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Question and answer flashcards covering sustainable yield, commons, ecosystem services, ecological footprint and biocapacity, and the tragedy of the commons based on the lecture notes.
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What is sustainable yield and what does it apply to?
The amount of resource that can be harvested without decreasing the future food supply; this concept applies to timber harvesting, freshwater, fish populations, and all crops.
Name three factors that influence sustainable yield.
Rate of regeneration; Impact of extraction; Demand for the resource.
What are 'commons' in the context of sustainability?
Resources that are shared by many people and historically difficult to manage sustainably because they are open to all users; example fisheries.
Give an example of the tragedy of the commons in marine resources.
Overfishing leads to populations crashing; can result in extinction or regulatory limits on harvesting.
What are ecosystem services?
Benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems, categorized into provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services.
Provide examples of provisioning services.
Medicinal plants, biofuels, timber, food, and water.
Provide examples of regulating services.
Air quality regulation, carbon sequestration, natural disaster control, pollution control, water flow regulation, wastewater treatment, erosion prevention, and biological control.
Provide examples of cultural services.
Parks, picnic areas, hot springs, and other non-material recreational and aesthetic benefits.
Provide examples of supporting services.
Photosynthesis, biogeochemical cycles, nutrient cycling in soil and water, and cellular respiration.
What is an ecological footprint?
A standardized measure of an individual's demand on natural capital, contrasted with the planet's capacity to regenerate.
What areas does the ecological footprint track?
Cropland, grazing land, fishing grounds, built-up land, and carbon demand on land.
What is a global hectare (gha)?
A unit of measurement used to quantify the ecological footprint and biocapacity; roughly equal to 10,000 square meters or 2.472 acres.
What is a biocapacity deficit?
When a population's ecological footprint exceeds Earth's biocapacity, leading to environmental degradation and sustainability issues.
What is a biocapacity reserve?
The amount of biocapacity that can be sustainably drawn from Earth's resources without degrading the environment beyond its natural limits.
Who proposed the Tragedy of the Commons and what is its core idea?
Garrett Hardin; shared common resources are depleted when individuals act in their own self interest without coordination.
What are some strategies to regulate actions in the tragedy of the commons?
Laws, privatization, education, and peer or community pressure.
Give examples of common resources considered commons.
Ocean, air, freshwater, game animals, and lands managed by agencies like the Bureau of Land Management or protected areas such as National Parks.