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A2 |
Biomes: The natural environment |
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Small ecosystems - structure links and succession |
"Terrestial, atmospheric and biotic processes interconnect to create a distinctive vegetation type. Human demands can affect a biome which requires sensitive management if irreversible damage is to be avoided." WJEC specification |
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see also: Exploring sustainability |
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Nature Electronic version of highly-regarded journal. http://www.nature.com/nature/
A basic wordlist of terms used in ecology. http://www.netcore.ca/~gibsonjs/dict3g2.htm
Biology pages John Kimball is a retired US teacher and successful textbook author. A good source of information on essential theoretical concepts. http://www.ultranet.com/~jkimball/BiologyPages/ http://www.ultranet.com/~jkimball/BiologyPages/T/TOC.html#ecology
Biomes or world vegetation regions are covered in some detail by Susan L. Woodward of Radford University as part of the North American Virtual Geography Department project http://www.colorado.edu/geography/virtdept/contents.html . This page introduces the biome concept and has links to information on each biome (eg boreal forest, tropical savanna). http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/intro.html
Community and ecosystem dynamics Chapter from online biology textbook. Includes biome map and summary of main biomes. Useful glossary. http://gened.emc.maricopa.edu/bio/bio181/BIOBK/BioBookcommecosys.html
Evergreen project This site has basic information on the main biomes of the world plus freshwater and marine ecosystems. http://mbgnet.mobot.org/index.htm
Geo images of Biomes from from Dr Sharon Johnston at Berkeley (mainly tropical). http://www-geoimages.berkeley.edu/GeoImages/Johnson/Biomes.html
UK Biodiversity Find out about biodiversity in the UK, what it means, why it is important and what is happening to conserve species and habitats in the UK and in your area or region. Access the Action Plans - a set of costed strategies and goals that review the UK's biotic resources and establish a basic framework upon which to safeguard our species and habitats. http://www.ukbap.org.uk/
Biodiversity Free access pages from Nature magazine. http://www.nature.com/nature/insights/6783.html
Biodiversity Pages from Environment Australia. http://www.ea.gov.au/biodiversity/
Measuring biodiversity value from the Natural History Museum in London. Measures of biodiversity are needed to determine the 'where' of conservation action rather than the 'how', particularly in deciding which combinations of available areas could represent and help sustain the most biodiversity value for the future. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/science/projects/worldmap/diversity/index.html
Rio+10: The World Summit on Sustainable Development will be a gathering in June 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa to assess global change since the Rio Earth Summit held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 1992. Under discussion will be important global environmental problems, for example, all kinds of pollution, climate change, the depletion of the ozone layer, the usage and management of ocean and fresh water resources, excessive deforestation, desertification and land degradation, hazardous waste, and depleting biological diversity. http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/
Mangrove forests Oxfam case study. There are more than 70 species of mangrove tree. What makes them different from other trees is their ability to live in a salt-water environment. http://www.oxfam.org.uk/atwork/mangrove/mangr1.htm
The Florida Everglades was once a free-flowing river of grass that provided clean water from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. It was a haven for storks, alligators, panthers and other wildlife. With the arrival of people came the desire to manage the water. The Central and Southern Florida Project was authorized in 1948 to provide flood protection and fresh water to south Florida. This project accomplished its intended purpose but at a tremendous ecological cost to the Everglades. While the population of people has risen from 500,000 in the 1900's to more than 6 million today, the number of native birds and other wildlife have dwindled. South Florida Information Access for the background and current ecological issues. http://sofia.usgs.gov/ Plan to resuce the Everglades under the Water Resources Development Act 2000. http://www.evergladesplan.org/ Learning module http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/everglades/FEmain.html
Chesapeake An ecosystem adversely affected by a combination of nutrient enrichment, toxic substances, sediment, and overharvesting of shellfish and finfish. Find out about the USGS activities in the region. http://chesapeake.usgs.gov/
Australia's Wetland Ecology and Conservation programme for tropical wetlands, especially those in northern Australia. http://www.ea.gov.au/ssd/wetlands/index.html [Sadly the excellent Northern New South Wales marine ecosystems site seems to have gone. Click here in case a forwarding link appears.]
| Amazonian rainforest | More links on the Brazil page |
Rainforest web An excellent starting point. Has pages of links for South America and Brazil. http://www.rainforestweb.org/
The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) Monitors the rainforest by satellite. http://www.inpe.br/english/index.htm
Rainforest conservation and news http://forests.org/forests/brazil.html
World Rainforest Movement http://www.wrm.org.uy
Amazon watch Good for news stories. A 12-page report, available as an acrobat pdf download, examines plans to construct two new pipelines to expand oil and gas production from the Urucu and Jurua gas fields in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon (Aug 2001). http://www.amazonwatch.org/newsrm.html
Americas Minneapolis-based campaigning Latin America site. Excellent country and/or topic based 'lens' allows you to link to news stories (eg NY Times, Amnesty Int, Info Brazil). http://www.americas.org/
Advance Brazil The latest Brazilian government plan which aims to develop roads, railways, waterways and hydroelectric dams in the Brazilian Amazon region, costing £27 billion. Scientists have predicted that 'Advance Brazil' could completely destroy 28% of the rainforest and leave only 28% undisturbed. Avanca Brasil For a critical view of Brazil's long-term plans. http://www.solcomhouse.com/advancebrasil.htm Great page on Amazonian rainforest with super satellite images (but takes a while to load). http://www.solcomhouse.com/rainforest.html
