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ESS Definitions > ESS > Flashcards

ESS Flashcards

1
Q

EVS

A

A worldview or paradigm that shapes the way an individual, or group of people, perceives and evaluates environmental issues, influenced by cultural, religious, economic and sociopolitical contexts.

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2
Q

Ecocentric

A

A viewpoint that integrates social, spiritual, and environmental dimensions into a holistic ideal.

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3
Q

Anthropocentric

A

A viewpoint that humans must manage the global system, through the use of taxes, environmental regulation and legislation.

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4
Q

Technocentric

A

A viewpoint that technological developments can provide solutions to environmental problems.

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5
Q

Systems approach

A

A way of visualising a complex set of interaction which may be ecological or societal.

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6
Q

System

A

Comprised of storages and flows.

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7
Q

Transfers

A

A change of location.

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8
Q

Transformations

A

A change in the chemical nature.

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9
Q

Open system

A

Exchanges in both energy and matter across its boundary.

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10
Q

Closed system

A

Exchanges only energy across its boundary.

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11
Q

The first law of thermodynamics

A

The energy in an isolated system can be transformed but cannot be created or destroyed.

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12
Q

The second law of thermodynamics

A

The entropy of a system increases over time.

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13
Q

Entropy

A

A measure of the amount of disorder in a system. An increase in entropy arising from energy transformations reduces the energy available to do work.

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14
Q

Resilience

A

The tendency to avoid such tipping points and maintain stability.

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15
Q

Sustainability

A

The use and management of resources that allows full natural replacement of the resources exploited and full recovery of the ecosystems affected by their extraction and use.

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16
Q

Natural Capital

A

Natural resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of goods or services.

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17
Q

Natural Income

A

The yield obtained from natural resources.

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18
Q

Ecological footprint (EF)

A

The area of land and water required to sustainably provide all resources at the rate at which they are being consumed by a given population. If the EF is greater than a given area available to the population, this is an indication of unsustainability.

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19
Q

Pollution

A

The addition of a substance or an agent to an environment through human activity, at a rate greater than that at which it can be renewed harmless by the environment, and which has an appreciable effect on the organisms in the environment.

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20
Q

Intrinsic value

A

Something is of value just because it is there, you cannot sell it in return for anything else.

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21
Q

Species

A

A group of organisms that share common characteristics and that interbreed to produce fertile offspring.

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22
Q

Habitat

A

The environment in which a species normally lives.

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23
Q

Niche

A

Describes the particular set of abiotic and biotic conditions and resources to which an organism or population responds.

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24
Q

Fundamental niche

A

Describes the full range of conditions and resources in which a species could survive and reproduce.

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25
Q

Realised niche

A

Describes the actual conditions and resources in which a species exists due to biotic interactions.

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26
Q

Abiotic factors

A

The non-living, physical factors that influence the organisms and ecosystem e.g. temperature, sunlight, pH, salinity and precipitation.

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27
Q

Biotic factors

A

The interaction between the organisms e.g. predation, herbivory, parasitism, mutualism, disease, and competition.

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28
Q

Population

A

A group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time, and which are capable of interbreeding.

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29
Q

Carrying capacity

A

The maximum number if species or “load” that can be sustainably supported by a given area.

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30
Q

Population

A

The study of the factors that cause changes to population size.

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31
Q

Community

A

A group of populations living and interacting with each other in a common habitat.

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32
Q

Ecosystem

A

A community and the physical environment with which it interacts.

33
Q

Respiration

A

The conversion of organic matter into carbon dioxide and water in all living organisms, releasing energy.

Glucose + oxygen = carbon dioxide + water

34
Q

Photosynthesis

A

The conversion of light energy into chemical energy by producers.

Carbon dioxide + water = oxygen + glucose

35
Q

Bioaccumulation

A

The build-up of persistent or non-biodegradable pollutants within an organism or trophic level because they cannot be broken down.

36
Q

Biomagnification

A

The increase in concentration of persistent or non-biodegradable pollutants along a food chain.

37
Q

Productivity

A

The conversion of energy into biomass for a given period of time.

38
Q

Net primary productivity

A

NPP = Gross primary productivity - respiration

39
Q

Gross primary productivity

A

The total energy or biomass assimilated by consumers and is calculated by subtracting the mass of feral loss from the mass of food consumed.

40
Q

Nitrogen fixation

A

When atmospheric nitrogen is made available to plants through the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen.

41
Q

Nitrification

A

To convert ammonium to nitrites.

42
Q

Dentrification

A

Converting ammonium, nitrate and nitrite ions to nitrogen gas which escapes into the atmosphere.

43
Q

Biomes

A

A collection of ecosystems sharing similar climatic conditions.

44
Q

Zonation

A

The change in community along an environmental gradients due to factors such as changes in altitude, latitude tidal level or distance from shore/coverage by water.

45
Q

Succession

A

The process of change overtime in an ecosystem involving pioneer, intermediate and climax communities.

46
Q

Turbidity

A

The cloudiness of a body of water.

47
Q

Species diversity

A

A function of the number of species and their relative abundance. A product of two variable, the number of species (richness) and their relative proportion (evenness).

48
Q

Genetic diversity

A

The range of genetic material present in a gene pool or population of a species.

49
Q

Habitat diversity

A

The range of different habitats per unit area in a particular ecosystem or biome.

50
Q

Speciation

A

The formation of new species when populations of a species become isolated and evolve differently from other populations.

51
Q

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

A

A measure of the amount of dissolved oxygen required to break down the organic material in a given volume of water through aerobic biological activity by microorganisms.

52
Q

Indicator species

A

Plants and animals that show something about the environment by their presence, absence, abundance or scarcity.

53
Q

Biotic species

A

Indirectly measures pollution by assaying the impact on species within the community according to their tolerance, diversity and relative abundance.

54
Q

Translocation

A

Water carrying particles either up or down.

55
Q

Leaching

A

Water transporting nutrients and minerals downwards.

56
Q

Porosity

A

The amount of space between particles.

57
Q

Permeability

A

The ease at which gases and liquids can pass through the soil.

58
Q

Subsistence farming

A

The provision of food by farmers frothier own families or the local community - there is no surplus.

59
Q

Cash cropping

A

Growing crops for the market, not to eat for yourself.

60
Q

Commercial farming

A

Large scale farming- profit making scale - maximising yields per hectare.

61
Q

Primary pollutants

A

Are active directly from emission.

62
Q

Secondary pollutants

A

Formed when primary pollutants undergo a variety of reactions with other chemicals already present in the atmosphere.

63
Q

Tropospheric ozone

A

An example of a secondary pollutant, formed when oxygen molecules react with oxygen atoms that are released from nitrogen dioxide in the presence of sunlight.

64
Q

Energy security

A

The ability to secure affordable. Reliable and sufficient energy supplies for the needs of a particular country.

65
Q

Climate

A

How the atmosphere behaves over a relatively long period of time.

66
Q

Weather

A

The conditions in the atmosphere over a short period of time.

67
Q

GWP

A

The relative measure of how much heat a known mass of a GHG traps over a number of years compared to the same number of years compared to the same mass of carbon dioxide.

68
Q

Mitigation

A

Attempts to reduce the causes of climate change.

69
Q

Adaption

A

Attempts to manage the impact of climate change.

70
Q

Crude birth date

A

The number of births per thousand individuals in a population per year.

71
Q

Crude death rate

A

The number deaths per thousand individuals in a population per year.

72
Q

Natural increase rate

A

The rate of human growth expressed as a percentage change per year.
Natural increase rate = CBR - CDR / 10

73
Q

Doubling time

A

The time in years that it takes for a population to double in size.
Doubling time = 70 / NIR

74
Q

Total fertility rate

A

The average number of children each woman has over her lifetime.

75
Q

Renewable natural capital

A

Can be generated and/or replaced as fast as it is being used.

76
Q

Non-renewable natural capital

A

Is either irreplaceable or only replaced over geological timescales, e.g. fossil fuels, soil and minerals.

77
Q

Carrying capacity

A

The maximum number of a species or “load: that can be sustainably supported by a given area.

78
Q

Ecological footprint

A

The area of land and water required to support a defined human population at a given standard of living.

ESS Definitions (1 decks)

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