Deck 9: Sustaining Biodiversity - the Ecosystem Approach

Question 1

Water evaporating from trees and vegetation in tropical rain forests has little effect on the amount of rainfall there.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

A program called a debt-for-nature swap makes it financially attractive for countries to protect their tropical forests.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

One way to reduce the demand for tree cutting is to increase the use of throwaway paper products made from trees.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Commercial forests have the same biodiversity as old-growth forests.

Question 5

Costa Rica is a global conservation leader.

Question 6

Costa Rica now has very low biodiversity.

Question 7

Tree plantations can help protect the world's remaining old-growth and second-growth forests,as long as the forests are not cleared to make room for tree plantations.

Question 8

One way to help sustain terrestrial biodiversity would be to map the world's terrestrial ecosystems and create an inventory of the species contained in each of them,along with the ecosystem services they provide.

Question 9

When managed properly,ecotourism can be a useful form of reconciliation ecology,but without proper controls,it can lead to degradation of popular sites if visitors overrun them.

Question 10

Traditional medicines are derived mostly from plant species that are native to forests.

Question 11

About 40% of the earth's land area (not including Antarctica)is protected as nature reserves,parks,or wilderness areas.

Question 12

Ocean acidification benefits organisms that produced calcium carbonate shells,but harms other species.

Question 13

About 96% of parklands in less-developed countries are protected.

Question 14

Forest fires cause the germination of seeds of certain tree species.

Question 15

Surface fires free valuable plant nutrients tied up in slowly decomposing litter and undergrowth.

Question 16

Removing dams and allowing rivers to flow freely can help restore biodiversity.

Question 17

A tree plantation,also called a tree farm or commercial forest,is a managed forest containing only one or two species of trees that are all of the same age.

Question 18

Today,forests in the United States (including tree plantations)cover more area than they did in 1920.

Question 19

Surface fires burn away flammable material such as dry brush,increasing the likelihood of more destructive fires.

Question 20

Conservation concessions involve governments or private conservation organizations paying nations for agreeing to preserve their natural resources.

Question 21

Why do vines increase the damage to a forest done by selective cutting?​

A) ​The increased light penetration causes them to grow,damaging the remaining trees.
B) ​They cause many of the cut trees to be discarded rather than used.
C) ​They are ripped out of the ground and greatly disturb the soil.
D) ​When the selected trees are cut,the vines pull down other trees with them.
E) ​They are often cut and left behind,greatly increasing the forest's vulnerability to fire.

Question 22

Which type of forest is considered a reservoir of biodiversity?​

A) ​old-growth
B) ​second-growth
C) ​commercial
D) ​tree plantation
E) ​selective

Question 23

Sustainable management and harvesting of forests are certified by the ____.​

A) ​U.S.Forest Service
B) ​California Conservation Core
C) ​Forest Stewardship Council
D) ​Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species
E) ​Endangered Species Act

Question 24

Scientific studies show that in fully protected marine reserves,on average,commercially valuable fish populations double and fish increase in size.

Question 25

Removing all the trees from an area is called a ____.​

A) ​selective-cut
B) ​clear-cut
C) ​second-cut
D) ​strip-cut
E) ​purge-cut

Question 26

Old-growth forests are also known as ____.​

A) ​primary forests
B) ​second-growth forests
C) ​tree farms
D) ​succession forests
E) ​strip forests

Question 27

In Indonesia,Malaysia,and other areas of Southeast Asia,tropical forests are being replaced by large ____ plantations.​

A) ​kenaf
B) ​soybean
C) ​coconut
D) ​oil palm
E) ​rice

Question 28

Overfishing is an example of the tragedy of the commons.

Question 29

One way to protect houses and other building in fire-prone areas is to thin trees and other vegetation in a zone around them.

Question 30

A tree harvesting method that involves cutting intermediate-aged or mature trees singly or in small groups is called ____.​

A) ​clear-cutting
B) ​strip cutting
C) ​selective cutting
D) ​patch cutting
E) ​landscape cutting

Question 31

Which type of forest naturally develops after the trees in an area have been removed by human activities,such as clear-cutting for timber or conversion to cropland,or by natural forces such as fires and hurricanes?​

A) ​old-growth forest
B) ​primary forest
C) ​tree plantation
D) ​second-growth forest
E) ​recovery forest

Question 32

​Studies indicate that at least half of the world's known species of terrestrial plants,animals,and insects live in tropical forests.

Question 33

A plant called kenaf would help to reduce the pressure to cut trees because its fiber is very useful for ____.​

A) ​paper manufacturing
B) home construction material
C) ​furniture making
D) ​fencing and decking material
E) ​fabric for outdoor carpeting

Question 34

A(n)____ is an extremely hot fire that leaps from treetop to treetop,burning whole trees.​

A) ​surface fire
B) ​crown fire
C) ​ecotone fire
D) ​strip fire
E) ​clear fire

Question 35

What could governments do regarding deforestation to be consistent with the full-cost pricing principle of sustainability?​

A) ​Increase taxes on fuel to drive up the price of timber.
B) ​Replace subsidies/tax breaks that encourage deforestation with forest-sustaining economic rewards.
C) ​Outlaw logging.
D) ​Build logging roads so companies can access forest land more easily.
E) ​Ban the use of cardboard and other paper products.

Question 36

Once an area of tropical forest is logged and burned,ranchers can graze cattle there for decades.

Question 37

Which type of fires usually burn only undergrowth and leaf litter on the forest floor?​

A) ​ecotone fires
B) ​transition fires
C) ​canopy fires
D) ​crown fires
E) ​surface fires

Question 38

Strip cutting of timber is a method of harvesting that ____.​

A) ​harvests trees singly
B) ​involves clearing trees along a contour of the land within a narrow corridor
C) ​removes all trees from a very large area,with no attention to land contours
D) ​is particularly damaging to the forest
E) ​is promoted by logging companies because of the high profit margin

Question 39

Tropical forests in the Amazon and other South American countries are cleared or burned primarily ____.​

A) ​due to urban sprawl
B) ​to enable the construction of major highways
C) ​for lumber needed in growing cities
D) ​for cattle grazing and large soybean plantations
E) ​to enable the expansion of mining

Question 40

Ocean acidification is the result of ____.​

A) acid rain​
B) ​the ocean absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
C) ​eutrophication
D) ​ecosystem changes induced by overfishing
E) ​warming ocean water

Question 41

____ involves confining cattle with portable fencing to one area for a few days and then moving them to a new location.​

A) Erosion control​
B) ​Rotational grazing
C) ​Nutrient cycling
D) ​Organic grazing
E) ​Confined animal feeding operations

Question 42

According to the National Park Service,____ degrades scenic views in many U.S.national parks more than 90% of the time.​

A) ​soil erosion
B) ​logging
C) ​forest fires
D) ​air pollution
E) ​acid rain

Question 43

After the number of wolves declined in Yellowstone National Park,____.​

A) ​the ecosystem recovered and became more stable
B) ​herds of elk,moose,and mule deer devastated willow and aspen trees near streams and rivers
C) ​the elk population crashed
D) ​forest fires decreased in frequency because the larger mule deer population controlled undergrowth
E) ​coyotes took over their role in the ecosystem,leading to few changes

Question 44

​Reintroduction of the wolf eventually reduced attacks on domestic cattle by what other species?

A) ​golden eagle
B) ​coyote
C) ​fox
D) ​grizzly bear
E) ​local wild dogs

Question 45

According to your textbook,one of the biggest problems for U.S.national and state parks today is ____.​

A) ​popularity
B) ​nearby human activities
C) ​forest clearing
D) ​poaching
E) ​soil erosion

Question 46

Strips of vegetation along stream or rivers are called ____.​

A) ​rangelands
B) ​transition forests
C) ​second-growth boundaries
D) ​lianas
E) ​riparian zones

Question 47

What action involves returning a degraded habitat or ecosystem to a condition as similar as possible to its natural state in cases where this is feasible?​

A) ​rehabilitation
B) ​reintroduction
C) ​replacement
D) ​artificial construction
E) ​restoration

Question 48

Gray wolves disappeared from Yellowstone National Park because ____.​

A) ​their habitat has severely degraded
B) ​of a series of devastating crown fires
C) ​elk were overhunted by humans
D) ​they were killed by humans
E) ​a virus wiped out the population

Question 49

​Biocultural restoration refers to ____.

A) ​restoration of the cultural aspect of cities damaged by natural disasters
B) ​embedding cultural awareness as part of biology courses
C) ​projects that have biological themes for school art projects
D) ​projects that involve local people in restoration of degraded areas
E) ​explaining environmental awareness using the traditional stories of a culture

Question 50

Which common problem of U.S.cities is now an issue in United States national parks?​

A) ​homeless people
B) ​lack of funding for schools
C) ​air pollution
D) ​high crime rates
E) ​alcoholism

Question 51

According to environmental writer Bill McKibben,"the great environmental story of the United States,and in some ways,the whole world" is the ____.​

A) ​restoration of grasslands
B) ​regrowth of forests
C) ​production of biofuels on forest land
D) ​restoration of aquatic ecosystems
E) ​restoration of saguaro cactus stands

Question 52

The wolf reintroduction was based partly on its importance as a(n)____.​

A) ​indicator species
B) ​generalist species
C) ​fur-bearing species
D) ​keystone species
E) ​predator on grizzly bear cubs

Question 53

Natural ecological restoration of riparian areas can happen if ____.​

A) ​enough chemical fertilizer is applied
B) ​there is aggressive planting of native trees and shrubs
C) ​the native fish in the adjacent stream or river are restocked
D) ​overgrazed land is protected through rotational grazing
E) ​cloud seeding is performed

Question 54

The zone of a biosphere reserve where there would be little,if any,disturbance from human activities would be the ____.​

A) ​wilderness zone
B) ​transition zone
C) ​inner core
D) ​perimeter
E) ​biozone

Question 55

Areas where poverty levels are high and where a large part of the economy depends on various ecosystem services that are being degraded severely enough to threaten humans and other species can be described as ____.​

A) ​indicator ecosystems
B) ​life raft ecosystems
C) ​deficit ecosystems
D) ​niche habitats
E) ​capital-limited habitats

Question 56

Which country pays landowners to restore tree cover?​

A) ​Panama
B) ​Brazil
C) ​Costa Rica
D) ​China
E) ​Norway

Question 57

____ involves turning a degraded ecosystem into a functional or useful ecosystem without trying to restore it to its original condition.​

A) ​Replacement
B) ​Restoration
C) ​Reintroduction
D) ​Rehabilitation
E) ​Artificial construction

Question 58

Which practice would make forestry less sustainable?​

A) ​Reduce road-building in forests.
B) Stop clear-cutting on steep slopes.​
C) ​Clear old-growth forests for tree plantations.
D) ​Include ecosystem services of forests in estimates of their economic value.
E) ​Leave most standing dead trees and larger fallen trees for wildlife habitat and nutrient cycling.

Question 59

The Wilderness Act passed in 1964 allows the government to ____.​

A) ​take legal action against environmental degradation in wildlife preserves
B) ​protect native species
C) ​protect undeveloped tracts of public land
D) ​protect national parks and reserves
E) ​rotate usage of wildlife areas

Question 60

In debt-for-nature swaps,participating countries ____.​

A) ​act as custodians of protected forest reserves in return for foreign aid or debt relief
B) ​take out loans to finance nature preserves
C) ​sell nature preserves to industries to pay off debts
D) ​invest in ecologically sound companies
E) ​repay debts with raw natural resources rather than currency

Question 61

Uncut forests or regenerated forests that have not been significantly impacted by humans or natural disasters for several hundred years or more are known as ____________________ forests.

Question 62

One problem that threatens aquatic biodiversity is the deliberate or accidental introduction of ____ into coastal waters,wetlands,and lakes throughout the world.​

A) ​new sources of food for aquatic organisms
B) ​hundreds of harmful invasive species
C) ​excess oxygen
D) ​skewed sex ratios
E) ​groundwater

Question 63

____________________ are unfenced grasslands in temperate and tropical climates that supply vegetation for grazing and browsing animals.

Question 64

A(n)____________________ is a concentration of a particular wild aquatic species suitable for commercial harvesting in a given ocean area or inland body of water.

Question 65

The area of ocean needed to sustain the consumption of fish for an average person,nation,or the world is called a(n)____.​

A) ​footprint
B) ​ecological footprint
C) ​biodiversity print
D) ​fishprint
E) ​foodprint

Question 66

Focusing on establishing and maintaining new habitats to conserve species diversity in places where people live,work,or play to increase our beneficial environmental impact - by learning how to share some of the spaces we dominate with other species - is called____.​

A) ​biocultural replacement
B) ​urban sprawl
C) ​reintroduction
D) ​reconciliation ecology
E) ​the ecosystem approach

Question 67

A certain lake in the arid west contains an endangered species of fish.The legal status of this fish required water diversions out of the river feeding the lake to be decreased substantially.About 10 years following this decree,the declining cottonwood forest and canopy along the riverbanks was noted to be recovering.This situation illustrates the potential effectiveness of ____.​

A) ​the species approach to sustaining biodiversity
B) ​the ecosystem approach to sustaining biodiversity
C) ​cottonwood trees as part of all stream recovery programs
D) ​water as a solution to species decline
E) ​fish as indicator species

Question 68

Areas especially rich in highly endangered species that are found nowhere else can be described as ____________________.

Question 69

The process of repairing damage caused by humans to various ecosystems is called ____________________.

Question 70

A forested slope is set to be logged.Which method will minimize erosion and protect the stream at the base of the slope from being polluted by excess sediment?​

A) ​strip cutting
B) ​clear-cutting
C) ​surface cutting
D) ​second-growth cutting
E) ​crown cutting

Question 71

It can be said that coastal habitats are actually ____.​

A) ​increasing in area
B) ​disappearing at rates 2 to 10 times faster than tropical forests
C) ​maintaining a solid level of biodiversity
D) ​disappearing as fast as tropical forests
E) ​declining in many areas but rebounding in others

Question 72

One reason protecting marine biodiversity is difficult is that ____.​

A) ​much of the damage to the oceans and other bodies of water is not visible to most people
B) ​most species in marine ecosystems are keystone species
C) ​marine ecosystems are much more affected by urban sprawl
D) ​marine ecosystems cannot be restored
E) ​most of the world's ocean area lies within the legal jurisdiction of one country or another

Question 73

Managed grasslands or fenced meadows often planted with domesticated grasses or other forage crops such as alfalfa and clover are called ____________________.

Question 74

What activity involves dragging huge nets weighted down with chains and steel plates over the ocean floor to harvest a few species of bottom fish and shellfish?​

A) ​deep sea aquaculture
B) ​long-line fishing
C) ​drift-net fishing
D) ​purse-seine fishing
E) ​trawler fishing

Question 75

____ involves replacing a degraded ecosystem with another type of ecosystem.​

A) ​Rehabilitation
B) ​Replacement
C) ​Artificial construction
D) ​Restoration
E) ​Reintroduction

Question 76

A(n)____________________ ____________________is a stand of trees resulting from secondary ecological succession.

Question 77

____________________ is the temporary or permanent removal of large expanses of forest for agriculture,settlements,or other uses.

Question 78

Since we began burning fossil fuels in large quantities during the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries,there has been a ____ in the average acidity of surface ocean water.​

A) ​170% rise
B) ​30% drop
C) ​3% rise
D) ​30% rise
E) ​300% rise

Question 79

The burning and clearing of tropical forests adds carbon dioxide,a(n)____________________ gas,to the atmosphere.

Question 80

____________________ contributes to the greenhouse effect by destroying plants that store carbon dioxide.