SMC Kyrgyzstan Geographical Composition of The Country Discussion – Question Description
I’m working on a geography discussion question and need the explanation and answer to help me learn.
Explore online resources useful in getting to know the biosphere at a location of your choosing (can be anywhere in the world). To begin, go to the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) Global Ecosystems Viewer (https://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/ecosystems/dataviewer.shtml)Links to an external site.. For example, I picked Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, by typing the name in the search box on the top right. I also changed the basemap to one that I liked better because it shows topography (i.e., locations of mountains and valleys) and political boundaries are easier to see (pictured below). Feel free to play around with different basemaps, but don’t choose imagery unless you’re really zoomed into a location and have a strong internet connection (imagery basemaps can take a while to load).
Next, click on a specific location to pull up the ecosystem information. You need to avoid urban areas and cropland, so I had to click on a few locations before I found a place near Bishkek that had information about the natural ecosystem type. Look at what is written for “Land Cover” to see if you have selected a location that is urban or cropland:
Finally I found a location that had a more natural land cover of grassland, scrub, or shrub (see below):
In a different tab, go to the Half Earth Project Map (https://map.half-earthproject.org/)Links to an external site. and select National Report Cards on the bottom right-hand side of the page. (The name of this site is based on the goal of preserving half of the Earth to facilitate a more sustainable future.) In the search bar on the bottom left of the National Report Cards page, start typing the name of the country and then click on it when it comes up. This will take you straight to the country on the map. Alternatively, you could just rotate the map until you see the country you’re researching, and then click on it.
Be sure you are zoomed out enough so you can see nearby countries along with your country, and notice the numbers on the report card along with the map legend that shows how the country compares to its neighbors.
Lastly, click on the “Explore” button, which will open up a more detailed view of the country’s report card (note: the map on this page may take a while to load, but you won’t be using it – you’ll just look at the information in the report card). First look for the list of vertebrate species by category (listed horizontally above the chart). Then find the chart of how protection of species and land in the country has changed over time by scrolling down.
Now answer the following questions for your primary post:
What is the name of place you picked, and what is its land cover, bioclimate, and landform? Insert a screenshot of your location’s information from the Global Ecosystems Viewer (similar to the screenshot of Bishkek provided above).
Now think about the geography of this place, including its latitude, position on a continent (e.g., west coast, east coast, or interior), the predominant wind and pressure systems at this latitude (e.g., westerlies, easterlies, intertropical convergence zone/ITCZ, subtropical high pressure/STH, or polar high pressure), and relevant topography if present (e.g., leeward or windward side of a major mountain range). Based on its geography, why do you think the land cover for this location has the type vegetation that it does (i.e., trees, shrubs, or grasses)? Explain.
Answer this question based on the country in which the location you chose is found. How is the country doing in terms of its Species Protection Index overall and in comparison to its neighbors? How has the Species Protection Index (SPI) and the amount of protected land in this country changed over time? Is it improving or getting worse? Insert screenshots of its report card.
How many and what kinds of animals (specifically land vertebrates) are found in this country? How many are endemic (i.e., found nowhere else)? Does this information surprise you or is it what you expected to find? Explain.
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