sustainability, climate change, ecosystems, and biodiversity Flashcards
Definition of sustainability
the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance
Pillars of sustainability
social, economic, and environmental
Principles of sustainability
the economy, society, and the environment
Natural capital
Resources and ecosystem services that keep humans and other species alive and that support human economies
Definition of environment
the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates
Environmental activism
social movements dedicated to protecting earth’s life and resources
Categories of resources
(inexhaustible, renewable, nonrenewable)
Ecosystems
a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
Regional uses of resources
the resources used in certain regions resource richness.
Human impacts on earth, broadly and how its measured
Humans impact the physical environment in many ways: overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation. Changes like these have triggered climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water. and IPAT equation’ human impact (I) on the environment is a result of multiplicative contributions of population (P), affluence (A) and technology (T).
Environmental worldviews
collective beliefs and values that give people a sense of how the world works, their role in the environment, and right and wrong behaviors toward the environment
The Commons
private ownership, we enclose the commons, making it unavailable to those who do not own it. This limits who can benefit from these renewable resources.
Conservation and preservation
Conservation-: All public lands should be managed wisely and scientifically, primarily to provide resources for people and preservation- Wilderness areas on some public lands should be left untouched so they could be preserved indefinitely.
Scientific method and theory
a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses. and a theory is a well-tested and widely accepted hypothesis.
Systems
any set of components that function and interact in some regular way.
positive and negative feedback loops
feedback loops -Positive feedback loops: cause a system to change further in the same
direction. Negative feedback loops: cause a system to change in the opposite direction.
Climate
Long-term average for patterns of atmospheric conditions
weather
Short-term atmospheric conditions
Types of major weather patterns and natural disasters
El nino, la nina, tornados, and tropical cyclones
green house gases Their impacts and duration in atmosphere
-The warming of the earth via greenhouse gasses (GHGs) that absorb and release heat- naturally occurring , but Humans are emitting more GHGs into the atmosphere, which is causing additional warming leading to climate change
Causes of (human caused) climate changes
- GHG
Climate change - debate or not?
No
Climate change models
*to help project the effects of increasing GHGs on future atmospheric temperatures.
Carbon footprints
-they are the greenhouse gasses (carbon) emitted from industrialism along with use of fossil fuels
Impacts of climate change
- increasing at a accelerated rate On food production- growing, rearing, farming, processing, and shipping all affect the planet
Sea level rises
-the melting of arctic ocean ice and glaciers Oceans expand when they warm, causing sea level rise
Ecosystems and vulnerability
- droughts, floods, loss in biodiversity, and food growth loss
Difficulties addressing climate change
-it is a global issue and it can be slowed but never stopped, impacts are not spread evenly.
Importance of rainforests-
rainforests are the most diverse ecosystems in the world .
Components of earth’s life-support system-
atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and the biosphere
Factors sustaining life on earth
-One-way flow of energy from the sun, Cycling of nutrients through the biosphere, Gravity enabling the above movements
Levels of organization of matter in nature levels of matter:
Organism, Populations, Communities Ecosystems, Biosphere
Aerobic respiration
-consumers convert glucose and oxygen back into water, carbon dioxide, and the energy needed to live.
Photosynthesis
-Carbon dioxide + water + solar energy → glucose + oxygen
Soil horizons-
the layers of mature soils
Soil health and impact of agriculture- if soil doesn’t have a healthy soil layer thn the things that that soil is able to produce is a lot less
Trophic levels
-Level 1: Plants and algae make their own food and are called producers. Level 2: Herbivores eat plants and are called primary consumers. Level 3: Carnivores that eat herbivores are called secondary consumers. Level 4: Carnivores that eat other carnivores are called tertiary consumers.
Net primary productivity-
how much carbon dioxide vegetation takes in during photosynthesis minus how much carbon dioxide the plants release during respiration
Nutrient cycles
- the water cycle, the nitrogen cycle and the carbon cycle
Anthropocene
- the new era that scientists say we are in/ going into.
Different ways to study ecosystems
- through field research and laboratory research
Laws of ecology
-Everything is connected to everything else (interdependence)Everything must go somewhere (there is no “away”), There is no free lunch (everything costs something), and Nature knows best Ground water - the water that seeps into the ground creating water aquifers ex- a well
what are amphibians?
Amphibians are an indicator species
Taxonomic classification
-A group of living organisms with characteristics that distinguish it from other groups of organisms - a species
Determinants of ecosystem diversity
- the physical characteristics of the environment, the diversity of species present, and the interactions that the species have with each other and with the environment
Benefits of biodiversity
- it helps keep the ecosystem balanced with a a lot of different things it doesn’t have so much of an effect of the food web
Niches and related categories of species
the role an organism plays in a community
Natural selection
- how some organisms survive and become altered through natural selection while other die off
Evolution-
the advancement and the changes that a species makes to adapt to and become accustomed to the environment
Speciation
-The creation of new species through natural selection
Extinction
-Occurs when an entire species ceases to exist
Monarch butterflies
dont know
Types of aquatic organisms
Plankton: the producers that make up the base of most aquatic food chains and webs, Nekton: strongly swimming consumers, Benthos: bottom-dwellers, Decomposers: you should know about
Layers in lakes
- the limnetic zone, has animals and fish, the profundal zone which has deep vegetation and silt and mud and in the berothid there are blood worms
Nutrition levels in lakes
-Oligotrophic lake nutrients, have low NPP)Eutrophic lakes: Lakes with a large supply of nutrients, have high NPP Cultural eutrophication: Human inputs of nutrients into a watershed accelerates a lake’s eutrophication.
Stream zones
-the portion of the stream channel that restricts the lateral movement of water.
Benefits of wetlands
-protect from flooding, freshwater, a lot of nutrients, good place for nursery, and act as a sponge
Genetically modified organisms
are things like corn help to change and take out the bad stuff that you don’t want in something and make it better, and also helps grow things faster.
