This topic summary covers Knowledge Organiser: Sustaining Ecosystems within Sustaining Ecosystems for GCSE Geography. Revise Sustaining Ecosystems in The Living World for GCSE Geography with 15 exam-style questions and 18 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 14 of 14 in this topic. Use this topic summary to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Knowledge Organiser: Sustaining Ecosystems
Key Terms
- Ecosystem services — provisioning, regulating, cultural, supporting
- Biodiversity — variety of species, genes, ecosystems
- Sustainable management — meeting current needs without compromising future
- Coral bleaching — coral expels algae when sea temperature rises 1–2°C
- Rewilding — remove human management; restore natural processes
- REDD+ — rich countries pay LICs to protect forests (carbon credits)
- Zoning — areas with different permitted uses (no-take → general use)
- Dead zone — oxygen-depleted water from agricultural run-off
The Three Case Studies
- Great Barrier Reef (AUS): 2,300km; 50% coral died 2016; 33% no-take zone; AUD $6.4bn/year; can't fix climate change locally
- REDD+ (DRC): 90% rely on charcoal; Norway paid $150m; 15% protected; payments don't reach communities
- Knepp (UK): 3,500 acres rewilded from 2001; white storks nest (first 600 yrs); £2.5m/year tourism; needs wealthy landowner
Ecosystem Services (examples)
- Provisioning: 25% Western medicines from tropical plants
- Regulating: forests absorb 2.6bn tonnes CO₂/year; £690m/year pollination (UK)
- Cultural: reef tourism AUD $6.4bn/year
- Total value: $125–145 trillion/year globally
CLEARS Evaluation Framework
- C — Cost (financially viable?)
- L — Local people (communities benefit?)
- E — Effectiveness (ecological results?)
- A — Addresses root cause?
- R — Replicable at scale?
- S — Sustainable long-term?
Common Mistakes
- Describing instead of evaluating: "The Great Barrier Reef has a no-take zone" scores low — explain WHY it works or doesn't (33% no-take zone protects spawning but cannot fix global warming, the root cause)
- Forgetting community tensions: REDD+ and zoning often fail because payments don't reach local communities who rely on the ecosystem — always show this stakeholder conflict in evaluation questions
- Treating all management as equally effective: Compare schemes using evidence — Knepp rewilding is small-scale and requires wealthy landowners; REDD+ is global but lacks enforcement
- Missing ecosystem services categories: Answers on "why protect ecosystems" need all four types (provisioning, regulating, cultural, supporting) with at least one statistic
Practice questions for Sustaining Ecosystems
Which of the following is a direct consequence of deforestation in tropical rainforests?
Explain the process of coral bleaching and why it threatens the Great Barrier Reef.
Quick recall flashcards
What does sustainable ecosystem management mean?
Using and protecting an ecosystem in a way that lasts into the future.
Why do fragile ecosystems need management?
Because damage can spread quickly and recovery can be slow.