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GEOGRAPHY: URBAN ENVIRONMENTS!

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•In what ways can an environment be ‘fragile’:!
-Sensitive to the basic presence of people!
-They are suffering from large-scale exploitation!
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tundra of siberia and antarctica!
•Define Ecological footprint:!
-A measure of the mark humans make on the natural world!
-Considers how much land and sea are required to provide humans with the
water
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The fertility of the remaining soil is greatly reduced!
•Describe 3 main types of soil erosion:!
-Sheet Erosion: Occurs where there is moderate rainfall
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This can also happen where there is little vegetation
cover!
-Wind Erosion: In dry parts of the world, loose dry soil is readily blown away by the
wind!
•Causes of soil erosion:!
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) Poor management of crop farming!
-Over cultivating the soil by failing to ‘feed’ it with fertilisers or by growing the same
crop in the same field year by year
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)Overgrazing:!
-Overgrazing by animals means that there will be too many animals in one small,
compact area eating the grass, meaning grass will not grow in that area and will
leave the soil bare and exposed!
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) Drought:!
- Vegetation is needed to intercept the rainfall from reaching the soil, however a
lack of rainfall would cause the vegetation to die, leaving the soil exposed to the
wind and rain, hence leading to soil erosion!

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•Consequences of soil erosion:!
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) Forced migration:!
-People may be living in an area where the soil is good and fertile, and so these
people may be displaced/removed from the land so that it can be used for
commercial uses!
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This links
into the demand for food as in the future fishes could not be an option of food to
meet the demand!
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) Stone Lines or bunds:!
-Built across the contour of the land and are used to keep water on land and keep
soil fertile by acting as a physical barrier, especially since shrubs can be planted on
them to intercept some of the rainfall from reaching the soil!
-Requires no special machinery/equipment, so it is good for poor farmers!
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) Planting trees and hedges:!
-When soil is exposed to the wind and rain, it becomes eroded, however trees and
hedges can intercept the wind and rainfall and so reduce soil erosion!
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) Soil erosion:!
- More food is needed to feed the growing population, so more land is used for
farming!
- Soil becomes worn out as it lacks nutrients and minerals, meaning it becomes
infertile, leading to desertification!

- Since the soil becomes infertile, there is less support for vegetation, so the land

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becomes exposed!

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) Overgrazing:!
-Overgrazing by animals means that there will be too many animals in one small,
compact area eating the grass, meaning grass will not grow in that area and will
leave the soil bare and exposed, so it will become infertile!
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) Malnutrition:!
-Poorer people will not have fertile land to grow crops, so they will suffer from
hunger!
-As the population grows, so does the demand for food, but this can not be met if
there are no farms due to soil erosion!
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) Reduced agricultural output:!
-Because there is less fertile soil, there will be a reduced agricultural output, also
linking into malnutrition!
•Management of desertification (The Sahel):!
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It allows farmers to raise their
yield from barely anything to 300-400kg per hectare in 1 year of 1 rainfall!
- Cons: relies on rainfall!
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The foundation also
teaches people how to use them
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Also these seeds are drought resistant!
- Improves local economy as it provides food to eat/sell!
- Trees bind the soil and protect against soil erosion and water lost!

- Pros: helps 20,000 farmers as they earn 74 euros average per annum per
household
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) Food Aid:!
- Aid given by wealthy governments and non-government organisations!
- Keeps people alive in the short term as HICs give food to LICs where the
government cannot provide for the poor!
- Does not prevent desertification or reverse desertification!
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They also anchor down nearby soil!
- The desert is no longer spreading to the south as much, however it is costly and
will take a long time!
•Define deforestation:!
-The felling and clearance of forested lands by humans!
•Causes of deforestation:!
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) Cattle Ranching:!
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Boa Vista, northern Brazil!
- There is a global increase in the demand for food, so ranchers have demanded
trees to be cut down to make space for pasture and to feed for livestock!
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) Mining:!
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Indonesia’s rainforested Papua province!
- Many forested areas are rich in minerals, which are needed, and so they are
vulnerable to deforestation e
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The Congo Basin contains reserves of gold!
- Trees are cleared to make space for the mine, and also mining may use sizeable
amounts of timber of charcoal, contributing to forest degradation through direct
use and localised population expansion!
•Consequences of deforestation:!
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) Problems for native tribes:!
-Native tribes live in rain forests, so if they are cut down, they will have no where to
live!
-Deforestation affects habitats, so there is less flood for tribes!
-They are forced into smaller areas, causing them to clear patches of the land, also
leading to deforestation!
-Large areas have been flooded and indigenous tribes moved from their lands to
create HEP schemes!
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) Increased risk of flooding:!
-There are different water levels at different times of the year, however without
vegetation, rainwater reaches rivers quicker,so more floods will occur!
•Management of rain forest:!
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) Police raids+ IBAMA:!
- Police raid suspected areas to imprison and prosecute criminals exploiting
Brazil’s environment (all over the Amazon)!
- Help from Chinese companies which send satellite images to allow them to see
deforested areas!
- Effective as it can pinpoint affected areas, however there is corruption within the
agency, it is understaffed, so it cannot be managed properly, and it is a national,
not international solution
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) Ecotourism!
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) The Brazilian Government is keen to establish a land registry to reduce land
grabbing and illegal logging and ranching!

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5 billion was pledged to support this idea following the
Copenhagen climate talks in 2009!
•Give some reasons as to why the world’s tropical forests are being cleared:!
-Cattle ranching, logging (harvesting trees for timber, however when trees fall, they
damage other trees), road building to enable minerals,timber,cattle and crops to be
removed easily, HEP (huge areas of forest are flooded as a result of rivers been
dammed), land for peasants (allows them to grow their own food and it stops
overcrowding in other parts of the country!
•Why might governments of poorer countries argue that deforestation is necessary:!
-The revenue earned from selling timber, the sources of medicinal drugs and
minerals help to pay off debts and to fund economic development!
-More land is needed to house and food the fast-growing population, e
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in
countries such as Brazil and Malaysia!

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•The Greenhouse Gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and CFCs!
•The Greenhouse effect: The greenhouse gases trap and absorb long wavelength
radiation (infrared), which is the energy the earth reradiates back into space,
meaning the planet is kept warm enough to support life, however the rise in global
temperatures and increase in concentration of greenhouse gases (especially
carbon dioxide) has led to an enhanced greenhouse effect!
•Causes of global warming and climate change:!
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so sometimes it is
circular, hence the Earth stays at approximately the same distance from the sun,

however at other time it is not circular and more oval-like, so the Earth moves
closer and further away from the sun!
- The closer the Earth is to the sun, the warmer the climate, and the further away
the Earth is to the sun, the colder the climate, hence it causes a change in the
climate!
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) Human activity:!
- Humans burn fossil fuels, which emits carbon dioxide and nitrous oxides two
greenhouse gases!
- As the global population increases, so does the demand for food, and so there is
an increase in livestock farming, but this causes an increase in carbon emissions
as cows and sheep produce large amounts of methane when they digest food,
and also the increase in livestock farming has led to deforestation
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) Rising Sea Levels!
- Due to global warming, the temperature increases
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Because of tis, the seal level rises!
- Cities such as Miami and New Orleans are endangered!
- If areas got flood, people would have to evacuate and migrate to other areas
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The economic
activity would stoop as agriculture would be affected (crops) and tourism would
stop
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) More Hazards:!
- Larger areas of the sea will be warmer, leading to more intense and frequent
storms!
- Due to the rising sea levels, people will exploit other land for farming, and leave
the others, leading to desertification!
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) Economic opportunities:!
-Agriculture: farming will be pushed further towards the poles and to higher
altitudes, so new land will be opened up for food production!
-The retreat of ice in high latitudes will ‘uncover’ resources such as oil and minerals,
which could also lead to new employment opportunities!
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This will lea to outbreaks of waterborne
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cholera and typhoid!
- Mortality rates would be expected to rise!

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•Describe two commonly states weaknesses/limitations of renewable energy
sources:!
-Some renewable energy sources (wind turbines providing wind energy) are too
expensive due to the technology involved and the output of electricity is relatively
small!
-Some renewable energy sources e
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wind and solar rely on the conditions of the
weather, so it is unpredictable and hanse will produce less energy than expected!

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•Methods to manage the causes of global warming:!
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1% of CO2 emissions, the most out of any
country, so industrialised countries had to cut their emissions by 5%
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Also it did not include developing countries e
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China and India
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There was also a deforestation fund

to stop countries e
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Brazil cutting down trees in rain forests, and this would have
reduced carbon emissions!
*Negatives e
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Some african nations and small island states wanted a limit of no
more than 1
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) Carbon capture:!
- Releasing CO2 into the ground rather than the atmosphere!
- Decreases the amount of carbon dioxide that goes into the atmosphere!
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) Reduce rate of deforestation and encourage afforestation:!
- Trees absorb CO2, so by cutting them down, there is more CO2 in the
atmosphere, so more trees need to be planted!

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•BANGLADESH CASE STUDY:!
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km (Uk 257 per sq
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This means crops will die
and affect the economy of the country because as it is an LIC they will rely on
agriculture as a source of income
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)Managing the consequences of global warming and climate change:!
-Research:!
*More research into, and modelling and monitoring of, the impacts of climate
change!
-Disaster management:!
*Improve forecasting of tropical storms, storm surges and floods!
*Ensure that the country os prepared for motor frequent and more severe natural
hazards in the future!

-Food security, social protection and health:!
*Developing crops which are more tolerant of flooding, drought and salinity!
*Improve sanitation and access to clean water!
*Ensure that health system can cope with the health risks posed by climate change!
-Other ways:!
*Houses have been strengthened with better materials raised as well as wells so
that floods do not contaminate them!
*Diversifying- women have been trained in off-farm skills, such as sewing!
*Engineers with Bangladesh’s Centre for Environmental and Geographical
Information Services are creating a storm early warning system via cell-phone text
message



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