Human Impact Flashcards
What does Endangered mean?
A species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range
What does extinct mean?
the dying out of a species - no longer exists as a living entity
What is the IUCN Red List?
a critical indicator of the health of the worlds biodiversity, International Union of conservation of nature
What is the SSSI?
Site of Special Scientific Interest, is a formal conservation designation. Usually describes an area that’s of particular interest to science due to rare species of flora or fauna it contains
What does Conserving gene pools mean?
Maintain particular gene pool of a population to avoid dispersal or loss of those alleles which might be present even with low gene frequency
What is agricultural exploitation?
Need to increase efficiency and intensity of food production in order to meet needs of rapidly increasingly human population
What is conservation?
study of the loss of Earth’s biological diversity and the ways this loss can be prevented
what is deforestation?
cutting, clearing, and removal of rainforest or related ecosystems into less bio-diverse ecosystems such as pasture, cropland or plantations
What is Overfishing?
the removal of fish species from a body of water at a rate that the species cannot replenish, resulting in the species becoming underpopulated in that area
What is sustainability?
fulfilling the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations
What is biodiversity?
variety and variability of life on earth. At genetic, species and ecosystem level
What is EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment)?
process of identifying the likely consequences for the biogeographical environment and for mans over all interest with respect to implementation of particular developmental activities and also to find out alternatives of developmental proposal
What are fishing quotas?
an allocation to an individual (person or legal entity) of a privilege/right to harvest a certain amount of fish in a certain period of time
What are planetary boundaries?
thresholds within which humanity can survive, develop and thrive for generations to come
How many planetary boundaries are there? Name them
9, climate change, biosphere integrity, land system change, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows, ocean acidification, atmospheric aerosol pollution, stratospheric ozone depletion, and release of novel chemicals
What are novel entities?
things created and introduced into the environment by human beings that could have disruptive effects on the earth system
what is the ozone layer?
a highly reactive gas composed of 3 oxygen atoms. Both natural and man-made product that occurs in the Earth’s upper atmosphere at lower atmosphere can have positive and negative effects
What are aerosols?
airborne particulate matter of microbial, plant, or animal origin
what is chemical pollution?
the contamination of our environment with chemicals that are not found there naturally
what are biofuels?
any fuel derived from biomass (plant/algae material or animal waste)
what is desalination?
removal of excess salt and other minerals from water in order to obtain fresh water suitable for animal consumption or irrigation
What is eutrophication?
Harmful algal blooms, dead zones, and fish kills are a result of eutrophication occurs when the environment becomes enriched with nutrients, increasing the amount of plant algae growth to estruaries and coastal waters
What are some of the human activities that have put individual species and even whole ecosystems at risk?
Deforestation, Overfishing, Agricultural Exploitastion (use of fertilisers/pesticides
What caused the Dodo to become extinct?
over-harvesting of the birds, combined with habitat loss and a losing competition with newly introduced animals
What is causing the decline in Snow Leopards?
only between 4,080, and 6,590 left. Threats are hunting, habitat loss, retaliatory killings as a result of human-wildlife conflict, poaching and climate change
Why is the Atlantic Halibut at risk of extinction?
late sexual maturity age slows the growth of species when fished, overexploited.
Why is the small copper butterfly at risk of extinction?
main threat is climate change, dry summers stops caterpillars feeding and drys out food sources.
why is the venus fly trap at risk of extinction?
greatestthreat is poachers, habitat destruction and fire supression
who assesses how endagered a species is?
IUCN - International Union of Conservation of Nature
when does a species become categorised as endangered?
when its population has declined 70%and the cause of decline is known
What are the 6 main reasons species are becoming endangered?
habitat loss, over exploitation, invasive species, climate change, nitrogen pollution, natural disaster
How can habitats be protected at a local level?
use non-toxic, nature based products for household cleaning, lawn and garden care
How can habitats be protected at a national level?
adopting critical area overlays, wetland and floodplain ordinances, agricultural protection zoning, urban growth boundaries
How can habitats be protected at a global level?
governments working together to implement the same rules
What are gene banks?
places where seeds and cuttings are stored for preservation and conservation purposes.
How are gene banks implemented?
when a new variety of crop is needed that is resistant or can tolerate changing climate or environment
What role can education and ecotourism play in conservation?
raising awareness of sustainable forest development, motivating people to conserve forests, teaching importance of conserving biodiversity
What are the reasons for conservation?
to repair some of the damage done by humans and maintain the environment for future generations. Maintain species diversity. Provide opportunities for education and enjoyment of the environment
Why is an increasing amount of land being used for intensive agriculture?
to supply to the demand of the people
What changes have occurred since WWII as agricultural practices have intensified?
herbicides and fertiliser caused higher yields intensifying crop produced and amount of land used
What is monoculture?
the growing of a single crop using the majority or whole of the land.
what negative effects can monoculture have on the environment?
destroys soil nutrients, results in use of harmful chemicals, pollute ground water supplies, alters natural ecosystem, requires lots of water to irrigate, uses lots of fossil fuel energy
What is the climate change boundary?
1 of 2 core boundaries. has already been crossed. Sea level rise of 7m predicted by 2100. Kyoto protocol 1997 was first agreement to address global warming. biofuel has developed to reduce reliance on fossil fuels
how are biofuels made?
by anaerobic digestion of animal waste, domestic waste, plants or industrial waste
What is the international energy agency target of world’s transport to be biofuels?
25%
How much do biofuel production reduce greenhouse gas emission by?
60-90%
What is the ‘food versus fuel’ debate regarding biofuels?
land used for food has been turned over to crop production for biofuels, so people have less food to eat or export. These crops also usually grown in monoculture
What are some of the problems with biofuels?
to be sustainable relies on sustainable planting and efficient technical systems
deforestation
reduction in water availability
produce more nitrous oxide (greenhouse gas) than fossil fuels
What does deforestation cause?
soil erosion and biodiversity loss
why is there a reduction in water availability?
biofuels require a large volume of irrigation water
What is the most common biofuel?
Bioethanol
What % of bioethanol used in cars?
15% bioethanol and 85% normal fuel mix
What are the 4 stages of bioethanol production?
Plants crushed releasing starch which is digested by carbohydrates
resulting sucrose is changed into glucose and fructose
glucose and fructose is anaerobically fermented to ethanol by yeast
mixture is heated by burning the tough plant waste (bagasse) giving pure ethanol
What is biodiesel made from?
generally veg oils like soya, which has long chain fatty acid content
Why are fatty acids are reacted with alcohols in bioofuels?
to produce methyl linoleate (a biodiesel)
What is biogas composed of?
60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide
How is biogas made?
Anaerobic digestion of livestock, crop or domestic waste
What digests the raw materials in biogas?
amylases, proteases and lipases
What does Acetogenesis make?
short chain fatty acids like ethanoic acid. CO and H2 gases are made
What does Methanogenesis do?
converts the products of acetogenesis into methane
What is the biosphere integrity boundary?
2nd core boundary, stable ecosystems complete mineral, nutrient and gas recycling, upon which other ecosystems depend
How has human impact disrupted important ecosystems?
habitat change of tundra, coral reefs and coastal areas
What is the current projected extinction rate of marine species by 2100?
50%
What is causing this extinction of marine species?
pollution from non-biodegradable plastics, oil, sewage, acids, pesticides and fertilisers into oceans
What is the Land-system change boundary?
any dramatic land-change done by humans, misuse of land that results in too little food being produced
What has caused the deforestation for land-change?
agriculture and urbanisation
What would reduce land use?
Global reduction in meat consumption, + balance between food crop use and biofuel use
What is the biogeochemical flows boundary?
cycling of finite materials, Carbon, Sulphur, Phosphorous, Nitrogen
What has caused the boundary for phosphorous and nitrogen cycles to be crossed?
agricultural fertilisers
stratospheric ozone boundary - where is most of the ozone layer located?
90% of the world’s ozone is a layer 50km up
What is the normal relationship between ozone and oxygen in the atmoshphere?
They are usually at equilibrium
What rays does ozone absorb from the sun and what can they cause?
UVB rays (type of ultraviolet ray) they can cause DNA mutations and cancer
What did Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) do to the ozone which was bad?
release chlorine as free radicals which break down the ozone, would stop ozone absorbing harmful UVB
Where were CFCs released from?
aerosols and fridge coolants
When were CFCs banned?
1978
WHat is now happening to the ozone layer?
it is re-building and the planetary boundary is replenishing
What has the PH of the ocean changed to in what time scale? (ocean acidification)
17th century Ph of ocean was 8.16 today Ph is 8.03
What % increase in concentration of H+ is this? (ph 8.16 to 8.03)
30%
How are protons formed in ocean acidification?
carbon dioxide and water become carbonic acid which dissociates into protons and hydrogen catbonate ions-draw, hydrogen carbonate ions dissociate into more protons and hydrogen carbonate ions-draw
How are fish affected by protons/low ph?
fish gills are damaged, enzymes are altered by ph. Low ph leaches calcium carbonate out of shells/exoskeletons and they go soft
What is required to stop ocean acidification?
reduction in fossil fuels
What % of the worlds water is freshwater?
about 2.5%
What are the problems with this fresh water?
Most is frozen in Antarctica, other issues are the water may not be potable and is contaminated by sand/dust/acids/soil/salts
What does decreasing fresh water availability cause?
12% global population no access to safe drinking water
water shortages damages sanitation, health and food production
What has eutrophication caused in freshwater?
allowed cyanobacteria growth which releases a neurotoxin harmful to bids and animals including humans
How is provision of freshwater increased?
water conservation
water efficiency
wastewater reclamation
urban runoff and storm water capture
drip irrigation systems
desalination
What are the methods for desalination?
Solar stills (heat from sun)
Reverse osmosis
How does reverse osmosis work?
seawater separated from freshwater through a selectively perm,eable membrane, pressure is applied and the water is driven from the seawater side to the freshwater side across the membrane, this requires high energy from power stations
What are atmospheric aerosols produced by?
digging, quarrying and combustion of fossil fuels
What do atmospheric aerosols cause?
asthma attacks, lung disease and breathing problems, cancer, linked to cardiovascular disease
What do sulphates do?
reflect light causing global dimming
What does soot do?
absorbs light and re-radiates as heat contibuting to global warming
