Why does a woodland still support a good range of species despite its cold season?

Because its canopy, shrub, herb and ground layers each offer different light and shelter, so species occupy separate niches within one small area.

Why does a woodland hold fewer species than a rainforest even though its soil is more fertile?

Because every organism must survive winter as well as summer, which rules out anything that cannot tolerate cold or a season with little food.

Why do deciduous trees drop their leaves in autumn?

Because leaves would keep losing water that frozen ground could not replace, and would be damaged by frost and snow, so shedding them saves water and energy.

How do woodland ground plants avoid competing with the trees for light?

They grow, flower and set seed in early spring before the canopy comes into leaf, then die back and survive underground as bulbs or rhizomes.

Edexcel GCSE Geography A 1GA0

Changing Cities

Topic overview Global urbanisation trends and rates The UK’s urban population and why urbanisation varies by region The chosen UK city: site, situation, connectivity and structure Urbanisation, suburbanisation and migration in the chosen UK city Population change and deindustrialisation in the chosen UK city Inequality and changes in retailing in the chosen UK city Making the chosen UK city more sustainable The chosen developing or emerging city: site, situation and structure Population growth and migration in the chosen developing or emerging city Inequality and quality of life in the chosen developing or emerging city Rapid urbanisation: challenges, and bottom-up and top-down responses Government policy and quality of life in the chosen city

Coastal Landscapes and ProcessesLandscape option

Topic overview Coastal processes: weathering, mass movement, erosion, transport and deposition Geology, wave type and UK weather at the coast Coastal landforms of erosion and deposition Coastal recession, flooding and coastal defences A named distinctive coastal landscape in the UK

Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Management

Topic overview The world’s large-scale ecosystems and what controls their distribution The biosphere as a resource, and its commercial exploitation UK terrestrial and marine ecosystems Tropical rainforest characteristics and the nutrient cycle Rainforest biodiversity and plant and animal adaptations Rainforest goods and services, and the causes of deforestation Sustainable management of a named rainforest Deciduous woodland characteristics and the nutrient cycle Woodland biodiversity and plant and animal adaptations Woodland goods and services, and the causes of deforestation Sustainable management of a named deciduous woodland

Energy Resource ManagementResource option

Topic overview Renewable and non-renewable energy resources compared The UK’s energy mix and why energy mixes vary Rising energy demand and the development of non-renewables Developing renewables, and fracking Stakeholder attitudes to energy Sustainable management of energy resources

Geographical Investigations – Fieldwork

Topic overview River fieldwork: enquiry questions, methods and secondary data Coastal fieldwork: enquiry questions, methods and secondary data Urban fieldwork: enquiry questions and methods Urban fieldwork: secondary data sources Rural fieldwork: enquiry questions and methods Rural fieldwork: secondary data sources The enquiry process: asking questions and choosing methods The enquiry process: presenting, analysing and concluding The enquiry process: evaluating fieldwork

Geographical Investigations − UK Challenges

Topic overview The UK’s resource consumption and sustainability challenge The UK’s settlement, population and economic challenges The UK’s landscape challenges: National Parks and flood risk The UK’s climate change challenges

Geographical Skills

Topic overview Atlas and map skills: distributions, patterns and sketch maps Describing the site, situation and shape of settlements Interpreting diagrams, sketches and photographs Using online census sources Hypotheses, sampling and risk assessment Collecting, recording and presenting data Writing about findings and building an argument

Glaciated Upland Landscapes and ProcessesLandscape option

Topic overview Glacial processes and the processes at work on relict landscapes today Past climate and present UK weather in glaciated uplands Glacial landforms of erosion and deposition Crag and tail, and drumlins Human activity and development in glaciated uplands A named distinctive glaciated upland landscape in the UK

Global Development

Topic overview Defining and measuring development The global pattern of development and why it is uneven The consequences of uneven development for quality of life Strategies to reduce uneven development: aid, top-down and bottom-up The chosen country: location, context and internal unevenness Economic change, trade, aid and investment in the chosen country Population and social change in the chosen country Geopolitics and technology in the chosen country The impacts of rapid development and how they are managed

Mathematics and Statistics Skills

Topic overview Cartographic skills: contours, transects, scale and distance Using GIS and geo-spatial data Choosing, constructing and interpreting graphs and charts Numerical skills: number, scale, proportion and ratio Drawing conclusions from numerical data Statistical skills: averages, spread, percentages and correlation Spotting weaknesses in how data is presented

Resource Management

Topic overview What natural resources are, and how people exploit them How exploitation changes environments The distribution and consumption of food, energy and water

River Landscapes and ProcessesLandscape option

Topic overview River processes: weathering, mass movement, erosion, transport and deposition The long profile of a river and the effect of UK weather River landforms from source to mouth Land use, flood risk and river defences A named distinctive river landscape in the UK

The Changing Landscapes of the UK

Topic overview The UK’s rock types and geology How the UK’s upland and lowland landscapes were formed

Water Resource ManagementResource option

Topic overview The global distribution of fresh water, and water surplus and deficit Changing water supply and demand How water use differs between countries Water supply problems in the UK and in developing countries Stakeholder attitudes to water, and desalination Sustainable management of water resources

Weather Hazards and Climate Change

Topic overview Global atmospheric circulation and the transfer of heat Natural climate change and the evidence for it The enhanced greenhouse effect and the effects of climate change The climate of the UK and how it varies How tropical cyclones form, and where they occur Why tropical cyclones are hazardous, and their impacts Responses to tropical cyclones The causes of drought and why some places are more vulnerable The impacts of drought and responses to it

Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Management

Woodland biodiversity and plant and animal adaptations

3 things to know
Paper 1

Overview

Why deciduous woodland biodiversity is only moderate, how broad thin leaves, leaf fall and dormancy suit the trees, when ground plants flower, and how migration, hibernation and food storage carry animals through winter.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Why is the biodiversity of a deciduous woodland only moderate?

Key term

Why are the leaves of deciduous trees broad and thin?

Key term

How does migration help woodland animals through the winter?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
Why is the biodiversity of a deciduous woodland only moderate?
Model answer
Because a cold season halts growth for part of every year, and the climate has changed greatly since the last ice age, so fewer species have been able to establish.
2
Why does a woodland still support a good range of species despite its cold season?
Model answer
Because its canopy, shrub, herb and ground layers each offer different light and shelter, so species occupy separate niches within one small area.
3
Why does a woodland hold fewer species than a rainforest even though its soil is more fertile?
Model answer
Because every organism must survive winter as well as summer, which rules out anything that cannot tolerate cold or a season with little food.
4
Why are the leaves of deciduous trees broad and thin?
Model answer
A wide thin blade catches as much of the weaker summer sunlight as possible, allowing rapid photosynthesis during the short growing season.
5
Why do deciduous trees drop their leaves in autumn?
Model answer
Because leaves would keep losing water that frozen ground could not replace, and would be damaged by frost and snow, so shedding them saves water and energy.
6
How do woodland ground plants avoid competing with the trees for light?
Model answer
They grow, flower and set seed in early spring before the canopy comes into leaf, then die back and survive underground as bulbs or rhizomes.

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Changing Cities

Coastal Landscapes and Processes

Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Management

Energy Resource Management

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ALess reliable rainfall slows both growth and decay.

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