Apes Unit One

natural resources

products humans obtain from ecosystems

• lumber

natural services

functions of nature such as water and air purification, nutrient cycling, and food production

things that the forest does that we usually dont think about

regulating services

any benefit obtained from natural processes or functions of an ecosystem

• pollination, trees preventing erosion, nutrient cycling by bacteria and fungi

supporting services

relate to ecosystem functioning which allows for the survival of species and the ecosystem itself

• photosynthesis by plants

• genetic diversity allowing for evolution

cultural services

non material benefits people obtain from ecosystems

• spiritual enrichment, recreation, aesthetic value (going on a walk in nature or bird watching, appreciating nature for what it is)

renewable

can be replenished relatively quickly

water, plants, soil, wind, sun

non renewable

exist in limited amounts of earths crust, they dont disappear but they become very dillute

• copper, oil, coal

perpetual resources

renewed continously expected to last as long as humans

• the sun

sustainable yield

the rate that resources can be used without reducing their supply or causing long term harm to the environment (cutting down a forest and replenishing it after)

environmental degradation

when we exceed our use over the rate of replacement

• using a resource faster than it can replace itself (swordfish example)

private property

when an individual or company own the rights to land and its resources

common property

owned by large groups of people

• national park

open access renewable sources

not owned by anyone used by everyone

• air we breathe, open water

tragedy of the commons

“if I dont use it someone else will” (idea of fishing for tuna and everyone else starts doing it after but then there is no more tuna)

systems

a set of components that function or interact in some way

feedback

increases or decreases change in a system

feedback loops

when output as matter, energy, or information is fed back into a system as input

negative feedback loop

causes the system to change in the opposite direction (thermostat example)

positive feedback loop

causes a system to change further in the same direction (not usually a good thing)

• global warming

Hubbard-Brook experiment

dr borman and dr. likens compared loss of water and nutrients from soil between an intact forest vs a clear cut stream valley

-clear cut loss had 30% times more water loss 6 times nutrient loss

-they then removed vegetation from a stream valley causing soil erosion and loss of nutrients which caused vegetation to die off and so on

time delays

occur in most complex systems

• some times we dont see the delay till much later ( it may take years/decades for the effect to shine through)

tipping point

when a problem isn’t addressed until then and there is a fundamental shift in how the system behaves (like the Hubbard-brook ex. when the vegetation couldn’t be rectified)

• population growth(eventually we wont be able to feed everyone), toxic spills, climate change

ecological footprint

more so negative

• destruction of habitats that clean and filter water (swamps)

• pollution because of mining

• over harvesting fish or trees faster than they can replenish themselves