Ecological Footprints and Sustainability

This set of flashcards covers key concepts related to ecological footprints, sustainability frameworks, and population dynamics, designed to assist students in understanding the intersection of ecology and human impact.

Ecological Footprint

A measure of human demand on natural systems, indicating the area and resources required to produce consumed resources and absorb waste.

Biocapacity

The capacity of a biologically productive area to generate renewable resources and absorb waste.

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

A set of 17 social and environmental goals designed to promote action on sustainability and environmental justice globally.

Planetary Boundaries Model

A framework describing Earth system processes and limits of human disturbance; exceeding these limits increases the risk of abrupt changes.

Doughnut Economics

A model proposing a regenerative and distributive economy meeting human needs within planetary limits.

Circular Economy

An economic model promoting the decoupling of economic activity from finite resource consumption through waste elimination and resource circulation.

Keystone Species

A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment, crucial for ecosystem sustainability.

Trophic Level

The position an organism occupies in a food chain, representing its feeding relationships.

Autotrophs

Organisms that produce their own carbon compounds from inorganic sources through processes like photosynthesis.

Heterotrophs

Organisms that obtain carbon compounds by consuming other organisms.

Primary Productivity

The rate at which biomass is produced by primary producers using an external energy source.

Gross Productivity (GP)

The total gain in biomass by an organism.

Net Productivity (NP)

The amount of biomass remaining after losses due to respiration.

Biogeochemical Cycles

Natural processes that recycle essential elements through the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.

Carbon Sequestration

The process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Nitrogen Fixation

The process by which atmospheric nitrogen is converted into ammonia or related compounds by bacteria.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum size of a population that an environment can sustainably support without long-term degradation.

Density-Dependent Factors

Biological factors (like competition and predation) that affect population size depending on the population density.

Photosynthesis

The process by which autotrophs convert light energy into chemical energy in the form of glucose.

Cell Respiration

The process of breaking down glucose to release energy for cellular processes.

Entropy

A measure of disorder or randomness in a system, which increases as energy is transformed.