Environmental Systems and Societies Flashcards

Flashcards of key vocabulary from the lecture notes.

Environmental Value System (EVS)

A particular worldview that shapes the way an individual or group of people perceives and evaluates environmental issues, influenced by religious, economic, and sociopolitical contexts.

Ecocentrism

Nature-centered EVS, sees nature as having an inherent value, involves minimum disturbances of natural processes, combining a spiritual, social and environmental aspects, aiming for sustainability for the whole Earth, involving self-imposed restraint of natural resource use.

Anthropocentrism

People-centered EVS; believes that it is important for everyone in society to participate in environmental decision making; people act as the manager of sustainable global systems.

Technocentrism

Technology-centered EVS; worldview sees technology as providing solutions to environmental problems even when human effects are pushing natural systems beyond their normal boundaries.

Cornucopian

Believe that technological innovation and human ingenuity can solve environmental problems and that there are no inherent limits to growth or resource availability.

Intrinsic Value

A characteristic of a natural system that has an inherent value, irrespective of economic considerations, such as the belief that all life on Earth has a right to exist.

System

An assemblage of parts and the relationships between them, which together constitute an entity or whole.

Open System

A system that exchanges both matter and energy with its surroundings.

Closed System

A system that exchanges only energy but not matter with its surroundings

Isolated System

A system that does not exchange either matter or energy with its surroundings.

Model

A simplified version of a system, shows the flows and storages as well as the structure and workings.

Biosphere

Fragile skin on planet Earth; includes air (atmosphere), rocks (lithosphere), and water (hydrosphere).

First Law of Thermodynamics

States that energy entering a system equals energy leaving, energy can not be created nor destroyed.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

States that energy in systems is gradually transformed into heat energy due to inefficient transfer, thereby increasing disorder.

Entropy

A measure of the amount of disorder, chaos or randomness in the system; the greater the disorder, the higher the level of entropy.

Equilibrium

A state of balance among the components of a system.

Steady-state equilibrium

The condition of an open system in which there are no changes over the long term, but in which there may be oscillations in the very short term.

Stable equilibrium

The tendency of a system to return to a previous equilibrium condition following disturbance.

Feedback

When part of the output from a system returns as an input, so as to affect subsequent outputs.

Positive Feedback

Feedback that increases change; it promotes deviation away from an equilibrium.

Negative feedback

Feedback that tends to counteract any deviation from an equilibrium and promotes stability.

Resilience

Ability of a system to return to initial state after disturbance.

Albedo

The amount of light reflected by a surface.

Tipping points

Ecosystem experiences a shift to a new state (significant changes to its biodiversity and services it provides).

Sustainability

Management of resources that allows full natural replacement of resources exploited and full recovery of ecosystems affected by their extinction and use.

Sustainable development

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

Natural Capital

Natural resources producing a sustainable natural income.

Natural Income

Yield obtained from natural resources

Ecological Footprint

Area of land and water required to sustainably provide all resources at the rate at which they are being consumed by a given population.

Pollution

Addition of a substance to the environment by human activity at a rate greater than which it can be rendered harmless.

Primary pollutants

Active on emission (carbon monoxide).

Secondary pollutants

Formed by primary undergoing phy/chem changes (SO3 -> acid rain).

Point source

Single identifiable source (of pollution), easy to manage.

Non-point source

Numerous widely dispersed origins, (ex. gasses from vehicles), cannot detect.

Acute Pollution

Large amount of pollutant released (a lot of harm).

Chronic Pollution

Long-term release in small amounts: spreads widely, diff to clean up.

Persistent Organic Pollutants

Pesticides resistant to breaking down.

Biodegradable pollutants

Don't persistant in the environment, breaks down easily.

Ecosystems

Made up of organisms and physical environment and the interactions between living/ non-living components within them.

Species

A group of organisms sharing common characteristics that interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

Habitat

Environment in which a species normally lives.

Population

A group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time and are capable of interbreeding

Population density

Average number of individuals in a stated area.

Niche

A particular set of biotic and abiotic factors to which an organism respond to and makes a living towards.

Realized niche

The actual conditions and resources in which a species exist due to biotic interactions

Fundamental niche

Full range of conditions and resources in which a species survive and reproduce.

Biotic factors

Every relationship that organisms have, were they live, and how it alters.

Abiotic factors

How much space, availability of light, water.

Limiting factors

Factors which slow down the growth of a population as it reaches its carrying capacity.

Carrying capacity

Maximum numbers of a species or load that can be sustainably supported by a given area.

Photosynthesis

Process by which green plants make their own food using energy from the sun and CO2 + transformation of energy from one state to another.

Respiration

Conversion of organic matter into CO2 and water in all living organisms, releasing energy.

Compensation point

Where something is not adding biomass or using it to stay alive, simply maintaining itself.

Food chains

Includes producers + consumers.

Producers

Organisms that make their own food.

Autotrophs

Make their own food from the sun.

Chemosynthetic organisms

Make their own food from other simple compounds.

Consumers

Feed of autotrophs or other heterotrophs to obtain energy.

Productivity

The conversion of energy into biomass over a given time and is measured per unit area per unit time -> rate of growth or biomass increase.

Gross productivity

Total amount of productivity.

Net productivity

Amount of productivity left after deductions (respiration).

Primary productivity

To do with plants.

Biomass

Dry mass.

Gross primary productivity (GPP)

Total gain in energy or biomass per unit area per unit time by green plants.

Net primary productivity (NPP)

Total gain in energy of biomass per unit area per unit time by green plants after allowing losses to respiration.

Biome

Collection of ecosystems sharing similar climatic conditions.

Biosphere

Part of the earth inhabited by organisms.

Zonation

Change in community along an environmental gradient due to change in abiotic factors (temperature, altitude, soil type, precipitation, solar insolation, interactions between species).

Succession

Change in species composition in an ecosystem over time.

Primary succession

Occurs on bare inorganic surface.

Secondary succession

When an established community is destroyed (due to fire, flood).

K-Strategists

Species that usually concentrate their reproductive investment in a small number of offspring, thus increasing their survival rate and adapting them for living in long-term climax communities.

R-Strategists

Species that tend to spread their reproductive investment among a large number of offspring so that they are well adapted to colonise new habitats rapidly and make opportunistic use.

Pioneer community

The first stage of an ecological succession that contains hardy species able to withstand difficult conditions.

Climax community

A community of organisms that is more or less stable, and that is in equilibrium with natural environmental conditions such as climate. It is the end point of ecological succesions

Density dependent factors

Limiting factors that are related to population density. They are biotic factors that limit population growth.

Zonation

The arrangement or patterning of plant communities or ecosystems into parallel or sub-parallel bands in response to change, over a distance, in some environmental factor.

Salinity

Concentration of salts expressed in %.

Turbidity

Cloudiness of a body of freshwater.

Genetic diversity

Range of genetic material present in a gene pool and the amount of variation that exists between different individuals within different populations of a species.

Habitat diversity

Range of different habitats per unit area in a particular ecosystem or biome.

Hotspots (Biodiversity)

Region with a high level of biodiversity that is under threat from human activities.

Evolution

The cumulative, gradual change in the genetic characteristics of successive generations of a specific or race of an organism, ultimately giving rise to species or races different from the common ancestor. Evolution reflects changes in the genetic composition of a population over time.

Speciation

Gradual change of species over a long time.

Isolation

The process by which two populations became separated by geographical, behavioral, genetic, or reproductive factors. If gene flow between the two subpopulations is prevented, new species may evolve.

Geographic isolation

Physical barrier leads to populations being seperated and eventually leads to speciation.

Reproductive isolation

Caused by processes that prevent the members of two different species from producing offspring together.

Mass extinctions

Events in which 75% of the species on Earth disappear within a geologically short period, usually between a few hundred thousand to a few million years.

Inertia

Property of an ecosystem to resist change when subjected to destructive force.

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List

Determines conservation status of a species based on criteria.

Keystone species

A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance.

Hydrological Cycle

Transfers: stays in the same state - flooding, surface run off - stream flow/currents. Transformations: changes state - evapotranspiration: liquid to water vapor - condensation: water vapor to liquid.

Continental shelf

Explanation of continents under the seas and oceans (creates shallow water). Light reaches shallow seas so producers can photosynthesize.

Phytoplankton

Single celled organisms that can photosynthesize (produce 99 percent of primary productivity).

Zooplankton

Single-celled animals that eat phytoplankton and their waste.

Fishery

Exists when fish are harvested in some way (capture of wild fish, aquaculture, fish farming).

Aquaculture

Farming of aquatic organisms in both coastal and inland areas involving interventions in the rearing process to enhance production.

Tragedy of the commons

Idea of exploitating a resource that seems to belong to everyone.

Sustainable yield (SY)

Increase in natural capital (natural income that can be exploited each year without depleting the original stock).

Maximum sustainable yield (MSY)

Highest amount that can be taken without permanently depleting the stock.