UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS

General Certificate of Education

Advanced Subsidiary Level

* 8 0 7 8 6 9 2 6 4 3 *

8291/22

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Paper 2 Hydrosphere and Biosphere

May/June 2011
1 hour 30 minutes

Additional Materials:

Answer Booklet/Paper

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

Write your Centre number, candidate number and name on all the work you hand in.
Write in dark blue or black pen.
You may use a soft pencil for any diagrams, graphs, tables or rough working.
Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid.
DO NOT WRITE IN ANY BARCODES.
Section A
Answer all questions.
Write your answers in the spaces provided on the question paper.
Section B
Answer one question from this section.
Answer the question on the separate answer paper provided.
At the end of the examination,
1.
fasten all separate answer paper securely to the question paper;
2.
enter the question number from Section B in the grid opposite.

For Examiners Use

Section A
1
2
Section B

Total

This document consists of 11 printed pages and 1 blank page.

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Section A

For
Examiners
Use

Answer all questions in this section.

Write your answers in the spaces provided.

(a) What is meant by the term ecosystem?

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(b) Fig.1.1 shows a simplified food web for a deciduous woodland ecosystem.

hawks and owls

snakes

foxes

insectivorous
birds
toads
spiders
predaceous
insects
rabbits

squirrels

mice seed-eating
birds

herbivorous
insects

plants
Fig. 1.1
(i)

From Fig. 1.1 identify a four stage food chain ending in a top predator.
Complete your answer in the boxes below.

plants
[2]

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(ii)

With reference to Fig.1.1 describe how energy flows through a food web.
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(iii)

Explain how biodiversity can be an indicator of the stability of an ecosystem.

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(c) Fig.1.2 shows a nutrient cycle typical of that in many tropical rainforests.

precipitation

nutrients
stored in
biomass

rapid uptake
of nutrients
by roots

very few nutrients

lost by leaching

leaf fall

nutrients leach
from leaves

rapid leaf litter

decomposition

soil
nutrients

deeply weathered rock

releases a few nutrients

Fig. 1.2
(i)

With reference to Fig. 1.2, explain why tropical rainforest soils are frequently
infertile.
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(ii)

Describe the effects that deforestation would have on the nutrient flows shown in
Fig. 1.2.

For
Examiners
Use

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2

(a) Fig. 2.1 contains information about the hydrological cycle within a river valley.

cloud

cloud
A

interception

evapotranspiration
through fall
overland flow

infiltration

percolation
river

through
flow
percolation

water table
B

zone of saturation
Fig. 2.1
(i)

From Fig. 2.1 identify the flow that occurs at A and the store that occurs at B.
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(ii)

What is meant by each of the terms interception and water table?

interception ...............................................................................................................
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water table ................................................................................................................
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(iii)

Describe how the hydrological cycle shown in Fig. 2.1 might respond:

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Examiners
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during a long dry summer,

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during a period of prolonged rainfall.

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(b) Fig. 2.2 shows some of the hydrological processes to be found in a non-urban area and
an urban area.
non-urban area

urban area

40% evapotranspiration

30% evapotranspiration

55% runoff

10% runoff
25% shallow infiltration

10% shallow infiltration

25% deep infiltration

5% deep infiltration

Fig. 2.2
(i)

Use Fig. 2.2 to explain why the percentages of infiltration and surface runoff in the
urban area are different from those in the non-urban area.
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(ii)

Suggest and explain two possible effects the water losses from the urban area
might have upon a nearby river.

For
Examiners
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[Total: 20]

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Section B
Answer one question from this section.

(a) Describe the relationship between climate and natural vegetation for three of the biomes
shown in Fig. 3.1.
[10]
450

400
tropical
montane
forest

mean annual precipitation / cm

350

300

tropical
rainforest

temperate
rainforest

250
tropical
dry
forest

200
150

100

temperate
deciduous
forest
boreal
forest

savanna
temperate
grassland

50
hot desert
30

25

20

tundra
cold desert
15

10

5 10 15

mean annual temperature / C

Fig. 3.1
(b) With reference to one biome you have studied, describe the pressures human activity is
placing on its ecosystems. Assess the methods that have been adopted to conserve the
natural vegetation and wildlife within this biome.
[30]
[Total: 40]

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4

(a) Fig. 4.1 shows the estimated number of deaths that can be attributed to recent climatic change.
Give three reasons why lower levels of precipitation may have contributed to the variations in
mortality shown in Fig. 4.1.
[10]

mortality per million

population
02
24
4 70
70 120
no data
Fig. 4.1
(b) With reference to examples you have studied, assess the extent to which the economic and
social priorities in dam and reservoir construction outweigh considerations for the natural and
human environment.
[30]
[Total: 40]

(a) Outline the different demographic conditions that would produce the three possible projections
for global population growth shown in Fig. 5.1.
[10]

population / billions

30

28 b high growth

25
20
15
11.5 b medium growth

10
5

4.3 b low growth

0
1975 2000 2025 2050 2075 2100 2125 2150
year
Fig. 5.1
(b) To what extent are the pressures mankind is placing on the environment a consequence of
population growth? With reference to a country you have studied, assess its strategies for
achieving a sustainable balance between its demands for food and the environment.
[30]
[Total: 40]

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UCLES 2011

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