CGR4M Unit 1: Earth's Spheres, Ecosystems, Biodiversity & Stewardship

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, concepts, and diagrams from CGR4M Unit 1.

Lithosphere

The solid outer layer of Earth consisting of the crust, soil, rocks, and landforms such as mountains, riverbeds, and the seafloor, providing nutrients and land for ecosystems.

Hydrosphere

All the water on Earth across various forms, including oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, and atmospheric clouds.

Atmosphere

The layer of gases surrounding Earth that regulates weather and temperature while protecting living organisms.

Biosphere

All living organisms on Earth and the regions where life exists, created through continuous interactions between the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

Sphere Interaction

The continuous movement of energy (such as sunlight and heat) and matter (water, nutrients, and gases) between Earth's lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.

Biotic Factors

The living components of an ecosystem, such as plants, animals, and bacteria.

Abiotic Factors

The non-living physical and chemical components of an ecosystem, including water, soil, sunlight, and temperature.

Primary Succession

Ecological development that begins on bare rock where no soil exists, developing over hundreds of years from pioneer species to a climax community.

Pioneer Species

The first species to colonize bare or barren environments during primary succession, such as lichens breaking down bare rock to create soil.

Ecosystem Renewal

The natural recovery process of an ecosystem after a disturbance (such as fires or floods) that helps restore soil nutrients and promote biodiversity.

Invasive Species

Non-native organisms introduced to an ecosystem that spread rapidly, causing environmental impacts like native species declines and socio-economic harms.

Indicator Species

A species whose presence, absence, or overall health directly reflects the health of its broader ecosystem, such as Monarch butterflies depending on milkweed.

Deforestation

The large-scale removal of forests, which disrupts ecosystem stability, biodiversity, and the carbon cycle.

Biodiversity

The variety of life within an ecosystem, where greater diversity contributes to greater overall ecosystem stability.

Endemic Species

Species native to only one specific geographic location, possessing a limited range and high vulnerability to environmental changes.

Extinct Species

Organisms that have completely died out and no longer exist anywhere on Earth.

Acid Rain

Precipitation made acidic by atmospheric pollutants dissolving in water vapour.

Non-Point Source Pollution

Pollution originating from diffuse, widespread sources that cannot be traced back to a single specific outlet.

Environmental Stewardship

The responsible care, management, and protection of the natural environment and its resources.

Protected Area

A defined land or water zone set aside to conserve natural ecosystems, species, and cultural heritage.

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

Internationally recognized areas that balance ecosystem conservation, sustainable development, and local community involvement in stewardship.

Greenbelt (Ontario)

Protected green space and agricultural land surrounding Toronto and the Niagara Escarpment designed to limit urban sprawl.

International Joint Commission (IJC)

A joint organization established to facilitate Canada–U.S. cooperation in managing shared boundary water resources such as Lake Erie.

Indigenous Knowledge

Traditional ecological knowledge and place-based understandings accumulated over generations by Indigenous Peoples.

Reciprocity

An Indigenous environmental concept emphasizing mutual respect, balance, and give-and-take between human beings and the natural world.

Arctic Sea Ice Decline

The ongoing reduction of multi-year sea ice coverage and thickness in the Arctic, limiting polar bear hunting grounds and seal resting sites.

Arctic Food Chain

A linear feeding sequence in the Arctic where primary producers like algae and diatoms feed copepods, which feed arctic cod, ringed seals, beluga whales, and polar bears.

Arctic Food Web

A complex network of interconnected feeding relationships among organisms in the Arctic marine and coastal environments.

Sea Algae

Microscopic organisms living on and within Arctic sea ice that form the primary food basis for the entire Arctic marine ecosystem.

Canada Climate Regions

Geographic classifications of Canada based on regional climate characteristics, including Arctic, Boreal, West Coast, Prairie, Mountain, and Southeastern regions.

Canada Vegetation Regions

Regional divisions of Canada classified by dominant plant communities, including Tundra, Boreal Forest, Grassland, Parkland, West Coast Forest, Broad-leaved Forest, Mixed Forest, and Cordilleran Vegetation.