soil science unit 2

henry david thoreau

believed nature should be available for everyone to learn from and enjoy.

john muir

believed wilderness has an important place in human life and deserves protection.

aldo leopold

the society has to protect nature form any humans

wilderness act (1964)

protects 110 million acres of land (public) across 50 states

wilderness

an area where human control and development do not dominate the landscape

delicate nature

natural systems can be vulnerable to disturbances

robust nature

natural systems can withstand some disturbances

balance of nature

nature is understood as maintaining a kind of balance - fixed and predictable

flux of nature

nature is understood as constantly changing - on going change in the ecological system

naturalistic fallacy

mistake in reasoning (logic) - just because it is natural does not mean it is good

logical fallacy

weakness in reasoning that makes a less reliable argument

motte and bailey fallacy

swaps a bold, controversial claim for a safe, obvious one when they are challenged, and then acts like they never changed their stance

motte

well grounded moderate argument that people retreat to when called out

bailey

overreaching extremist argument that people imply they believe in

planetary boundaries

the limits within human activities and earths environmental systems interact with - environmental limits

provisioning

resources the ecosystems provide (food, wood, water) - What resource do we receive?

supporting

processes required for ecosystems to function (photosynthesis) - What underlying process helps the ecosystem function?

regulating

maintenance of environmental aspects (pollination, disease control) - What environmental condition or process is regulated?

cultural

non-material benefits (well-being) - mental and physical health - What non-material benefit do people receive?

sustainability

A trajectory of strengthening resilience and well-being within ecological limits.

trajectory

the direction of change over time

resilience and well being

the ability of system to withstand disturbances

ecological limits

environmental constraints (need to be considered)

greenwashing

making something sound good, but is actually harmful

valued judgement

People may disagree about what outcomes are desirable or what should be prioritized

multimentional

Sustainability involves more than one dimension of a system or problem.

tradeoffs are unavoidable

Improving one outcome can come at the expense of another.

scale matters

An outcome can look different depending on whether you examine a small area, a watershed, or a larger region.

time horizons differ

A decision that seems beneficial in the short term may have different long-term effects.

hard to measure

Sustainability involves multiple outcomes, which can be difficult to measure using a single indicator.

future is uncertain

Environmental and human systems change, making possible outcomes difficult to predict precisely.

system

a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole that produced a behavior/function

connected components

parts are linked to other parts

interdependence

changes in one part can affect other parts

structure or organization

parts have relationships or an arrangment

dynamic stability

systems can remain relatively stable but also continue to change

context

systems exist within a larger surrounding environment

systems thinking

Environmental and human systems change, making future outcomes difficult to predict precisely.

feedback relationship

changes in one part of a system affect another part - influences the original part or future part

simple systems

cause and effect relationships known, stable, repeatable, and predictable (riding a bike)

complicated system

many parts, needed requirements and understanding - analyzed systematically - knowable system, manipulate it (bikes mechanical design)

complex system

different parts that interact with each other in ways that create new, unexpected behaviors that the individual parts cannot do on their own. (wildfires, community of organisms interacting with its environment)