APES UNIT ONE

natural capital

natural resources and natural services

natural reasources

natural products you can obtain through an ecosystem (trees, cut, lumber in store)

natural services

functions of that nature (photosynthesis)

• water production

• air purification

• nutrient cycling

• food production

3 types of natural services

regulating services

supporting services

cultural services

regulating services

what benefit humans obtain from an ecosystem

• pollination of plants

• trees preventing erosion of soil and cleaning air and water

• nutrient cycling by bacteria and fungi

supporting services

how animals help themselves to survive

• photosynthesis

• genetic diversity

cultural services

pleasure/ humans mental benefit/ enjoyment from being in nature

• spiritual enrichment

• recreation

• aesthetic

non-renewable resources

exists in limited amounts in the earth’s crust (geological process is 200 yrs.)

• oil and coal

• metallic minerals (copper & iron)

• non metallic minerals (salt)

recycle prolongs their use

renewable resources

replenished quickly (hours-100s of years)

• perpetual, sustainable yield, environmental degradation

• sun, wind, water flows

perpetual reasources

renewed continuously for as long as humans live

• sun

sustainable yield

rate resources can be used without reducing supply

• cutting trees→replanting

environmental degradation

exceed the rate of use over rate of replacement

• cut trees and don’t replant enough

air: natural services

air purification

climate control

UV protection (ozone layer)

water: natural services

water purification

waste treatment

soil: natural services

soil renewal

life (biodiversity): natural services

population control

pest control

land: natural services

food production

nutrient recycling

private property

individual and company owns land and resources

common property

land owned by large groups of people

• US citizens own 1/3 of USA

• ex. national parks

open access renewable resources

land not owned by anyone but everyone uses

• air, underground aquifers, fishing in open ocean

tragedy of the commons

open access renewable resources: “if i don’t use, someone else will” ex. fishing

pollution: “if i only pollute a little bit, it’s no big deal” ex. gum wrapper*population of earth

systems

set components that function or interact in some way

• human body, river, earth

has inputs from the environment, flow, throughputs & energy, and outputs

• eat→body takes in nutrients→poop & heat

feedback

process that increases or decreases change in a system

feedback loops

output as matter, energy, or info fed back into system as input

• human input harmful and input is economic based

negative feedback loop

opposite direction

• like equilibrium for environment

• thermostat example

• corrects things

positive feedback loop

causes a system to change further in the same direction

• output amplified and fed back into system

• global warming

Hubbard-Brook experiment

1963 Dr. Bormann and Dr. Likens compared loss of nutrients and water in soil between in-tact and clear cut forest

• clear cut lost 30-40% more water & 6-8x loss of nutrients than in-tact

• removed vegetation→soil erosion & loss of nutrients→vegetation to die off→more erosion

time delays

may take decades for the effect to be felt between the input into a system and its eventual response

tipping point/ threshold level

when the shift in how the environment behaves becomes apparent

• time delay is over

tipping point examples

population growth

toxic spills

climate change

synergistic interaction/ synergy

two process interact and combined effect greater than each process on their own

• ex. smoking 10x and asbestos 5x= 50x chance of lung cancer

humans ecological footprint

negative impact

• destructions of habitats that clean water (swamps)

• pollution mining, industry, and use of materials

• over-harvesting of fish or trees faster than they can replenish