Forests link all of Earth's natural systems and can be used to explain key concepts related to atmospheric, hydrological and oceanic processes, cycles and circulations, as well as ecological succession.
If you are thinking of completing a study of Forests as part of the Earth's Natural Systems topic, you might like to check out some of the infographics available from UN Biodiversity. A few of these posts have been embedded in the blog post below, but click the links to visit the original posts and look at some of the other great infographics for some other topics. Activities involving infographics are a great way to make complex information more accessible for less able students, and provide visual interest for high ability students.
0 Comments
In Stage 6 you can go beyond simple illustration to develop a deeper understanding of concepts. This can be a differentiation activity. A good example is food pyramids. Typically, an energy pyramid is used to show the different trophic levels in an ecological system and the loss of energy from the primary productivity level (the producers) to the top tropic level (the tertiary consumers). This can be further investigated through a pyramid of numbers (species at each trophic level) and pyramid of biomass (total biomass at each level). The decrease from the base to the apex of each pyramid is linked to the loss of energy through ecological processes such as respiration and digestion at each level. The examples here are in the Forest Systems case study coverage of ecological systems. Interestingly in a mature forest of very large trees there are a smaller number of species supporting a larger number of primary consumers. When teaching ecological succession, it is important to relate the concept to different environments or ecosystems and to include, when possible, the changes in wildlife that accompany changes in vegetation over time. Visualise This 5 contains illustrations for ecological succession including a primary succession following glaciation (link this to land cover change) and a secondary succession following a tornado. In Boreal Forests you can examine a succession of plants and wildlife on a new sandbank that formed along a river running through an Alaskan forest. In year 11 you are preparing your students for the HSC examination. At Powerful Geography we believe that building conceptual understanding is very important for student success and visual representations can help with that.
It has been exciting for our authors to create new illustrations for concepts taught in Earth’s Natural Systems. In the Visualise This 5 and the Forest Systems case study there are several new diagrams to illustrate ecological succession. Using a variety of stimulus for each concept will help reinforce understanding and prepare students for ‘unseen’ stimulus in an examination … the type of question increasingly apparent in the HSC examination. One of the GEOstories for Earth's Natural Systems is Forest Elephants: Valuing Nature. It explores the role of African forest elephants and their dung in the forest ecosystem and explores the value of of elephants in carbon capture. African forest elephants create corridors by knocking down trees, trampling undergrowth, smashing partly decomposed logs on the forest floor, stripping bark and digging up roots. This encourages the growth of larger, taller trees, and assists in nutrient recycling as it reduces the density of the forest. Elephant dung fertilises the soil and disperses seeds. The forest elephant’s role in maintaining biodiversity makes it a keystone species in Africa’s rainforests. African forest elephants and forests play important roles in the carbon cycle. Large elephants are a carbon reservoir, and through the process of photosynthesis forest plants capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and convert it to primary biomass. The larger, slow-growing trees that elephant allow to grow store more carbon. Below are a couple of videos that you might like to use to support teaching of this GEOstory to engage your students.
To build conceptual knowledge and understanding and to ensure maximum usability of Powerful Geography content, a conscious effort was made to link content. Each Visualise This, GEOstory and Case study is a stand alone resource but there are connections between them.
For example: Studying the Arctic Region in the Content Focus Area: Human - Environment Interactions draws on content from Chapter 2: The Cryosphere and Chapter 3: Forest Systems (Boreal forests) from Earth’s Natural Systems.
The migration of birds from the southern hemisphere to the Arctic in GEOstory 1.1 reinforces the importance of Arctic environments for global biodiversity and Arctic ecosystems. The GEOstory, Churchill, the polar bear capital of the world, looks at challenges facing communities in the Arctic as a result of climate change and the changing behaviour of polar bears. Iceberg Alley describes changes to icebergs along the coast of Newfoundland. Visualise This explain important concepts relevant to the Arctic, many of which link to climate change - glacial and interglacial cycles, ecological succession after glaciers and ice sheets retreat, tipping points, feedback loops and permafrost. Much of the Arctic Ocean is considered ‘high seas’, one of the five recognised global commons that require treaties to govern their sustainable use. Over the coming weeks we will illustrate connections between other Case studies, Visualise This and GEOstories. Some of these connections link to Case studies for Year 12 that will be in Powerful Geograpphy 2. |
AuthorsLorraine Chaffer Categories
All
Archives
June 2024
|