Unit 2: THE DYNAMICS OF ECOSYSTEMS Flashcards
Cycle of matter
Cycle in which chemical elements are always recycled. None is lost nor gained.
Biogeochemical cycles
Processes to recycle the chemical elements.
Biomass
Amount of matter of an organism, a population, a trophic level or an ecosystem.
Production
Increase of biomass per unit of time.
Productivity
Percentage of energy that enters
the ecosystem in the form of biomass.
Ecological succession
Process of changes in the environment over time
Overpopulation
A condition where the number of the existing human population exceeds the carrying capacity of the earth.
Impact of farming
effect
that different agricultural
practices have on the environment.
Overexploitation
removal of marine living
resources to levels that are too low for
sustaining populations.
Invasive species
Type of organisms that are not native to their ecosystem
Global warming
A consequence of the accumulation of greenhouse that produces greenhouse effect gases.
Ozone layer
layer in the stratosphere that contains high amount of ozone
Acid rain
combination of oxides found in the atmosphere with water which produces acid
Waste management
Schemes to manage and dispose of waste.
