Introduction to Environmental Management Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and definitions from Chapter 1: Introduction to Environmental Management.

Environment

The surroundings or habitat in which an organism lives.

Species

A group of living organisms made up of individuals that can produce fertile offspring when they reproduce.

Carrying capacity

The number of a species which a region can support without environmental degradation.

Environmental management

The management of the impact of human activity on the natural environment.

Continents

The main continuous expanses of land found on Earth, consisting of Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania, and Antarctica.

Low-income countries (LICs)

Countries that have the weakest economies and are least developed, determined by a low gross national income (GNI) per capita of US$1086$ or less.

Gross national income (GNI)

The total amount of money earned by a nation's people and businesses, used to measure a nation's wealth.

Middle-income countries (MICs)

Countries that have started to develop, with growing industry and GNI per capita increasing to more than US$1086$ but less than US$13205$.

High-income countries (HICs)

Countries that have strong, well-developed economies and a good standard of living, where the GNI per capita is more than US$13205$.

Sustainability

The ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Ecosystem

A biological community of organisms interacting with each other and the physical environment.

Pollution

The presence or introduction into the environment of a substance which is harmful or has poisonous effects.

Biodiversity

The number of different living organisms found within an ecosystem or region.

Water cycle

The process in which water moves from the sea, into the atmosphere, onto and into land and back into the sea.

Open system

A system in which material can either be lost or gained.

Closed system

A system in which material is neither being created or lost.

Evaporation

The process by which liquid turns to gas.

Precipitation

Water that falls to the ground as rain, snow, hail and sleet.

Transpiration

Water lost through the leaves of plants.

Humidity

The percentage of water vapour in the air.

Condensation

The process by which a gas changes into a liquid due to cooling.

Interception

The blocking of rainfall by vegetation, preventing it from reaching the ground.

Through-fall

Rain that falls through the leaves and branches of plants.

Stem-flow

Rainfall that reaches the ground in a forest by draining down the trunks of plants.

Runoff

The draining away of water as overland flow.

Infiltration

The movement of water into the soil from the surface.

Through-flow

The lateral transfer of water downslope through the soil.

Groundwater

The water found underground in cracks and spaces in the soil, sand and rocks.

Groundwater flow

Water which flows under the ground until it reaches the surface, often through boreholes or wells.

Aquifer

An underground layer of permeable rock in which water is stored in the rock pores.

Abstraction

The process of taking water from a groundwater source.

Atmosphere

The envelope of gases, vapour and dust that surround Earth.

Variable gases

Gases whose concentration can differ either spatially or over time, such as water vapour and carbon dioxide ($CO_2$).

Troposphere

The lowest zone of the atmosphere that extends from Earth surface to a height of approximately $10\,km$.

Stratosphere

The zone of the atmosphere above the troposphere where the ozone layer is located.

Ozone layer

A layer of the stratosphere rich in ozone ($O_3$) molecules, which absorb much of the incoming UV radiation.

Mesosphere

The zone of the atmosphere above the stratosphere, characterised by strong east to west winds and where most meteors burn up.

Thermosphere

The fourth layer of the atmosphere where temperature increases with altitude, reaching up to $2000\,^\circ C$.

Phytoplankton

Algae found in the upper parts of the ocean that photosynthesise, capturing energy from the sun to live and grow.

Natural greenhouse effect

The warming of the atmosphere by gases found naturally in the atmosphere trapping heat from the sun.

Greenhouse gases

Gases in the atmosphere that absorb infrared radiation.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Nontoxic, nonflammable chemicals containing carbon, chlorine, and fluorine, used in the manufacture of aerosol sprays, foams, packing materials, solvents, and refrigerants.

Enhanced greenhouse effect

An increase in the warming of the atmosphere, over and above the natural greenhouse effect, through gases produced by human activities.

Biosphere

The life-supporting zones of Earth where living organisms can survive.

Hydrosphere

All the water on Earth's surface, including lakes, seas, groundwater, and atmospheric water such as clouds.

Lithosphere

The rigid outer layer of Earth.

Biomes

Large-scale ecosystems that are typically defined by climate and the dominant vegetation type.

Biotic

Living organisms (such as plants, animals, insects, and micro-organisms) and their interactions in an ecosystem.

Abiotic

Non-living physical elements (such as climate, soil type, temperature, oxygen, salinity, light, and pH) that influence the structure of an ecosystem.

Population

A group of organisms of the same species living within an ecosystem.

Community

The different populations that live together in an ecosystem.

Habitat

The place that an organism makes its home, meeting all the environmental conditions it needs for survival.

Competition

The relationships between organisms that need the same resource in the same space.

Ecological niche

The role and position that a species fills in an ecosystem, including the conditions and feeding needs necessary for its survival.

Intra-specific competition

Competition between individuals of the same species.

Inter-specific competition

Competition between individuals of different species.

Food chain

The feeding sequence of organisms indicating the flow of energy as one species is consumed by the next, from the primary producer through to the apex predator.

Trophic level

A group of organisms within an ecosystem which fill the same level within a food chain.

Primary producer

The organism within a food chain that produces its own food source through photosynthesis.

Consumer

An organism that cannot produce its own food, and must eat other organisms in order to obtain nutrients.

Herbivore

An organism that only eats plants, also known as a primary consumer.

Omnivore

An organism that eats both meat and plants, also known as a secondary consumer.

Carnivore

An organism that only eats meat, also known as a tertiary consumer.

Decomposer

An organism that breaks down dead plant and animal organic material.

Limiting factor

Anything that may slow population growth, or constrain population size.

Food web

The connection of all the individual food chains within a community.

Biomass

The total quantity or weight of organic material in an ecosystem, or plant material used as an energy source.

Hydrophilic

A water-loving material which attracts water, and is capable of holding onto it.

Mucus

A slimy, sticky substance that coats, protects and moistens the surface it covers.

Hibernation

A period of time when a plant or animal remains in a dormant or inactive state resembling sleep.

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants synthesise glucose using carbon dioxide, water and energy from sunlight, expressed as $CO_2 + H_2O \rightarrow C_6H_{12}O_6 + O_2$.

Aerobic respiration

The chemical reactions in cells that break down glucose molecules and release energy, carbon dioxide and water, expressed as $C_6H_{12}O_6 + O_2 \rightarrow CO_2 + H_2O$.

Chlorophyll

Green pigment in the leaves of all green plants, which is responsible for the absorption of light to provide energy for photosynthesis.

Carbon cycle

The flow of carbon between various carbon stores.

Combustion

The burning of an item, e.g. the burning of fossil fuels to use their energy.

Carbon stores

Carbon stored in carbon sinks, as organic material in organisms, soil, fossil fuels and the oceans.

Carbon sink

Anything that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases.

Carbon source

A carbon store that releases more carbon than it stores.

Fossilisation

The process through which organic material is replaced with mineral substances in the remains of an organism over time.

Cryosphere

Parts of Earth's surface that are made up of ice, including ice, snow, glaciers, ice sheets and areas of permafrost.

Pedosphere

The outermost layer of Earth that is made up of soils.

Range

The difference between the upper and lower limits on a particular scale.