, thus preventing the equator from becoming increasingly hotter and the poles increasingly cooler. Describes how the amount of incoming insolation to the Earth and outgoing terrestrial radiation is in balance and explains why the Earth isnt heating up or cooling down The state of the atmosphere at a particular place and at a particular time The average weather over a significant period of time, usually 30 years, it is a statistical average and doesnt relate to any particular time Carry surplus energy from the earths surface to the atmosphere

Ocean Currents

Ocean currents act to transfer heat away from the equator and draw cooler waters back towards the tropical regions. As a fluid with a low thermal efficiency, water forms an effective mechanism for the transfer of energy across latitudes

Wind Pressure Gradient Coriolis Effect Tri-cellular Model

The movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure The difference between the pressure at two points An effect which causes any free moving object that crosses lines of latitude to be deflected. A diagram showing the relationship between temperature, pressure and wind explained through three interconnected cells in the northern and southern hemisphere

Humidity Absolute Humidity Relative Humidity Dew Point Temperature

A measure of the water vapour content in the atmosphere and depends upon the temperature of the air The actual amount of water vapour present in a given volume of air measured in grams per cubic metre (g/m3) The amount of water vapour in the air at a given temperature expressed as a percentage of the maximum amount of vapour air could hold at that temperature The temperature to which a body of unsaturated air must be cooled to become saturated i.e. achieve a relative humidity of 100%

3c) Human Interaction with Ecosystems Depressions Systems of air or areas of low pressure and are polar front boundaries between warm and cold air masses Air mass A large body of air with relatively similar temperature and humidity characteristics at any given level Anticyclone A large mass of subsiding air which produces an area of high pressure on the earths surface

3c) Extreme Weather Events Hurricane A large rotating storm centred around an area of very loss pressure with strong

winds blowing at an average speed in excess of 74mph

1a) Processes and features in fluvial environments Drainage Basin Open System Closed System Inputs Outputs The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries A system with inputs and outputs of energy and matter A system with inputs, transfers, processes and outputs of energy but not matter Energy or matter that enters the system e.g. precipitation Energy or matter that leaves the system e.g. evaporation

Stores Discharge Storm Hydrograph

Natural reservoirs of water in the environment e.g. soil The volume of water passing a specific point, per unit of time, expressed as cumecs A means of showing the discharge of a river at a given point over a short period of time

Drainage Density

A measurement of the relationship between drainage basin area and the total length of the river channel in the basin

Erosion Abrasion

The wearing away of the bed and banks of the river channel The occurs when rock fragments carried by the river wear down the bed and banks of the channel

Attrition

The wearing down of the rover load itself as particles strike each other and the bed and banks

Hydraulic Action

The erosive power of the water itself which can dislodge particles from the bed and banks of the river channel. Cavitation= a form of hydraulic action caused by bubbles of air collapsing

Solution

The minerals in the rock are dissolved in water that is slightly acidic and is carried away in solution

Transportation Suspension

The carrying away of eroded material Very fine particles of clay and silt are dislodges and carried by turbulence in a fast flowing river

Solution

Water flowing in a river channel contains acids which may dissolve soluble bedrock and carry it in a solution

Saltation

Pebbles, sand and gravel are temporarily lifted up by the current and bounced along the bed in a hopping motion

Traction Deposition

Large cobbles and boulders roll or slide along the bed When the velocity of the river falls it no longer has the competence or capacity to carry its load and so starting with the largest particles material is deposited

Hjulstrom Curve Competence Capacity Waterfall

A graph showing the relationship between velocity and particle size Maximum size of material which a river is capable of transporting Total load actually transported A geological formation resulting from water flowing over the edge of an erosion resistant rock formation

Meanders Pools Riffles Oxbow Lake

Bends in the course of the river channel Deep areas of water between riffles Areas of deposition of coarse material that creates areas of shallow water A crescent shaped former meander loop that was cut off from the river by lateral erosion

Floodplain Levee Delta Arcuate Delta

A mostly flat area of land bordering a river that is subjected to periodic flooding High banks of silt close to the river channel An area at the mouth of a river where fine sediment is deposited A triangular/fan shaped formation found in areas where longshore drift operates keeping the edge of the delta relatively smooth

Birds Foot Delta

Fingers of deposited material extend out into the sea along the line of distributaries