Page 68 - Knowledge Organiser Yr8 24-25

Knowledge Base: Geography Ecosystems Year 8 | Spring Term
3. Rood chains and Webs
3.1
food chain
A series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food.
3.2
food web
A series of food chains all connected to each other.
3.3
decomposers
Things that cause breaking down or rotting away.
3.4
producers
Produce their own food using carbon dioxide and water.
3.5
consumers
Things that eat other living things (can be herbivores, omnivores or carnivores).
1. Climate Zone
1.1 weather
1.2 climate
1.4 latitude
1.5 altitude
1.6 prevailing wind
1.8 ocean currents
1.9 equatorial
1.11 biome
2. Tropical Rainforest
2.1 tropical rainforest
2.2 emergent
2.3 canopy
2.5 shrub layer
2.6 humus
2.7 buttress roots
2.8 lianas
2.9 drip tips
The day-to-day state of the atmosphere.
The weather conditions prevailing in an area over a long period.
How far north or south of the equator a place is.
The height of a point in relation to sea level or ground level. The most frequent wind direction.
Giant rivers of sea water flowing within oceans.
Places near the equator which are hot and wet all year round.
A large ecosystem characterised by its vegetation, soil, climate and wildlife.
Tall, dense forests found in hot, wet climates.
The tallest trees in the rainforest.
An almost unbroken top layer of trees which acts like a roof.
A thick layer of small plants and ferns.
Remains of plants and animals left in the soil of the forest floor. Large, wide roots that stand above the ground to stabilise the tree. Vine like plants which climb up trees.
The pointed end of leaves designed to shed heavy rainfall.
4. Deforestation
4.1 deforestation
The clearing and destruction of forests.
1.3
climatic zone
An area that has its own distinct climate. They also have their own type of vegetation and wildlife.
1.10
climate graph
A combination of a bar graph and a line graph showing the temperature and rainfall in an area for twelve months.
4.2
slash and burn
An area of rainforest is cleared by cutting and burning before being replanted.
4.3
desertification
The process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.
4.4
over-grazing
Grazing by livestock to the point where the grass cover is depleted, leaving bare, unprotected patches of soil.
2.4
under canopy
More widely spaced, smaller tree species and juvenile individuals that form a broken layer below the canopy.
2.10
epiphyte
Plants which live on trunks and branches of other plants, allowing them to make the most of the sunlight in the canopy layer.
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