WIGR

What is the vertical range of the biosphere approximately?

What is the vertical range of the biosphere approximately?

20k meters

Ozone layer is in….

stratosphere

Highest layer of atmosphere

thermosphere

Layer of atmosphere heated by infared radiation

troposphere

soil layers:

silt, sand concentration

litter, most undecayed

minerals leached out of above layer accumulate here

mixture soil, loam, detritus; topsoil

E, O, B, A

what biomes soil is acidic with little org matter BUT large plant pop

tropical rain forest

List hotspots

Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands, the Philippines, Sundaland, the Atlantic Forest, and the Caribbean

What are hotspots?

a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation

What is an ecotone?

a region of transition between two biological communities

What is gause’s principle?

no two species can exploit the environment in exactly the same way and coexist – one of the species will be excluded

A species with no competitive limitations

fundamental niche

climax community

when an ecosystem reaches its final stage of balanced species development

r-adapted

high reproduction, low survival rates

Ground fires generally kill large and small trees because of the long and high temperature heat pulse generated. They release considerable amounts of ____ from the burned fuels, destroy many small organisms and fungi that live in the _____ and organic layers, consume ___ stored in the litter, and kill ____ in all but deep soil layers. They increase the chance of surface ____ and ____ on slopes, and leave a baked and hardened ____ that may prevent rapid revegetation. Increased surface ___ across the exposed surface may carry away ash and dissolved ____, making conditions even less favorable for ___ growth.

nutrients, humus, seed, roots, flow, erosion, seedbed, runoff, nutrients, plant

mantle

most of earth’s mass contained, iron, magnesium, aluminum, silicon-oxygen compounds, over 1000c, most solid but upper third plasticky

Coral reefs

modern reefs can be nearly 2.5m years old, capture half calcium flowing into ocean yearly (fixing it into calc carb rock quickly). However, they store very little carbon and are not effective sinks

1989 Exxon Valdez crude oil spill

10.8m gallons into Prince William Sound, Alaska. Most of the oil biodegraded and photolyzed. About 14% was recovered, 13% sunk to seafloor, 2% remained on beaches.

RCRA

addresses management of all solid waste, sets standards for wastes and disposal, regulates treatment, storage, transit

what biomes soil is rich in humus and partially decayed leaves

deciduous forest soil

what population is most suddenly vulnerable to changes in abiotic factors

insect larvae

increased global temps have what impact on frost time and organism migration

later in autumn, further north

increase in UV light →

increased human skin cancer rate

troposphere ozone can lead to

eye irritation, lung cancer, bronchitis, headache

NPP

amount of energy plants pass to herbivores

second law of thermodynamics

when energy is changed from one form to another, some useful energy is always degraded into lower quality energy (usually heat).

what is the purpose of smoke stack scrubbers

reduce SO2 and other materials in discharged smoke

what fuel contains the most sulfur

coal

full cost pricing

internal costs of production and marketing plus external costs to. human health and the environment

growth rate formula

(birth rate-death rate)/10

GDP

amount of economic development

what carbon form is most abundant in sea water

HCO3-; bicarbonate

riparian zones

lands that occur along the edges of rivers, streams, lakes, and other water bodie

Samples of atmospheric gases from past eras can most easily be obtained from which of the following sources? (A) Methane gas trapped in oil reserves (B) Different types of sedimentary rock Gases trapped in polar ice caps (D) Tree ring measurements (E) Mud samples from eutrophic lakes organize from most efficient to least efficient

the order from most efficient to least efficient would be: (B) Gases trapped in polar ice caps (D) Tree ring measurements (A) Methane gas trapped in oil reserves (E) Mud samples from eutrophic lakes

Magnesium

trace element necessary for plant growth

Discuss human activities that cause species to become endangered.

Activities include

• Habitat destruction

• Hunting and Poaching

• Introduction of alien species

• Predator and pest control

• Pollution

Describe two reproductive strategy characteristics that make a species prone to extinction.

Reproductive strategy characteristics that make a species prone to extinction are

• fewer offspring

• high parental control

• late reproduction

• large adults

• lower population growth rate

• specialized niche

Describe one point source for the pollution that caused the change in the soil's pH as shown.

Include in the description a fuel that could create the pollution.

Point sources could include

• Electricity generation plants

• Industry sites

• Cars or trucks

• Homes

• The fuels involved would be coal or oil.

Identify one primary and one secondary pollutant that can cause the change in the soil's pH.

Describe the process that causes the change in the pH.

Primary pollutants are either SO, or NO, (saying just "sulfur" or "nitrogen" is not correct, as they do not directly produce the acid reaction) Also, suspended particulate matter can carry acidifying chemicals.

As the fuel is burned, SOx or NOx are produced; these enter the atmosphere and react with water vapor to create sulfuric acid or nitric acid. Farther downwind, these chemicals fall as wet or dry deposition and acidify the soil.

reduction efforts for air pollutant ph soil change

Methods of reducing the air pollutants that are causing the pfi change include
	• Reducing factory emissions of SO, or NO, by using scrubbers to remove chemicals from smoke
	• Using cleaner-burning fuels (natural gas, low-sulfur coal, etc.)
	• Reducing demand for electricity, which lowers production
	• Adding catalytic converters to lower pollution from cars and trucks

Some methods of controlling the beetles without resorting to human-made chemical pesticides are

c)

• Cultivation practices that reduce insect populations-timing plantings to reduce insect populations

• Genetic engineering to make plants pest resistant-plants produce chemicals that kill insects

• Control insect reproduction through sterilized males or hormone control

• Sex attractants— chemicals produced by females (pheromones) that attract males

• Hormones that disrupt the normal development of insects from egg, to larvae, to adult

• Release of an insect's natural predators

benefits of IPM

low cost, reduced pesticide, natural exploits of insect weakness, reduced fertilizers, improved yield, less genetic resistance

downsides of IPM

need expert knowledge, takes time, higher INITIAL costs, gov subsidized pesticide use, long time to train, methods vary by region

economic actions for preserving endangered species

refuges, gene banks, zoos, aquariums

legislation for endangered species

endangered species act, lacey act, CITES; list of 900 non international trade species

LC50 stands for _____ `50. It is a measure of the concentration of a chemical in air or water that causes death in 50% of a group of test animals in a specific time period (usually __ hours for inhalation and __ hours for water toxicity test)

lethal concentration, 4, 96

• ___: The lowest dose at which a chemical has caused death in a test population.

• —-—: The dose at which a chemical has caused death in 100% of a test population.

• —: The dose of a chemical that causes a specific effect, such as changes in behavior or organ damage, in 50% of a test population.

• —-—: The No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level is the highest dose at which there is no observed adverse effect in a test population.

• —-: The No-Observed-Effect Level is the highest dose at which there is no observed effect in a test population.

• ——-: The Probable-Effect-Dose is a dose at which a certain effect is expected to occur in a certain percentage of the population.

• ___: The Therapeutic Dose is the dose of a chemical that causes a therapeutic effect in 50% of a test population.

• ____: The Effective Concentration is the concentration of a chemical in air or water that causes a specific effect, such as death or changes in behavior, in 50% of a test population.
  

LDlo, LD100, ED50, NOAEL, NOEL, POD, TD50, EC50

Which component commonly found in sewage can lead to eutrophication when released into freshwater ecosystems?

Phosphates from detergents and fertilizers can cause eutrophication by promoting excessive algal growth.

Bicultural Restoration

Transformation of local people into proactive, responsible stakeholders who understand and reap value of an ecosystem locally, who participate economically in its function and protection, and who turn into long-term advocates for the ecosystem.

Blackfoot River Valley

A pioneer of community conservation. At their urging, the Conservation helped negotiate legislation and, in 1976, accepted the state's very first conservation easement and now protects 47 miles of the river.

Buffer Zone Concept

Peripheral land used to enhance the protection of areas under management for their biodiversity importance. It may be situated around the periphery of the region or may be a connecting zone within it which links two or more protected areas, therefore increasing their dynamics and conservation productivity.

Community Based Conservation

The object is to incorporate improvement to the lives of local people while conserving areas through the creation of national parks or wildlife refuges

Costa Rica

At one time, the country's landscape looked like a moth-eaten sweater, more holes than forest due to aggressive land clearing for coffee production and cattle raising. At its worst, only 21 percent of the legendary lush jungles remained. Then the government got creative and started providing economic incentives to people and companies that conserved natural resources. Today, tropical forest again covers more than half of the country and fuel an economy principally based on ecotourism.

Debt for Nature Swap

Agreement in which a certain amount of foreign debt is cancelled in exchange for local currency investments that will improve natural resource management or protect certain areas in the debtor country from environmentally harmful development.

Healthy Forests Restoration Act

Allows timber companies to cut down economically valuable medium and large trees in 71% of the country's national forests in exchange for clearing away smaller , more fire prone trees and underbrush without burning the accumulated brush and deadwood that increase the threat of a forest fire.

Life Raft Ecosystems

areas where people live in poverty and rely on ecosystems for resources & services

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

From 2001 to 2005, the MA involved the work of more than 1,360 experts worldwide. Their findings provide a state-of-the-art scientific appraisal of the condition and trends in the world's ecosystems and the services they provide, as well as the scientific basis for action to conserve and use them sustainably.

Reconciliation Ecology

managing for biodiversity in ways that do not decrease human utility of the system, it is a "win-win" situation for both human use and nature biodiversity

Rehabilitation

Turning a degraded ecosystem into a functional or useful ecosystem without trying to restore its original condition.

Replacement

installing another type of ecosystem in place of a degraded ecosystem

Restoration

returning a particular degraded habitat or ecosystem to a condition as similar as possible to its natural state

Roadless Rule

The intent of the 2001 regulation is to provide lasting protection for inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System in the context of multiple-use management by establishing prohibitions on road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvesting on 58.5 million acres of inventoried roadless areas on National Forest System lands.

Slash and Burn Cultivation

Cutting down trees and vegetation in a patch of forest, leaving the cut vegetation on the ground to dry and then burning it. The ashes left provide nutrients to the nutrient poor soils of tropical forests. Plots must be abandoned after a few years due to loss of soil fertility or invasion of surrounding vegetation.

The Nature Conservancy

The organization has pioneered new land preservation techniques such as the conservation easement and debt for nature swaps. It works in more than 30 countries, including all 50 states of the United States, has over one million members, and has protected more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide. It also operates more than 100 marine conservation projects globally.[4] The organization's assets total $5.64 billion as of 2009

Theodore Roosevelt

As president, he created five national parks (doubling the previously existing number); signed the landmark Antiquities Act and used its special provisions to unilaterally create 18 national monuments, including the Grand Canyon; set aside 51 federal bird sanctuaries, four national game refuges, and more than 100 million acres' worth of national forests.

Waangari Maathai

In the 1970s, she founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. In 1986, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, and in 2004, she became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for "her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace".

Wilderness Act

Written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (36,000 km²) of federal land.

Charcoal

Produced by slow heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen. It is usually an impure form of carbon as it contains ash. The resulting soft, brittle, lightweight, black, porous material resembles coal and provides for an even burning cooking or heating fuel.

Clear Cutting

method of timber harvesting in which all tree I a forested area are removed in a singly cutting

Conservation Concession

National authorities or local resource users agree to protect natural ecosystems in exchange for a steady stream of structured compensation from conservationists or other investors. The ultimate objectives include both the long-term protection of biodiversity and the stimulation of economic development, this new mechanism offers a land use alternative that conservationists, development agencies, governments, and local communities alike can support.

Conservation Easement

A power invested in a qualified private land conservation organization (often called a "land trust") or government (municipal, county, state or federal) to constrain, as to a specified land area, the exercise of rights otherwise held by a landowner so as to achieve certain conservation purposes. It is an interest in real property established by agreement between a landowner and land trust or unit of government. It is applicable to both present and future owners of the land.

Crown Fire

ground vegetation and tree tops are burnt in this extremely hot type of forest fire

Deforestation

removal of trees from forested area leaving it treeless

Ecological Restoration

deliberate alteration of degraded habitat or ecosystem to restore as much of its ecological structure and function as possible.

Ecotourism

responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.

Endemic

species found only in one area such that it is highly vulnerable to extinction

Desertification

Conversion of rangeland, rain-fed cropland or irrigated cropland to desert-like land usually caused by overgrazing, soil erosion, prolonged drought or climate change.

Failing State

Common characteristics include a central government so weak or ineffective that it has little practical control over much of its territory; non-provision of public services; widespread corruption and criminality; refugees and involuntary movement of populations; and sharp economic decline.

Forage

search widely for food or previsions

Fuelwood

wood grown or used for heating and cooking or fueling other processes

Kenaf

rapidly growing woody annual plant that like hemp yields more paper pulp per acre than trees and requires less pesticides and herbicides.

Land Trust Groups

A private, nonprofit organization that, as all or part of its mission, actively works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in land or conservation easement acquisition, or by its stewardship of such land or easements

Lianas

Any of various long-stemmed, woody vines that are rooted in the soil at ground level and use trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy to get access to well-lit areas of the forest. Lianas are especially characteristic of tropical moist deciduous forests and rainforests, including temperate rainforests. Lianas can form bridges amidst the forest canopy, providing arboreal animals with paths across the forest.

Old Growth Forests

Stands of forests containing trees athat are often hundreds - sometimes thousands - of years old supporting a rich climax community of biodiversity. These may be virgin or old second growth forests.

Overgrazing

destruction of vegetation when too many grazing animals feed too long and exceed carrying capacity of a rangeland or pasture area

Pastures

managed grassland or enclosed meadow that usually is planted with domesticated grasses or other forage to be grazed by livestock

Prescribed fires

Hazard reduction or controlled burning is conducted during the cooler months to reduce fuel buildup and decrease the likelihood of serious hotter fires. Controlled burning stimulates the germination of some desirable forest trees, thus renewing the forest. Some cones, such as those of Lodgepole Pine and Sequoia, are serotinous, meaning they require heat from fire to open cones to disperse seeds.

Rangelands

land that supplies forage or vegetation (grass and shrubs) for grazing and browsing animals and is not intensively managed

Reintroduction

return of a small number of individuals of a species to a habitat where they were previously eradicated in order to re-establish a sustainable population

Riparian Zone

thin strips and patches of vegetation that surround streams and rivers

Rotational Grazing

A process whereby livestock are strategically moved to fresh pasture areas, to allow vegetation in previously grazed pastures to regenerate. It encourages an even distribution of grazing throughout a paddock, allowing resting periods in between rotations that help maintain the health of forage. This discourages competition from weeds and undesirable plant species that often invade when forage is overgrazed and weakened.

Second Growth Forests

stands of trees resulting from secondary ecological succession following initial logging

Selective Cutting

to encourage the growth of younger trees, intermediate aged, mature and diseased trees will be cut either singly or in small groups from an uneven aged forest stand

Strip Cutting

along the contour of the land narrow corridors of trees will be cut to allow natural regeneration within a few years as a variation of clear cutting

Surface Fire

undergrowth and leaf litter on a forest floor are the only things burnt in this type of forest fire

Tipping Point

threshold level at which can environmental problem causes a fundamental and irreversible shift in the behavior of a system

Tree Plantation or Farm

site planted with one or only a few species of trees in an even aged stand. Upon maturing they are harvested by clear cutting for use as fuel wood, timber or pulp wood

Under grazing

absence of grazing for long periods which can reduce the net primary productivity of grassland vegetation and grass cover

Wilderness

area where the earth and its ecosystems have not been seriously disturbed by humans and where humans are only temporary visitors

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is

a measure of the amount of dissolved oxygen consumed by microorganisms during the decomposition of organic matter in water. It indicates the level of pollution or organic contamination present in a water body.

natural gas releases ___ CO2 than coal

less