AICE Environmental Management

Causes of food security and threats

Causes

• rights, gov.

• sustainable development

• lowered prices

Threats

• increased population

• intensive farming

• climate change

• price setting

• diverting crops for biofuels

• poverty

Energy Security

The reliable availability of energy sources at an affordable price with a consideration of the environmental impacts.

Long: Supply of energy that is in line with economic developments and environmental needs.

Short: System that reacts promptly to sudden changes in the supply-demand balance.

Food Security

When all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

Impacts of waste disposal methods

• contamination of soil, leading to leaching and contamination of ground water

• build up and release of greenhouse gas with explosion danger

• visual + noise pollution + odor

• risk of spread disease

• release toxic substances

• bioaccumulation + biomagnification

• plastics + microplastics in oceans

Energy Insecurity

• fossil fuel depletion

• inequality in global energy resources

• population increases

• differing energy needs of HICs and LICs

• climate change

• supply disruption

Impacts of food insecurity

• regional food scarcity

• nutritional deficiency and malnutrition

• poverty/regional food scarcity

• forced migration

• conflict

• famine

• death

Strategies for managing food security

• selective breeding and GM

• subsistence agriculture

• reduce food waste

• increase production food by intensification or extensification

• lower livestock and increase growing crops

• large-scale food stock pillars

• increase food transport

• ration

• agriculture and hydroponics

• increase productivity (lower competition and pesticides)

• control limiting factors

• FAO

• World food program and aid

• protect pollinating insects

Strategies to reduce impacts of waste disposal

• 3 R’s

• biodegradable plastics

• food waste for animal feed

• composting

• fermentation

• use of waste to generate energy

• education

• financial incentive + legislation

Impacts of energy insecurity

• disrupted electricity supply

• increase $ for energy resources

• increase $ industry

• job lower/economic recession

• increase levels poverty + lower living standards

• reliance on imported sources of energy

• civil disruption and conflict

Strategies for managing energy security

• increase energy efficiency

• increase energy production

• lower reliance on fossil fuels

• invest in renewable resources and carbon neutral fuels

• development of alternative energy tech.

• investment in local energy projects

• rationing

Renewable vs Non-renewable

Renewable

• biofuels

• geothermal energy

• hydroelectric dams

• tidal energy

• wave energy

• solar energy

• wind energy

Non-renewable

• fossil fuels

• nuclear energy

Methods of waste disposal and treatment

• landfill sites

• incineration

• storage

• disposal at sea

• recycling

• exporting waste

Limitations and Benefits of Grid Quadrat

Limit

• must have sufficient knowledge to identify species

• estimation = bias, miscalculation, and unreliable data

Benefit

• more reliable than open quadrat

• easy, quick, cheap

Simpsons Index of Biodiversity

D = 1 - (sum of (n/N)²)

D = Diversity

Sum = sum of total

n = number of individuals of each type present

N = total number of individuals of all types present in the sample

Limitations and Benefits of Capture-mark-recapture

Limits

• trapping/marking could lower survival chance

• marks may not be easy to see next time

• if trapped once, could have lower chance of being trapped due to learned behavior

• live trapping used, traps need checking, so no harm

Benefits

• harm can be kept minimum

• can be carried out in remote locations and exact same sample point can be revisited later

Food chains/webs

• trophic levels: feeding levels in food chain or web

• tertiary consumer - 4th trophic level

• secondary consumer - 3rd trophic level

• primary consumer - 2nd trophic level

• producer - 1st trophic level

• 10% energy pass to next level

Open Frame Quadrat

Plain square with empty space inside used to estimate or for sparse areas.

• Rare, spread out

Point Quadrat

10 pins elevated off the ground, used in tall vegetation areas to measure abundance

• tall grass

Grid Quadrat

• Open frame quadrat divided into smaller squares, used when there is a lot of one species in an area or more precise data than open frame is needed.

• frequency

Quadrats

Usually squares used to study populations of plants or animals in an area

Capture-mark-recapture

Used to determine an estimated population size of an animal of interest

Light Traps

Light source used to attract then collect nocturnal insects for biodiversity or population studies

Sweep nets

Used to collect insects in tall, thick vegetation areas

Kick Sampling

Used to measure species populations in shallow waters

Pitfall Traps

Insects/animals on the ground

Beating Trays

Trees

Goals of Clean Water Act + Safe drinking act

Clean

• support “protection of fish, wildlife, in an on-water wildlife”

• acceptable limits

• EPA + state gov. issue permits to control pollution

Safe

• nat. standards safe drinking water

• max containment levels 77+ elements

Water ownership and conservation future importance

Who owns?

• no one but people claim rights

• FL: Non-navigable waters owned and held in trust for public

Conservation

• necessary for future use

• recycle, shower head, time reduction, etc.

Water Security

The ability to access sufficient quantities of clean water to maintain adequate standards of food and manufacturing of goods, adequate sanitation, and sustainable health care

Distribution of Earths Water

• oceans 96.5%

• freshwater 2.5%

  -68.7% glaciers/ice caps

  -30.1% groundwater

  -1.2% surface

Saltwater to Freshwater

Desalination: process of removing salt from saltwater to obtain drinking/fresh water

Distillation

• water is boiled and resulting steam is captured and condensed to create freshwater

Reverse Osmosis

• water forced through thin semi-permeable membrane @ high pressure, water pass but not salt

3 major problems of wastewater pollution

Decomposers and oxygen demand

• decomposers feed on organic matter

• req. oxygen

• more waste = more decomposers want oxygen

• oxygen down, possible dead zones

Disease-carrying organisms

• pathogens cause numerous diseases after water interaction

• cholera, typhoid fever, e coli, etc.

Eutrophication

• wastewater decomposes leading to N and P release leading to abundance nutrients for producers

• algae on surface block light to producers under leading to death

• decomposers feed on leading to lower oxygen

Strategies for managing water security

• sustainable water extraction and improved supply\

  -piped supply, aquifers, wells, gravity schemes, reservoirs/dams

• reduction in water usage

  -improved irrigation, grow crops less water dependent, recycle + catch

• education

• poverty reduction

• international agreements

  -convention on protection and use of watercourses

• rationing

4 methods of agricultural irrigation

Furrow

• trenches dug along crop rows and fill with water

• +65% available

• 35% runoff/evaporate

Flood

• whole field flooded so water seep into ground

• +70-80% efficient

• some plants may not tolerate

Spray

• water pumped from well and sprayed on like sprinkler

• 75-95% efficient

• expensive + lots of energy

Drip

• slowly dripping hose either laid on ground of buried beneath soil

• up to 90% efficient

• dry soil leads to weed growth discouraged

3 sources of pollution + effect

Heavy metals and chemicals

• ex. lead, arsenic, mercury

• pesticides and insecticides

• cause cancer, CNS problems, other health

Oil pollution

• sticky goo covering organisms

Solid Waste

• trash, sludge, sediment

• lead to leaching toxic chemicals into environment

Explain the causes of water insecurity

• climate change

• natural disasters

• pollution events

• inadequate sanitation

• population growth/changes in land usage

• competing demands from sectors

• mismanagement of irrigation

• international competition over water sources

• inequality of availability between water rich and poor

• differing access to safe drinking water in urban and rural

Major sources of groundwater

Unconfined aquifer

• porous rock

• water flow in and out

Confined aquifer

• impermeable rock

• water cant flow in and out

Groundwater recharge

• water form precipitation percolates soil leading to groundwater

Artesian well

• well made by drilling hole in confined aquifer

Impacts of water insecurity

• reduced crop yield and crop failure

• livestock death

• food shortages, malnutrition and famine

• illness caused by contaminated drinking water, such as diarrhea and cholera

Factors influencing population density and distribution

Environmental

• distribution of food and water

• abiotic conditions

• predators and parasites

• distribution patterns (u, r, c)

Social/cultural

• tradition may demand children

• religious affiliation

• income level

• higher Edu in women = lower birth rate

Economic

• LICs see large family assets for work & support ageing parents

• HICs see smaller because cost of raising children

Political

• governments may attempt to control population for strategic or economic reasons

Historical

• placement of current cities, towns, villages, etc. may be due to past settlement

• cities in same place over time

Dependency Ratio

Measure of the dependent (non-working) portion of the population (age groups 0-14 and 65+) compared to the total independent (working) portion of the population (15-64 years). The ratio is expressed as the number of dependents per 100 people in the workforce.

HICs

• high levels of health due to better health care systems (longer life expectancy)

• clean and safe water

• economy based on manufacturing or processing materials (more affluent)

• couples having less children (BR low)

• more family planning options

Aging population

Rise in median age of a population

• occurs when fertility declines while life expectancy remains constant or increases

Impacts

• lower tax revenues

• higher pension spending

• pressure on healthcare due to high rates of noncommunicable diseases

• pressure to raise retirement age

Phase 2

Rapid population growth because birth rates remain high because death rates decline due to better sanitation, clean drinking water, availability of food and health care

Exponential population growth

• populations grow when BR is greater than DR (natality over mortality)

• if rate is constant over time, the population will exhibit exponential growth

Strategies for managing a changing population

• improved availability/Edu about contraception

• improved Edu/opportunities for women

• improved healthcare

• pronatalist: policies for having kids

• anti-natalist: policies prohibiting kids

• global “think-tanks” like UN Agenda 21, promoting sustainable development

Population

Group of organisms of the same species living in the same place at the same time

Phase 1

Slow population growth because high BR and high DR offset each other

Population density

number of individuals/ land area

Logistics curve

Population growth slows or stops following exponential growth due to a variety of factors

• natality rate less than mortality rate

• emigration exceeds immigration

• other factors, called limiting factors

Phase 4

Declining population growth because the relatively high level of affluence and economic development encourage parents to delay having children

LICs

• low levels of health due to poor healthcare systems (shorter life expectancy)

• shortage of clean water

• economy based on selling raw materials instead of processing materials (less affluent)

• couples having multiple children (BR high)

• few families planning options

Theory of demographic transition

As a country moves from subsistence economy to industrialization and increased affluence, it undergoes predictable shift in population growth

Factors influencing population size and composition

Increase

• natality: birth rate

• immigration: movement of individuals into an area

Decrease

• mortality: death rate

• emigration: movement of individuals out of an area

Dependency Ratio

Relationship between working or economically active population and non-working population

• HIC 50-75

• LIC higher

  (% pop 0-14 + % pop 65+)/% pop 15-64 × 100

• active contribute more to economy, dependent are recipients

• culture and family require young/old to work or not

5 key characteristics to populations

Density

• number of individuals living in a given area

Spatial distribution

• the way individuals are arranged in space (random, clumped, uniform)

Size

• number of Indvidual’s in the population

Age structure

• number of males and females of each age in the population

Growth rate

• determines whether the size of population decreases, increases or stays the same

Development

• improvement in quality of life

• includes wealth, health, expansion of utilities, increased literacy, etc.

• occurs when individual factors making up quality of life improve

Phase 3

Stable population growth as economy and educational system improves; people have fewer children

Describe the world's major terrestrial biomes in terms of their climate, soil type, and vegetation. 

Terrestrial Biome	Climate	Soil Type	Vegetation
Desert	High temp in summer, medium in winter	Poor low layers, higher are absent, mostly sand	Palms and plants, without water biodiversity is limited
Temperate Deciduous Forest	High precipitation in summer, low in winter	Rich, sandy, mollisols	Ferns, grass, purple cane flowers
Tropical Rainforest	High yearly temp, no real seasons, high rain	Oxisols and utisols	Optimal, 68% all known plants, 170,000 species
Temperate Grassland	High deviation, high summer temp and low winter temp, summer high precipitation	Fine, mollisol, loamy	Milloweeds, flowers, clovers
Savanna Grassland	Warm yearly, winter long and dry, wet season medium rain	Low amount, alfisol, utisols and mollisols	Shrubs, canopy trees
Tundra	Low temp, some rain in summer	2 layers, has permafrost	Short, no trees, moss, lichens

Outline the characteristics of primary and secondary succession from pioneer species through intermediate stages to a climax community. 

Primary Succession: 

• Happens slowly 

• Ecological succession (replacement of a group of species by another over time) occurring on surfaces initially devoid of soil  

• Ex. After glacial retreat, cooled lava 

Secondary Succession: 

• Happens faster 

• Occurs in areas that have been disturbed but not lost their soil 

• After a forest fire or hurricane 

Define the terms gross primary productivity and net primary productivity. 

GPP: The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time. (What you make) 

NPP: The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers use to respire. GPP - Respiration by producers (What you take home) 

Define ecosystem productivity as the rate of production of biomass for an ecosystem

Ecosystem Productivity: The rate of production of biomass (total mass of all living matter in an area) for an ecosystem 

Discuss the efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels. 

Ecological Efficiency: Ratio of consumed energy passed from one trophic level to the next 

• Not all energy is usable 

• Some is used in daily activities 

• Lost to heat 

• Remaining could be converted to biomass for use of consumers at next trophic level 

5%-20% efficiency range, typically 10% (Law of 10%) of total biomass at one level converted to energy for next level 

Interpret and draw ecological pyramids based on numbers, biomass, and energy. 

A representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels. 

Define the terms native species and invasive species. 

Native Species: Species that live in their historical range, typically where they have lived for thousands or millions of years. 

Invasive Species: A species that spreads rapidly across large areas. 

Explain the impacts of invasive species on biodiversity.  

Invasive species: 

• Compete for resources with natives 

• Reproduce quickly because of favorable conditions 

• No natural predators 

Impact on biodiversity: 

• Many species are outcompeted and leave few remaining 

• Soil chemistry changes 

• Intensity of wildfires changes 

• Native food sources destroyed or replaced 

Describe and explain the benefits of conserving biodiversity. 

-resources of potential medicines 

-food, wood, fibers, oils, and fuels 

-genetic diversity, which increases biodiversity 

-ecological services 

-decomposition of wastes 

-soil generation and renewal 

- purification of water and air 

-cultural and recreational value 

Describe and evaluate legislation and protocols as methods of conserving biodiversity.

Legislation by governments to protect endangered species and habitats: 

• Protection of species (ex. Endangered Species Act) 

• Regulation of sustainable harvesting (ex. Hunting seasons) 

• Control international trade of threatened species (CITES) 

• Sustainable fishing policies in the EU (European Union Common Fisheries Policy) 

• Sustainable management of tropical wood supplies from tropical rainforests (International Tropical Timber Org.) 

• List of endangered species around world (IUCN Red List) 

Describe and explain the role of the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered species (EDGE) program in the conservation of biodiversity. 

Identifies those organisms that are currently endangered with unique evolutionary histories and seeks to conserve them and educate others about them.  

Identifies 100 of the most endangered organisms from different groups of animals - amphibians, reptiles, etc. 

Describe and evaluate captive breeding and release as a method of conserving biodiversity. 

Aim to breed endangered animals in a controlled environment with plans to release animals into the wild. 

Must control: 

• Genetic diversity 

• Genetic drift 

• Human imprinting 

Describe and evaluate habitat conservation and creation as methods of conserving biodiversity. 

Protecting or creating portions of land to restore habitats for endangered species.  

Examples:  

-nature reserves 

-protection of habitats 

-extracted reserves 

-protected areas/conservation zones 

-national parks 

Describe and explain the impacts of human activity on tropical rainforests. 

-deforestation leading to fragmentation 

-collection of fuel wood and timber 

-expansion of agriculture 

-extraction of minerals 

-hydroelectric and reservoir projects 

-climate change 

-exploitation of individual species 

Describe and evaluate strategies for managing the impacts of human activity on tropical rainforests. 

-legislation and international agreements 

-ex. Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) 

sustainable harvesting 

-debt for nature swaps 

-creation of protected areas 

Describe and explain the impacts of human activity on Antarctica. 

-climate change 

-ozone depletion 

-tourism 

-overfishing 

-future mineral and oil extraction 

-scientific research 

Describe and evaluate strategies for managing the impacts of human activity on Antarctica. 

-legislation and international agreements 

-ex. the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 

-protected area 

-fisheries regulation 

-prohibited activities such as mineral extraction 

-protection from non-native animals or plants 

-waste management 

-tourism control and permits to travel 

 

 

*Sustainability*

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

Biome

A large community of flora and fauna adopted to a specific climate, typically based on annual rainfall and temperature variations (forest, tundra, desert, etc.)

Ecosystem

Particular location on Earth with interacting biotic and abiotic components.

Population

Group of same species living in same area (ex. group of pigs)

Community

Group of interacting populations (ex. group of pigs interacting with ants on grass)

Habitat

Ecological area where individuals live, find food, shelter, etc. (ex. tree, beach)

Niche

Role an individual has in its habitat, such as what it eats, how it interacts,. etc. (ex. in a tree, a bird eating fruit instead of ants)

Photsynthesis

Process by which plants synthesize glucose using CO2, H20 and energy from the sunlight.
-Equation: 6CO2 + 6H20 = C6H1206 + 602
-in chloroplasts containing pigments (chlorophyll) (a and b); absorb red/blue, reflect green/yellow
-Limiting factors: Light intensity (increase until plateau); CO2 Conc. (increase until plateau); Temp (optimum point)

Aerobic Respiration

Process by which chemical reactions in cells break down glucose molecules and release energy, CO2, and water (aka cellular respiration)
-C6H1206 + 602 = 6CO2 + 6H20 + ATP

Decomposers

Fungi and bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystem.

Consumer

Organism incapable of photosynthesis and most obtain energy by consuming other organisms (aka heterotroph)

Producer

Organism that uses the energy of the sun to produce usable forms of energy (aka autotroph)

Trophic Levels

Feeding levels in a food chain or food web.

Continents and Oceans

LICs

Less than $1045; Haiti, Africa; Low health levels, shortage of clean water, high level of emigration, economy based on raw materials (not processed)

MICs

$1046-12695; China, India

HICs

$12696+; USA, Canada, Scotland; High health levels (better healthcare systems), clean and safe water, balance of trade, manufactured/processed materials, usually stable gov.

Requirements

-env. systems must not be damaged beyond ability to repair
-renewable resources cannot be depleted faster than they can regenerate
-non-renewable resources must be used sparingly

Water Cycle Vocab

-condensation = gas to liquid (clouds)
-precipitation NOT STATE CHANGE = water in form of rain, snow, etc.
-interception = water caught and stored by vegetation
-surface runoff = water (from precip.) that flows over land surface
-throughflow = water flowing through soil in natural pipes
-transpiration = process where water is released from leaves
-evaporation = liquid to gas
-infiltration = water soaks into/is absorbed by soil
-groundwater flow = water that infiltrated the ground and eventually flows into larger bodies of water
-evapotranspiration = combined amount of evaporation and transpiration

Water Cycle

-deposition = gas to solid
-melting = solid to liquid
-solidification = liquid to solid
-sublimation = solid to gas

Atmosphere components

-Nitrogen = 78%
-Oxygen = 21%
-Other: Argon, CO2, etc. = 1%

Layers

-Thermosphere = Top, high temp, little air particles (density), northern lights
-Mesosphere = 3rd layer, temp down as altitude up, density down with altitude, coldest + little ozone
-Stratosphere = 2nd layer, temp up as altitude up, density up with altitude, high ozone
-Troposphere = Bottom layer, temp down as altitude up, 99% water vapor + 75% atmospheric gases, weather

Ozone layer is...

Located within the lower stratosphere, 15-35km from Earth's surface

Ozone Layer

-Layer of 3-atom molecules of Oxygen (O3)
-Formed: UV + O2 = O + O; Allows the ozone layer to absorb some UV radiation that would hit Earth's surface
-Formed: O + O2 = O3 (Ozone)

Greenhouse Effect

-Absorption of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases and reradiation of the energy back toward Earth.
-UV (shortwave) passes through atmosphere and is absorbed by Earth's surface
-some energy is re-emitted back into atmosphere as infrared radiation (longwave)
-greenhouse gases (CO2, Methane, nitrous oxides, etc.) absorb some infrared to prevent it from leaving atmosphere

Biotic Compnents

Living factors: Animals, fungi, plants, bacteria