Theme 3: Key Idea 3.2 Ecosystems under threat — Eduqas GCSE Geography B
Teaching note based on the EDUQAS specification.
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Theme 3: Key Idea 3.2 Ecosystems under threat explained
Humans depend on ecosystems for three resource streams: food, energy and water.
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Obtaining them means using an ecosystem (taking what it produces), modifying it (changing its structure or species mix so it yields more of what is wanted) and changing it (altering its processes and functions, often irreversibly). Food examples include converting grassland to arable fields, intensive grazing and fishing down marine food chains. Energy examples include burning wood and charcoal, planting biofuel crops, and damming rivers for hydroelectric power. Water examples include abstraction from rivers and aquifers, reservoir construction and irrigation. Each intervention alters flows of energy and cycling of nutrients, so learners should be able to match a named human action to the resource gained and to the ecosystem change it causes.
Your focus
- Identify how humans obtain food, energy and water from ecosystems
- Distinguish using, modifying and changing an ecosystem
- Explain how a named human action alters ecosystem processes
Theme 3: Key Idea 3.2 Ecosystems under threat exam tips
Marking Points
- Identifies food, energy and water as the three resource categories the overview must cover
- Links a named human action such as deforestation or irrigation to the specific resource obtained
- Distinguishes using an ecosystem from modifying it and from changing its processes
- Explains that obtaining resources alters energy flows or nutrient cycling within the ecosystem
- Selects the option that names both the resource gained and the resulting ecosystem change
Examiner Tips
- 💡Read the question stem for the resource named, then check each option covers that resource and an ecosystem change
- 💡Reject options that describe an ecosystem process with no human action attached
- 💡Use precise terms such as abstraction, irrigation, deforestation and biofuel cropping rather than vague wording
Common Mistakes
- Lists only food production and omits energy and water; cover all three resource categories
- Treats modification and change as identical; separate structural change from alteration of ecosystem processes
- Names a resource without stating the human action that obtains it; pair each resource with a concrete activity
- Assumes resource use leaves ecosystems unaffected; state the resulting change to flows or cycles