chapter 1 - introduction to environmental management

What is environmental management?

The study and management of the impacts of human activity on the environment, aiming to protect natural systems and use resources sustainably.

What are the seven continents?

Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Oceania.

What are the five major oceans?

Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean and Southern Ocean.

What does LIC stand for?

Low Income Economy.

What does MIC stand for?

Middle Income Economy.

What does HIC stand for?

High Income Economy.

How does the World Bank classify countries in the AS Environmental Management syllabus?

Into low income economies LICs, middle income economies MICs and high income economies HICs.

What is sustainability?

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

Why is sustainable management of resources necessary?

Resources are finite or may be replenished slowly, while human demand can be high, so resources must be managed to prevent depletion and ensure availability for future generations.

What is a resource?

Something from the environment that humans can use to meet their needs.

What is sustainable resource management?

Managing resources so that they can continue to provide benefits without being depleted or causing unacceptable environmental damage.

What is the water cycle?

The continuous movement of water between the atmosphere, land, oceans and living organisms.

What is evaporation?

The change of liquid water into water vapour caused by energy, mainly from the Sun.

What is transpiration?

The loss of water vapour from plants, mainly through stomata in their leaves.

What is evapotranspiration?

The combined loss of water through evaporation from surfaces and transpiration from vegetation.

What is condensation?

The change of water vapour into liquid water when air cools sufficiently.

What is precipitation?

Water falling from the atmosphere to Earth's surface as rain, snow, sleet or hail.

What is interception?

The capture of precipitation by vegetation or other surfaces before it reaches the ground.

What happens to intercepted water?

Some may evaporate directly back into the atmosphere, while some reaches the ground as throughfall or flows down plant stems as stemflow.

What is infiltration?

The movement of water from the ground surface into the soil.

What is surface run-off?

Water flowing over the land surface when precipitation reaches the ground faster than it can infiltrate or when the ground is saturated.

What is through-flow?

The sideways movement of water through the soil towards a river, lake or other body of water.

What is groundwater flow?

The movement of water through saturated rock or sediment below the water table.

What is the general sequence of the water cycle?

Water evaporates or is transpired into the atmosphere, condenses into clouds, falls as precipitation, then may be intercepted, infiltrate into soil, move as through-flow or groundwater flow, or travel as surface run-off before eventually returning to water bodies and evaporating again.

How does vegetation affect the water cycle?

Vegetation intercepts precipitation, increases infiltration, encourages water storage in soils and plants, and returns water to the atmosphere through transpiration.

How can urbanisation affect the water cycle?

Impermeable surfaces reduce infiltration and increase surface run-off, potentially increasing the risk of flooding.

What are the major components of Earth's atmosphere?

Nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon and water vapour.

What is the most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere?

Nitrogen.

What is the second most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere?

Oxygen.

What are the four primary layers of the atmosphere?

Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere.

What is the troposphere?

The lowest atmospheric layer, where most weather occurs and where humans live.

What is the stratosphere?

The atmospheric layer above the troposphere containing the ozone layer.

What is the mesosphere?

The atmospheric layer above the stratosphere.

What is the thermosphere?

The outermost of the four primary atmospheric layers, above the mesosphere.

Where is the ozone layer located?

Within the stratosphere.

What is the ozone layer?

A region of the stratosphere containing relatively high concentrations of ozone O3 that absorbs much of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation.

What is the role of the ozone layer?

It absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, reducing the amount reaching Earth's surface and protecting living organisms.

What is ultraviolet radiation?

Shortwave electromagnetic radiation from the Sun.

What is infrared radiation?

Longwave radiation emitted by Earth's surface after it has absorbed energy from incoming solar radiation.

What is the natural greenhouse effect?

The natural process in which greenhouse gases absorb some outgoing infrared radiation and re-radiate energy, helping maintain Earth's temperature.

Why is the natural greenhouse effect important?

Without it, Earth would be much colder and less suitable for life.

How does the natural greenhouse effect work?

Shortwave solar radiation passes through the atmosphere and is absorbed by Earth's surface. The surface emits some energy as longwave infrared radiation. Greenhouse gases absorb some of this infrared radiation, preventing all of it from escaping directly into space.

What is a greenhouse gas?

A gas that absorbs and re-emits infrared radiation, contributing to the greenhouse effect.

What are the main greenhouse gases relevant to this topic?

Carbon dioxide, water vapour and other greenhouse gases such as methane.

What is a biome?

A large-scale ecosystem characterised by particular climate conditions and associated vegetation and organisms.

What is an ecosystem?

A community of organisms interacting with each other and with the non-living components of their environment.

What is a population?

All individuals of the same species living in a particular area at the same time.

What is a community?

All the populations of different species living and interacting in a particular area.

What is a habitat?

The place or type of environment where an organism normally lives.

What is a niche?

The role of a species within an ecosystem, including how it uses resources and interacts with other organisms and its environment.

What is a biotic factor?

A living component of an ecosystem that can affect organisms, such as competition, predation or grazing.

What is an abiotic factor?

A non-living physical or chemical component of an ecosystem, such as temperature, water, light, pH or salinity.

What are the main biotic components of an ecosystem?

Producers, consumers and decomposers.

What are producers?

Organisms that make their own organic food, usually through photosynthesis.

What are consumers?

Organisms that obtain energy and nutrients by feeding on other organisms.

What is a primary consumer?

An organism that feeds directly on producers.

What is a secondary consumer?

An organism that feeds on primary consumers.

What is a tertiary consumer?

An organism that feeds on secondary consumers.

What are decomposers?

Organisms that break down dead organisms and waste material, releasing nutrients back into the environment.

What are the main abiotic factors listed in the syllabus?

Temperature, humidity, water, oxygen, salinity, light and pH.

How can temperature affect organisms in an ecosystem?

It affects enzyme activity, metabolic rate, growth, reproduction and survival, so changes in temperature can alter population size and distribution.

How can water availability affect organisms?

Organisms require water for metabolic processes, growth and reproduction, so limited water can restrict survival and distribution.

How can light affect organisms?

Light provides energy for photosynthesis and influences plant growth, while also affecting the behaviour and distribution of some animals.

How can pH affect organisms?

Organisms often have a limited tolerance to pH, so unsuitable pH can interfere with physiological processes and reduce survival.

How can salinity affect organisms?

Organisms adapted to particular salt concentrations may be unable to maintain water balance when salinity changes significantly.

How can humidity affect organisms?

Humidity influences water loss, particularly through evaporation and transpiration, and can therefore affect organisms' ability to maintain water balance.

How can oxygen availability affect organisms?

Oxygen is required for aerobic respiration, so low oxygen availability can limit the survival and activity of aerobic organisms.

How do biotic factors affect the number of organisms in an ecosystem?

Interactions such as competition, grazing and predation can increase or decrease population sizes and therefore influence the distribution and diversity of organisms.

What is competition?

An interaction in which organisms require the same limited resource.

What is interspecific competition?

Competition between individuals of different species.

What is intraspecific competition?

Competition between individuals of the same species.

What is grazing?

An interaction in which an animal feeds on plants or algae.

What is predation?

An interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and consumes another organism, the prey.

How can competition affect population size?

If resources are limited, competition can reduce access to food, water, space or mates, limiting growth, survival and reproduction.

How can predation affect prey populations?

Increasing predation can reduce prey numbers, while reduced predation may allow prey populations to increase.

How can grazing affect plant populations?

Heavy grazing can reduce plant biomass and population size, although moderate grazing can sometimes influence competition between plant species.

What is photosynthesis?

The process by which plants synthesise glucose from carbon dioxide and water using energy from sunlight.

What is the word equation for photosynthesis?

Carbon dioxide + water → glucose + oxygen.

What is the chemical equation for photosynthesis?

6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2.

What is the role of chlorophyll in photosynthesis?

Chlorophyll absorbs light energy, which provides the energy needed for photosynthesis.

What three factors are limiting factors for photosynthesis in this syllabus?

Water availability, carbon dioxide concentration and light availability.

What is a limiting factor?

A factor that restricts the rate of a process when it is in shortest supply or at an unsuitable level.

How does light intensity affect photosynthesis?

Increasing light intensity generally increases the rate of photosynthesis until another factor becomes limiting.

How does carbon dioxide concentration affect photosynthesis?

Increasing carbon dioxide concentration can increase the rate of photosynthesis until another factor becomes limiting.

How does water availability affect photosynthesis?

A lack of water can reduce the rate of photosynthesis because water is a reactant and water stress can cause stomata to close, reducing carbon dioxide uptake.

Why is photosynthesis important to the carbon cycle?

It removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores carbon in organic compounds such as glucose and plant biomass.

How does ocean photosynthesis affect atmospheric carbon dioxide?

Photosynthetic organisms such as phytoplankton remove carbon dioxide from the water, contributing to carbon storage in marine ecosystems and influencing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

What is a carbon store?

A reservoir in which carbon is held for a period of time, such as vegetation, soil, oceans or fossil fuels.

What is a food chain?

A sequence showing the transfer of energy and matter between organisms as one organism feeds on another.

What is a food web?

A network of interconnected food chains showing multiple feeding relationships within an ecosystem.

What is a trophic level?

A feeding level within a food chain or food web.

What is the first trophic level?

Producers.

What is the second trophic level?

Primary consumers.

What is the third trophic level?

Secondary consumers.

What is the fourth trophic level?

Tertiary consumers.

How does energy enter most ecosystems?

As light energy from the Sun, which is captured by producers through photosynthesis.

How is energy transferred through a food chain?

Energy is transferred when organisms consume other organisms, beginning with producers.

Why does energy decrease between trophic levels?

Energy is lost through respiration, movement, maintaining body temperature and other life processes, as well as through waste and uneaten material.

How is energy lost through respiration?

Organisms release energy from glucose during respiration, and much of this energy is dissipated as heat rather than transferred to the next trophic level.

How is energy lost through waste products?

Not all biomass is digested or absorbed, so energy remains in faeces, urine and other waste and is unavailable to the next trophic level.