To know that ecosystems are also exploited by humans and so getting the balance right between consumption and conservation is important. Students to research 3 goods and services provided by either Tropical Rain Forest or Temperate Deciduous Forest. These links from the Rain Forest Alliance website City of London website would provide a good starting point, and Produce a large poster in groups to show what these goods and services are and how these resources are being increasingly exploited and how this is happening. Students to feedback finding to the rest of the class. Plenary Evaluate which goods and services are at most risk from exploitation, Rank them in order of severity. 1 lesson (1 hour) Key idea 3.3: The UK has its own variety of distinctive ecosystems that it relies on. Suggested learning objectives: To understand the UK’s main terrestrial ecosystems are and their characteristics. It is also an opportunity to integrate the use of GIS by mapping and locating them. 3.3a: Distribution and characteristics of the UK’s main terrestrial ecosystems (moorlands, heaths, woodlands, wetlands). Key Terrestrial Moorlands Heathland Woodlands Wetlands UK Interpret GIS maps Starter The UK National Ecosystem Assessment report gives some good background for teachers. Show some images of UK moorlands, heaths, woodlands and wetlands. Describe the characteristics. Main activity This is a useful resource: The UK National Ecosystem Assessment. Use the map from page 4 from the UK National Ecosystem Assessment Report, showing broad UK habitats: Describe the distribution of the main terrestrial ecosystems. Class to split into groups. Each group researches one of the ecosystems. Moorlands Heathlands Woodlands
Wetlands. Produce a PowerPoint presentation or poster to show the main characteristics. Include information on vegetation, animals, insects, weather, local geography, topography etc. Plenary Present findings back to the rest of the class in the form of class presentations either in Poster form or PowerPoint. 1 lesson (1 hour) Key idea 3.3: The UK has its own variety of distinctive ecosystems that it relies on. Suggested learning objectives: To understand the importance of the UK’s marine ecosystems and the importance of getting the balance right between resource use, exploitation and degradation. 3.3b: Importance of marine ecosystems to the UK as a resource and how human activities are degrading them. Key words: Marine Exploitation Goods and services degradation UK Starter The UK Marine National Ecosystem Assessment report gives some good background for teachers: Use Figure 12.4 Examples of the goods, services and benefits from marine habitats provided to human well-being from page 470 of the report. Discuss the importance of our marine ecosystems. Ask a few enquiry questions: How do we use them? What importance do they have to people and the economy? Main activity The Marine Management organisation is a useful website and they have various clips on YouTube. Show some of the or the website and as students watch ask them to make a list of all the ways in which our marine environment may be threatened. Consider the importance of marine ecosystems for bathing waters, recreation, energy, transport, fisheries and overfishing, sea birds, tourism, oil spills, etc. Find and watch a news clip of the Sea Empress oil spill disaster on YouTube. Discuss the impact that this had on the marine ecosystems. Students to produce a factsheet of one aspect of the UK’s marine ecosystem. Characteristics,
importance, how humans benefit and how we are degrading the ecosystem. Present findings back to the rest of the class. Plenary Students to pick an image out of a hat of a UK marine ecosystem. They are to describe how it may be used as a resource and how it is under threat. 1 lesson (1 hour) Key idea 3.4: Tropical rainforests show a of distinguishing features. Suggested learning objectives: To know the characteristics of the tropical rain forest and how nutrients are cycled within the ecosystem. To understand how energy can be passed on through the ecosystem. 3.4a: Biotic and abiotic characteristics of the tropical rainforest ecosystem (climate, water, plants, animals and humans). Key words: Biodiversity Biotic Abiotic 3.4b: The interdependence of biotic and abiotic characteristics (climate, soils, water, plants, animals and humans) and the nutrient cycle (Gersmehl model). Key words: Nutrient cycling Energy flows Amazon Tropical Rain Forest Use and interpretation of nutrient diagrams and food web diagrams. Starter Call my - give students three possible definitions for biotic and abiotic. They should work in pairs to decide which definition is the correct one for each term. Main activity Show some images of the Amazon or video clips. There are many on BBC Class Clips or YouTube to get students enthused. Students to describe the characteristics. Make a list of all the biotic and abiotic factors for the tropical rain forest. Explain how these interact to enable the rain forest to function properly. students with a blank Gersmehl model for the tropical rain forest - Make sure the circles for biomass, soil and litter are the appropriate size. There is a good example on slide 18 of this presentation - Teacher to guide students through model to show nutrients and energy are circulated within the ecosystem. How nutrients can be added or lost. Discuss with students about how this could be disrupted. Imagine if the Amazon has been deforested. Students now draw a Gersmehl model to show the changes after deforestation.
Plenary Hangman – In pairs, choose some key words from this lesson e.g. biomass, abiotic etc. Play a quick game of hangman to finish. 1 lesson (1 hour) Key idea 3.4: Tropical rainforests show a range of distinguishing features. Suggested learning objectives: To understand why tropical rain forests have a high level of biodiversity and how vegetation and animals have adapted to the tropical rain forest environment. 3.4c: Why rainforests have very high biodiversity and how plants (stratified layers, buttress drip tips) and animals (strong limbs, modified wings and beaks, camouflage) are adapted to the environment. Key Biodiversity Stratified layers Buttress roots Drip tips Camouflage adaptation Amazon Tropical Rain Forest Starter Refer back to Lesson 1. Discuss what the climate is like in the rain forest or draw a climate graph for it. Main activity by showing some clips of the tropical rain forest. There are plenty on YouTube or Class Clips. Annotate diagram of the structure of the vegetation in the tropical rain forest. Create a table with two columns: Adaptation and Reason and fill in with as many adaptations as you know. Various images of the structure of the tropical rainforest can be found by searching on the internet. Students to research the biodiversity of the tropical rain forest using the internet or from books. Students to print some images or draw some images of one animal and one plant. Describe their characteristics and explain how and why they have adapted. Plenary What am I? – students to play the yes/no game in pairs to find identify a plant or animal from the tropical rain forest. Or - Mind movie. You are in a tropical rainforest all alone. What can you see, hear and smell? 3 lessons Key idea 3.5: 3.5a: Examples of goods and services Amazon Tropical Rain Forest Starter
(3 hours) Tropical rainforest ecosystems provide a range of goods and services some of which are under threat. Suggested learning objectives: To know the value of the tropical rain forest globally and locally. To understand how the tropical rain forest can provide valuable goods and services. To know the threats to the tropical rain forest and causes of these threats. To understand how and why the tropical rain forest needs to managed in a sustainable way. provided by tropical rainforest ecosystems (food stuffs, medicines, timber and recreation). 3.5b: How climate change presents a threat to the structure, functioning and biodiversity of tropical rainforests. 3.5c: Economic and social causes of deforestation (conversion to agriculture, resource extraction, population pressure). 3.5d: Political and economic factors (governance, commodity value and ecotourism) that have contributed to the sustainable management of a rainforest in a named region. Key words: Deforestation Structure and functioning and services Population projection line graphs. What can we use the TRF for? Think about the goods and services and produce a mind map. Think about: land for agriculture, houses, jobs for locals in logging, agriculture and mining timber, charcoal to sell recreation medicines and food stuffs impact on global climate, changing carbon dioxide levels. Consider the impact of climate change in the rain forest. websites are good starting point. (World Wildlife Fund Global), and the Met Office website. Discuss the impacts of drought, wildfires, etc. on biodiversity. Amazon Rainforest case study with a documentary on the causes and consequences of deforestation. A useful documentary can be found on YouTube called Battle for the Amazon (BBC) although others are available. Main causes of deforestation include: Logging, agriculture-shifted cultivators, cash crops and cattle ranching, fuelwood, large dams, mining and industry and underlying causes, e.g. colonialism, exploitation by industrialised countries, the debt burden, the role of poverty etc. Mining: various websites like have articles on deforestation, use these or search for similar ones. Some of these links are from Greenpeace. Farming:
Sustainable management Ecotourism: Main activities This part of the specification (Key idea 3.5) itself well to project work. Poster or presentation work on the cause, impacts and consequences of deforestation. Research an example of ecotourism. Describe the trip and with the aid of photos assess whether it is genuinely ecotourism. The success criteria for the group/project work could be based on: Detail and knowledge Understanding of the concepts Quality of the presentation. Plenary Group presentations and feedback. 1 lesson (1 hour) Key idea 3.6: Deciduous woodlands show a of distinguishing features. Suggested learning objectives: To know the characteristics of the temperate deciduous forest and how nutrients are cycled within the ecosystem. 3.6a: Abiotic and biotic characteristics of the deciduous woodland ecosystem (climate, soil, water, plants, animals and humans). 3.6b: The interdependence of biotic and abiotic characteristics (climate, soil, water, plants, animals and humans) and the nutrient cycle (Gersmehl model). Key words: Epping Forest UK Use and interpretation of nutrient cycle diagrams and food web diagrams. Starter: Start with a video clip of deciduous trees or forests. Show images of local forests. Describe the vegetation. How is the forest used commercially? How do local people use it for recreation? What are the attractions? What problems or conflicts might arise between people visiting the forest? Main activities Locate on a map of the UK the main areas of deciduous woodland. What do you notice? (very patchy, small areas, less than 5% of the UK) What has happened to most of the woodland? Why is much of the land used for coniferous/soft wood forests rather than deciduous woodland? (More profitable coniferous trees grow quicker. It can take over 100 years for an oak tree to grow, etc.).
To understand how energy can be passed on through the ecosystem. Nutrient cycling Energy flows Make a list of all the biotic and abiotic factors for the deciduous forest. Explain how these interact to enable the deciduous forest to function properly. Issue students with a blank Gersmehl model for a deciduous forest. Make sure the circles for biomass, soil and litter are the appropriate size for the storage of nutrients. Teacher to students through the model to show nutrients and energy are circulated within the ecosystem. How nutrients are added or lost. Discuss with students about how this could be disrupted. Plenary What’s the question? Give students the answer to a question from the lesson. Students need to think of what the question is. 1 lesson (1 hour) Key idea 3.6: Deciduous woodlands show a of distinguishing features. Suggested learning objectives: To understand why deciduous forests only have moderate biodiversity compared to tropical rain forests. 3.6c: Why deciduous woodlands have moderate biodiversity and how plants (leaf size and structure, water conservation in winter) and animals (migration, hibernation and food storage) are adapted to that environment. Key words: Biodiversity Adaptation Hibernation Epping Forest UK Starter Compare climate graphs for the UK and the tropical rain forests. Discuss how the climate influences the vegetation in a temperate deciduous forest. Main activity Annotate a diagram that shows the vegetation structure of the temperate forest. Students to research the biodiversity of the temperate deciduous forest. Students to some images or draw some images of one animal and one plant. Describe their characteristics and explain how they are linked to the climate and soils and how they have adapted to the environment. Plenary
To learn how the biodiversity has adapted to the environment. What am I? – In pairs students ask questions to guess a particular animal or plant species that can be found in temperate deciduous forests. 3 lessons (3 hours) Key idea 3.7 Deciduous woodlands ecosystems provide a range of goods and services some of which are under threat. Suggested learning objectives: To understand how temperate deciduous forest can provide goods and services for people. To learn how climate change can threaten the structure and functioning of deciduous forests. An opportunity to integrate the use of GIS in mapping and identifying 3.7a: Examples of goods and services provided by deciduous woodlands ecosystems (timber, fuel, conservation and recreation). 3.7b: How climate change presents a threat to both the structure, function and biodiversity of the deciduous woodland ecosystem. 3.7c: Economic and social causes of deforestation (urbanisation and population growth, timber extraction and agricultural change). 3.7d: Different approaches to the sustainable use and management of deciduous woodlands in a named region. Key words: Goods and services Climate change Epping Forest UK Use of GIS to identify pattern of forest loss. Starter Ask students if they have visited a deciduous woodland for recreation. What did they do? Main activities Students are asked to state the main uses of temperate deciduous woodlands.eg. Landscape: woods have tremendous scenic value - many areas are protected by preservation orders. Timber production Habitat for birds and animals: particular woods may harbour certain species and have SSSI and similar status. Game management e.g. Sandringham estate, livestock grazing, Leisure pursuits e.g., Epping Forest - walking, mountain biking, birdwatching, vehicles (a modern trend), paintballing, shelter belts. etc. Students produce a spider diagram with uses such as timber, leisure, shelter, breaks, etc. Climate change issues can be discussed this link from the Forestry Commission website: Epping Forest case study Useful resources: This part of the specification (Key idea 3.7) lends itself well to project work. Map the location of Epping Forest.