Category Geography

What are the predators of plant kingdom?

These are plants with many tricks up their sleeve. These are plants that consume meat. In short, these are called carnivorous plants. They lure unsuspecting prey into their traps. They indulge in carnivorous behaviour to obtain much-needed nutrients that are not found in the soil. Insects, spiders, lizards, mice, rats, and other small vertebrates become their prey. Let’s take a look at some of these meat eaters.

VENUS FLYTRAP

Here we have hinged traps built into each leaf of the plant. These hinged lobes have spiny tooth-like structures attached to them. There are hair-like projections called trichomes in the insides of the lobe and if a prey were to get into contact with these hairy structures, snap shut the lobes and the prey has been caught! The tooth-like structures that edge the lobes ensure that the prey cannot get out of the trap.

NEPENTHES RAJAH

The Nepenthes rajah is the largest carnivorous plant in the world. Its trap can grow up to 41 centimetres tall. Vertebrates and small mammals have fallen prey to this genus of camivorous pitcher plant. This plant is endemic to Borneo. Insects get attracted by the odour of the nectar and once inside the pitcher, they cannot escape as they fail to get a grip on the sticky walls of the pitcher. They then fall into the water in the pitcher and as they struggle, the digestive glands get stimulated and digestive acids are released. The Nepenthes rajah can even digest mice!

PITCHER PLANT

For the pitcher plant, its pitcher-shaped leaves form the trap. These pitfall traps are filled with digestive juices. The animals are lured by the nectar. The rims of the pitcher are slippery and the prey falls in and drowns in the digestive fluids. They are often seen growing in a range of habitats viz. from pine barrens to sandy coastal swamps. They normally grow in poor soil conditions and it is through their carnivorous behaviour that they get the much-needed nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen.

COBRA LILY

With its hooded pitcher-like leaves, this pitcher plant resembles a cobra. Even the purple-red appendages that the plant has resembles a set of fangs. The nectar glands attract insects and small animals to the mouth of the pitcher. The large tubular leaves of the plant trap water. This is the only species of its genus that do not produce its own digestive enzymes. Rather, it depends on bacteria to break down its prey. Once inside, there is no escape. The slippery walls and the downward-pointing hairs ensure this and the prey falls into the fluid at the bottom of the pitcher. The prey gets decomposed by microorganisms in the fluid. The plant is native to swamps in the mountainous regions of the USA.

BUTTERWORT

Butterwort is a carnivorous flowering plant that uses its sticky leaves to lure in insects and eventually trap and digest them. This plant releases its enzymes for digesting the prey whilst it holds the prey in its place with its sticky mucous.

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Which is the largest desert?

Contrary to popular belief, the largest desert in the world is the Antarctic Desert. Located over the South Pole and covering all of the land of Antarctica, this massive ice sheet receives very little rainfall and is considered a desert. The definition of desert is not vast stretches of sand dunes and high temperatures, but a piece of land that receives very less annual precipitation in the form of rain, snow, mist or fog. In the last 30 years of time, the average annual rainfall at the South Pole is just over 10 mm. Although there is more precipitation towards the coast, the continent as a whole has very little precipitation and that is enough to classify the region as a polar desert. Antarctica is also the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, with the highest average elevation among all the continents in the world.

The Russian expedition headed by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev led to the discovery of the Antarctic ice shelves. After this, French, American, and British expeditions led to more exploration in the region. A Norwegian team was first confirmed to have landed in Antarctica in the year 1895. Later, some British explorers became the first to reach the magnetic South Pole in 1909, and the geographic South Pole was first reached in 1911 by some Norwegian explorers.

About 30 countries govern Antarctica and are parties of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty System. According to the treaty, military activity, mining, nuclear explosions, and nuclear waste disposal are all prohibited in the region. India’s first expedition to Antarctica landed there on January 9, 1982. India has set up three research stations in Antarctica, the first being ‘Dakshin Gangotri’ established in 1984. In 1989, it was re-established and is being used as a supply base and transit camp. The second station ‘Maitri’ was established in 1988 and the third base ‘Bharati’ was established in 2015. In line with the Antarctic Treaty System, Bharati can be completely disassembled and removed without leaving even a brick behind.

This polar desert is home to several volcanoes as well. Of those, two of them are active. Mount Erebus, which is the second-highest volcano in Antarctica, is the southernmost active volcano of our planet. The second active volcano is located on Deception Island, which is a volcanic caldera in the South Shetland Islands.

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What makes Greenland different?

Popular for its vast tundra and immense glaciers, Greenland is the world’s largest island, in fact the largest island country. In terms of land area, it is more than three times the size of the U.S. state of Texas. It is an autonomous Danish dependent territory and has its own parliament. Two-thirds of Greenland lies within the Arctic Circle, with its northern regions lying just 800 km away from the North Pole. The island enjoys continuous daylight for two months every year. More than 80 per cent of the land is covered by ice. A major impact of global warming is seen in Greenland as the ice cover is melting away faster than ever. This crisis has however increased access to Green- land’s mineral resources.

We know that Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but its home-rule government is responsible for most of its domestic affairs. The people of Greenland are primarily Inuit.

When it comes to Greenland, one of the most interesting question is its name- why is it called Greenland when it is mostly covered in ice? The answer lies in history. An exiled Viking named Eric the Red came up with this name as a means to encourage others to follow him and establish new settlements in the region. It must be noted that South Greenland (where Erik the Red settled) is actually green during the summer. Another interesting fact about Greenland is that it has a very limited road transport system due to the rugged terrain, its deep fjords that outline the coastline, the ice sheets, and the very small population. In fact, all roads end at the outskirts of towns.

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HOW DO SANDSTORMS IMPACT LANDSCAPES?

Not only can sandstorms damage and bury plants and seedlings, when sand is carried in the wind, the suspended particles trap the Sun’s heat before it can reach the ground. As a result, the air in the area where this sand is deposited or remains suspended becomes warmer and drier. It cannot retain moisture any more. The increase in temperature and decreased precipitation reduce plant growth and result in greater soil erosion, which leads to changes in the landscape.

Sand and dust storms cause significant negative impacts on society, economy and environment at local, regional and global scale.  There are three key factors responsible for the generation of sand and dust storms – strong wind, lack of vegetation and absence of rainfall. The environmental and health hazards of such storms cannot be reduced permanently; however its impact can be reduced by taking appropriate measures.

As the dust cloud rises, it reduces the horizontal visibility which can impact human life in many ways. The fine suspended particles also contain contaminants, bacteria, pollens, which cause negative health impacts such as allergies and respiratory diseases.

Dust also carries airborne pollutants such as toxins, heavy metals, salt, sulphur, and pesticides etc. which cause significant health impacts when people inhale the contaminated dust.  Dust can corrode buildings and other built infrastructure as it contains high level of salts, especially in the GCC countries.

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WHAT ARE ICEBERGS AND WHY ARE THEY DANGEROUS?

Icebergs are huge pieces of ice that break off glaciers and float into the ocean. They can be more than five metres in height but most of their bulk remains submerged. Icebergs are dangerous. If a ship hits an iceberg, it can be badly damaged and sink. The dangerous waters are in the North Atlantic, around Greenland, and in the Southern Hemisphere around Antarctica. Since I912, after the luxury liner Titanic hit an iceberg and sank, the International Ice Patrol tracks icebergs and warns ships in the North Atlantic. However, satellite data used to monitor icebergs can only spot icebergs larger than 500 m2.

Icebergs are large chunks of ice that break off from glaciers. This process is called calving. Icebergs float in the ocean, but are made of frozen freshwater, not saltwater.

Most icebergs in the Northern Hemisphere break off from glaciers in Greenland. Sometimes they drift south with currents into the North Atlantic Ocean. Icebergs also calve from glaciers in Alaska.

In the Southern Hemisphere, almost all icebergs calve from the continent of Antarctica.

Some icebergs are small. Bergy bits are floating sea ice that stretch no more than 5 meters (16.5 feet) above the ocean. Growlers are even smaller.

Icebergs can also be huge. Some icebergs near Antarctica can be as big as Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. As little as one-eighth of an iceberg is visible above the water. Most of the mass of an iceberg lies below the surface of the water. This is where the phrase “tip of the iceberg” came from, meaning only part of an idea or problem is known.

There are many different kinds of icebergs. Brash ice, for instance, is a collection of floating ice and icebergs no more than 2 meters (6.5 feet) across. A tabular berg is a flat-topped iceberg that usually forms as ice breaks directly off an ice sheet or ice shelf.

The ice below the water is dangerous to ships. The sharp, hidden ice can easily tear a hole in the bottom of a ship. A particularly treacherous part of the North Atlantic has come to be known as Iceberg Alley because of the high number of icebergs that find their way there. Iceberg Alley is located 250 miles east and southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.

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WHAT IS THE ENCHANTED MESA?

A butte is an isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top created by the gradual erosion of the earth around by water, wind or ice. The Enchanted Mesa is a sandstone butte in New Mexico where the Acoma tribe lived, until a heavy storm and a landslide destroyed the only access to the peak, forcing them to move elsewhere.

Enchanted Mesa is a sandstone butte in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States, about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) northeast of the pueblo of Acoma. It is called Mesa Encantada in Spanish and Katzimo or Kadzima in Keresan. Acoma tradition says that Enchanted Mesa was the home of the Acoma people until a severe storm and landslide destroyed the only approach. There are no longer any ruins on the flat top. The butte is 430 ft (130 m) high, 1,250 ft (380 m) long and only 400 ft (120 m) ft wide, at its widest. The elevation at the top is 6,643 ft (2,025 m).

In 1892, when Charles F. Lummis was visiting Acoma he listened to the old Indian governor, Martín Valle, who told the story of how the Acoma people used to live on Enchanted Mesa. Their access to the top was on the southern side where a large piece of the butte was said to have spalled off and formed a ramp, a “stone ladder”, up to the top. In reality, access was by climbing a ladder in a narrow fissure. Evidence of holes carved into the sandstone on either side of the fissure can be seen, located in the horseshoe shaped bowl at the southern end. The early inhabitants had a precipitous climb up the fissure, but it assured their safety. Into these holes were placed stout lengths of wood, the ‘rungs’ of the ladder. Today, this is still the only means of climbing access to the top of the mesa. Their fields, and the springs that were their water source, were in the valley. In the summer, the entire village would descend into the valley to tend the crops. One afternoon a severe thunderstorm washed away the “stone ladder”, leaving only sheer rock faces all the way around the butte. Legend has it that three old women and a young boy had been left in the village, but they could not get down, nor could anyone else get back to the village. A giant thunderbird swooped down and scooped up the four and carried them to the valley floor. The Acoma people abandoned Enchanted Mesa and moved to White Rock Mesa, now called Acoma.

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