Biomes & food security

A biome is a large region defined by its climate, and the plants and animals adapted to live there — like deserts, grasslands, tropical rainforests, and tundra. Food security means having reliable access to enough safe, nutritious food. It depends on biomes being able to sustainably produce food, but is challenged by factors like climate change, population growth, water scarcity, and how food is distributed once produced.

Key terms

Biome:

A large region defined by its climate and the life adapted to it.

Food security:

Having reliable access to enough safe, nutritious food.

Sustainable:

Able to continue at a steady level without depleting resources long-term.

Questions

1. 1. A biome is:

   • A large region defined by its climate and life
   • A single farm
   • A type of government
   • A currency

2. 2. Food security means:

   • Reliable access to enough safe, nutritious food
   • Locking up a food storage room
   • Having only one type of food available
   • A type of farming equipment

3. 3. Which of these is an example of a biome?

   • Desert
   • A single house
   • A shopping mall
   • A car

4. 4. Sustainable food production means it can:

   • Continue steadily without depleting resources
   • Only happen once
   • Destroy the environment quickly
   • Never involve farming

5. 5. Drought can affect food security by:

   • Reducing crop yields
   • Always increasing crop yields
   • Having no effect on farming
   • Only affecting cities, never farms

6. 6. Australia's grassland biomes are commonly used for:

   • Farming, like wheat and sheep
   • Only tourism
   • Nothing at all
   • Only mining

7. 7. Climate change can affect food security by:

   • Disrupting normal growing conditions in a biome
   • Always improving every harvest
   • Having no effect on farming
   • Only affecting oceans

8. 8. A tropical rainforest biome is characterised by:

   • High rainfall and warm temperatures
   • Extreme cold and ice year-round
   • No plant life at all
   • Constant snow

9. 9. A desert biome is characterised by:

   • Very low rainfall
   • Extremely high rainfall
   • Constant flooding
   • Dense rainforest

10. 10. Why might a country be food secure even without producing all its own food?

    • It can import food reliably from other regions or countries
    • Food security requires 100% self-production always
    • Importing food is always illegal
    • Food security has no connection to trade

11. 11. Population growth can put pressure on food security because:

    • More people need to be fed from the same or shrinking agricultural land
    • More people always means more farmland instantly appears
    • Population size has no effect on food demand
    • Food security only depends on climate

12. 12. Water scarcity affects food security mainly because:

    • Most crops and livestock require significant water to produce
    • Water has no connection to farming
    • All crops grow without any water
    • Water scarcity only affects drinking water, not farming

13. 13. Why do different biomes support different types of farming?

    • Climate and soil conditions suit different crops and livestock
    • All biomes are identical for farming purposes
    • Farming has no relationship to climate
    • Only one biome type exists on Earth

14. 14. Food distribution problems (like poor transport infrastructure) can cause food insecurity even when:

    • Enough food is actually being produced overall
    • No food is ever produced anywhere
    • All regions have identical infrastructure
    • Distribution has no impact on food access

15. 15. Why might over-farming a biome beyond its sustainable capacity eventually reduce food security?

    • It can degrade soil and water resources needed for future food production
    • Over-farming always increases long-term food security
    • Soil and water are infinite resources with no limits
    • Sustainability has no connection to long-term farming success

16. 16. Why is climate change considered a major long-term threat to global food security?

    • It can shift and disrupt the conditions biomes rely on for stable food production
    • Climate change has no effect on farming conditions
    • It only affects countries that don't produce food
    • It always improves agricultural conditions everywhere

17. 17. Which best explains why food security involves more than just having enough total food produced globally?

    • Distribution, affordability and access all determine whether people can actually get food
    • Total global food production is the only factor that matters
    • Food security is guaranteed once any food exists anywhere
    • Access and affordability have no role in food security

18. 18. A country relying heavily on imported food from one single trading partner could face food security risks if:

    • That trade relationship is disrupted by conflict, disaster or policy change
    • Trade relationships never change
    • Diversifying food sources has no benefit
    • Imported food is always more secure than local food

19. 19. Why might sustainable farming practices (like crop rotation) help protect long-term food security?

    • They help maintain soil health and productivity over many growing seasons
    • They always reduce food production permanently
    • Soil health has no connection to crop yields
    • Sustainable practices only matter for a single season

20. 20. Why do geographers study the relationship between biomes and food security together, rather than separately?

    • A biome's natural conditions directly shape what food can be sustainably produced there
    • Biomes and food security are completely unrelated topics
    • Food security depends only on government policy, not environment
    • Studying them together provides no additional insight

21. 21. Vertical farming and other agricultural technologies are being developed partly to address food security challenges by:

    • Producing food efficiently even in areas with limited traditional farmland
    • Replacing the need for any biome entirely with no environmental factors
    • Making food production impossible in cities
    • Having no connection to food security at all