AALP Geography Assignment

Select ONE type of environment/biome in Australia as the context for a comparative study
with at least ONE other country
Wetlands Case Studies: Shortland Wetlands (Hunter Wetlands) and the Everglades
Wetlands play a critical part in protecting animals, trees and the shores from waves, floods
and more. They help to absorb pollutants and improve water quality as well as providing a
home to hundreds of animals and plants.
Distribution of the biome
Wetlands in Australia can be found near Macquarie Marshes which is near Dubbo, along the
coast-lines, near estuaries, coastal lakes and lagoons. There are some freshwater wetlands
on the tablelands (a broad, high level region) and in high alpine areas such as near
Kosciuszko National Park. As seen in map 2, in America, wetlands are found along the south
coasts, and 20% of wetlands in America are in Florida, but some of the other states that
have wetland areas include California, Colorado, Ohio, Utah, New Jersey, Georgia and most
states along the coast.

Map 1 of Shortland Wetlands Map 2 of Everglades, Florida

Brief Description of key physical features of environment

Wetlands can be found in many different types of climates around the world and are on
every continent except for Antarctica. A wetland can be described as any area that is
covered by water or saturated with water. They can be covered with fresh water or salt
water that is generally slow moving or still. They are classed as being “transition zones”
which means they are never totally dry or totally covered with water, but they are parts of
both.
Shortland Wetlands Photos
Everglades Photos

Explain how the biophysical processes interact to create and maintain the environment
Hydrosphere- Wetlands change during the seasons, especially summer and winter. During
winter, it starts to rain a lot, causing the area to start filling up with water. With the arrival
of water, it also becomes inviting for insects, reptiles, birds and some mammals to start
populating the area and begin adapting to their new environment. Once winter is through
and it is spring, the plants and trees in the wetlands begin to grow and bloom, providing a
valuable food source for the animals currently living in the area. During the summer, the
water begins to dry out and the grass and plants start to fade away slowly, with some
animals such as birds and mammals migrating away, and returning during the winter for the
rain and food that will arrive. During the rainy season, some animals will have laid eggs, and
these eggs will begin to start hatching.
Hydrosphere

The photo on the left shows how the wetlands have dried up and are becoming similar to a
grassland.

The photo on the right shows a wetland that is healthy and full of life and water.
Atmosphere- Plants and animals use the carbon that can be found in soils to build the basic
form of their cell structure. The carbon that has been stored can then be released through
natural respiration or when cell structures decompose. Wetlands are crucial in the role they
play with absorbing carbon in the atmosphere, with only 9% of the world covered by
wetlands, but 35% of the world’s carbon is stored within the wetlands. A wetland that is
alive and healthy can sometimes act as a carbon sink, which means they regulate the
processes such as anaerobic decomposition which makes methane and nitrous oxide. These
gases can be between 21 and 310 times more harmful over a 100 year time frame than
compared to carbon dioxide. The amount these gases are emitted can depend on the
location of the wetlands, the temperature of the water, the amount of sun and rain they
receive and if people are impacting the environment.
Atmosphere

This diagram shows the process the atmosphere goes through to help keep the wetlands in a healthy
state.

Biosphere- The wetlands provide a suitable habitat for fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
that live there, as well as providing protection for animals that are migrating and on the
move. Wetlands are dense areas that can provide multiple areas of protection, areas for
breeding and feeding for animals that are migrating through the area, or if they are trying to
find a home to live in temporarily or permanently.
Biosphere

This photo shows how the wetlands are providing water and shelter to help protect the animals.
Lithosphere- The soil of the surrounding ground can affect how the trees and plants will
grow and develop. There are many factors that can affect how the soil is, some of these
factors are the salinity level which varies depending on the rainfall, the decaying matter that
falls in to the soil to act as a manure and also what type of plants are trying to grow within
the area. All these can affect the wetlands ability to provide support and food for the flora
and fauna.
Lithosphere

This photo shows that there are plenty of trees in a wetland area, and that they are providing a
supply of oxygen, and continuing on how the cycles work.

Provide examples (2 each -natural/human induced) of environmental change in this

environment
Natural Bushfires- Fires can change and affect the wetlands environment in positive or
negative ways. Some positive ways in which fires are good is when they are required to help
regenerate and to help the growth of vegetation to create a diversity of flora and fauna
habitats. Some negative impacts that fires have on wetlands are if they burn too much or
not enough. By burning too much it can set things on fire and destroy the habitats that the
animals live in causing destruction. It can lead to a loss in habitats, flora and fauna and in
some cases it can lead to the growth and help to allow introduced species to thrive in the
environment. When a fire burns things, it can get much-needed nutrients in the soil and
help with decomposers and consumers. If it doesn’t burn enough, then the soil may not be
able to obtain the nutrients and vitamins that burning off can provide to it, causing the
plants and soil being unable to grow at the usual rate, or to grow healthily without defect.
Human-Induced Pollution- People have severely affected wetlands and changed them so
much, whether it was for the good and health of it, or if they have killed the area off and it
has become a dead-zone. People are always looking to develop and create new technology
to improve the way of life. When they add new things to an environment, it changes the
way it was adapted to living, so when people pollute wetlands, through creating more
drainage areas, dumping of their rubbish, trying to form lakes, rivers or ponds or if they are
making a new road or walkway, it takes a serious toll on the environment, by potentially
leaking acids and chemicals in the water, which will kill the animals swimming around, and
the ones that use it for drinking water, as well as pollute the roots of the plants that are
connected to the ground where the water is stored. The effect of this is potentially in the
loss of animals or plants due to extinction, which takes an effect on the whole ecosystem on
people and animals. The people and animals that relied on this animal for food or water
supplies have to now adapt to finding a new source available that can continue to provide
for them. This can lead to changes in the environment, and the loss in more flora and fauna
of a new replacement is unable to be found.

Investigate the causes and extent of one particular human induced environmental change
in Australia and one other country (can be the same or different human induced change).
This can be at a particular site/location within the whole environment/biome in each
country
A human induced environmental change on wetlands in Australia would be habitat
alterations that can have a major effect on the wetlands. Habitat alterations can occur when
people begin to cut down trees, causing changes in the structure of the habitat. If a tree that
has been cut down, falls over into the wetlands, it can land on a rock that could be a hiding
place for little animals, it could block out certain parts of the water and restrict where the
animals are able to swim to, meaning they have to adapt to the new areas and find new
breeding locations, food sources and protective areas if required. The animals can use
plants, weeds, branches and rocks as good protection areas to hide from bigger animals, or
as a source of food that is easily accessible for them. By removing or adding any of these
objects, it can lead to alterations in the water and streams, causing changes in food chains,
if some animals or plants die off or start to migrate due to loss of certain requirements.
The cause of this environmental change would be for people’s needs to constantly have
wood, which comes from the trees, as they use this to make chairs, tables, paper, books etc.
and this can damage the environment, especially if the people don’t replant any trees back.
This can also cause changes in the climate and affect the air the animals and plants breathe
in, and can also cause changes in the water acidity and temperature.

A human induced environmental change on the Everglades in Florida would be pollution.

Pollution is caused by people when they drop their rubbish or let it blow around instead of
using a bin for it, and they allow for it to blow into the water where the animals are found. If
an animal is hungry and swimming or walking around looking for food, and they see the
rubbish, they might mistake it for food and eat it, where there is a high chance it will
become stuck in their body and they’ll be unable to get it back out, causing them to choke
or suffocate and die. The extent of this is severe, as it can wipe out populations of many
species, causing changes in the environmental food chains, and affect other animals as well
as people depending on if the people would usually eat that specific animal or use it for
breeding purposes. Pollution has changed how the everglades habitats are naturally run and
in the way they look.

Discuss the short term and long term consequences of the human induced environmental
change in each country.
The human induced environmental changes between Australia and Florida will be very
similar, with the variation between the countries being affected by the population of
people, and how they care for the environment, whether it be if they litter and drop
rubbish, cut down trees and put roads or buildings in the way of the wetlands, or if the
people don’t build things, don’t cut down trees, and they use bins for their rubbish.
The short term consequences of human induced environmental changes in Australia would
include the loss in numbers of flora and fauna species, lack of availability in some food.
Areas could dry out due to climate change being advanced at a rapid speed, but then the
areas could also become wet again due to the climate changing and lots of rain could
happen in the country.

The long term consequences of human induced environmental changes in Australia would
include alterations to the flowing areas of the wetlands, loss of areas due to barriers
blocking out areas E.g. trees cut down could fall and block paths, dams or walls being built,
bridges or buildings. Some more long term consequences could be changes in the water
including temperature and acidity, loss of species due to extinction. The changes in water
temperature and acidity could affect the drinking supply for people and animals, and it
could kill animals if the temperature rises too much and the animals are more suited for
living in cold water. It can affect their breeding patterns, and they could possibly be unable
to breed, or the breeding season could shift to an earlier or later time. This takes a toll on
the animal’s lives, and changes the way they would usually live.

Investigate the management of the human induced environmental change. This includes:
o Traditionally, how was this environment managed by indigenous people in both countries
o Today, evaluate the effectiveness of one strategy aiming to achieve environmental
sustainability in each country.
o Recommend one strategy that the Australian Government should adopt to achieve
environmental sustainability in your chosen biome/environment.

The everglades were managed by an Indigenous group of people called the Calusa. They were
located along the South West coast. They depended on fishing and systematic foraging for other
types of food sources. They managed the environment by protecting and maintaining cultural sites,
stories and songs. They performed cultural dances and activities, hunted for animals to use for food,
and they hunted feral animals that were introduced, so they killed them to help protect and keep
the land the way it should originally be. They removed weeds and protected the biodiversity and
tried to manage the numbers of species, especially maintain the ones that are threatened.

The Shortland Wetlands are legally owned by the NSW government. They are responsible for the
protection of Aboriginal sites and place, but they acknowledge that the Aboriginal people have rights
to make decisions about the land and that they are involved in the management and protection of
the land. The aboriginal people use to back burn the trees and land to prevent massive fires from
occurring and burning the land down. The back burn also allowed the nutrients from the trees and
bushes to go into the soil and ground, allowing for a good growing environment for the trees to
flourish and become a healthy area. They use to have access to a good range of food sources coming
from the water. This means they could supply their own food from the river, by hunting and spear
fishing for the animals, with some animals being used for food were shellfish, fish, eels, water birds,
and small and large mammals.

The effectiveness of back burning to help with sustainability in Australia is a major factor to keeping
the land, as well as the flora and fauna alive. Back burning is a controlled fire that is contained in
certain areas mainly during night-time or when the weather conditions are at a low fire risk. Back
burning can burn an area that would usually set fire during hot weather, and with it being controlled,
it allows for the people to control which direction the fire will move, and where it will burn,
hopefully preventing any fires in the future from burning out the land area and causing damage and
chaos to the environment. If back burning were not to occur, and a fire were to start in the wetlands,
it could set a lot of trees on fire, knock down trees and burn up the areas that would be used for
food and shelter by the animals.

In the everglades in Florida, there have been many introduced species brought in to the area,
causing an impact on the environment. The people living in Florida and near the everglades are
trying to remove these introduced species by reporting sightings of introduced species to groups of
people who specialize in removing the animals from the environment in a safe way. Groups also run
programs in which the people can learn how to identify introduced species, whether they are
animals or plants. The people can then go out to the everglades searching for these plants and they
can safely remove it from the environment. The Everglades also hold an annual Non-native Fish
Roundup in which people can go fishing along with many others and help to remove the 22 non-
native species of fish. They also hold a lionfish derby or lionfish tournament, in where the people can
go scuba diving or skin diving to legally remove lionfish from out of the water with most equipment
being legal to use.

One strategy that the Australian Government should use to help with environmental sustainability in
the Hunter Wetlands would be an annual clean-up day. The annual clean-up day could involve a
sponsored day where people can get together with carry bins and long scooping nets and they walk
along the boardwalk and throughout the wetlands scooping out any rubbish that has blown in or
near the water. The people helping out could be treated to a lunch/buffet meal or get given a free
entry for their family into the wetlands for a day, as this would be rewarding for people coming to
help clean the area. By cleaning the area, it would make it a safer place with less of a risk for animals
to be swimming and flying around in, and would make it more peaceful for them to come and live.
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