Chapter 7: Humans and Global Change

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering ecological footprints, anthromes, human causes of global change, physical and biological indicators of climate change, and principles of sustainable development.

Ecological footprint

The total area of healthy land and water ecosystems needed to provide the resources an individual or population uses.

The Great Acceleration

The dramatic, exponential surge in human activity and its global impact on the Earth system that began around 1950.

Anthromes

Human-altered biomes; globally significant ecological patterns created by long-term interactions between humans and ecosystems.

Climate change

Measurable long-term changes in averages of temperature, clouds, winds, precipitation, and the frequency of extreme weather events.

Global warming

The observed increase in average global temperatures across Earth's surface and atmosphere.

Ocean acidification

The chemical process where elevated atmospheric $\text{CO}_2$ dissolves into seawater to produce carbonic acid and $\text{H}^+$ ions, lowering pH and depriving calcifying marine organisms of carbonate ions.

Deforestation

The widespread destruction or clearance of forests, which degrades soil quality, disrupts freshwater cycles, and releases stored carbon dioxide.

Monoculture

An agricultural practice that involves planting large expanses of land with a single highly productive crop species year after year.

Habitat fragmentation

The division of continuous natural ecosystems into small, isolated remnants, which drives biodiversity loss and elevates ecosystem vulnerability.

Habitat restoration

The practice of ecological management that actively recreates conditions resembling a previously existing native ecosystem.

Invasive species

Non-native organisms introduced into new habitats—often via international trade or transport—that outcompete native taxa and decrease local biodiversity.

Dreissena polymorpha (Zebra Mussel)

An invasive bivalve native to the Caspian Sea that invaded the Great Lakes; it clogs industrial water intake pipes and consumes immense quantities of plankton needed by native aquatic species.

Harmonia axyridis (Asian Lady Beetle)

An invasive beetle native to China that preys aggressively upon the larvae and eggs of native insects and carries a fungal parasite called microsporidia.

Genus Hypophthalmichthys (Asian Carp)

A group of invasive fish species native to China that overpopulate rivers such as the Mississippi and Illinois, outcompeting native fauna by consuming vast amounts of vegetation and water-filtering mussels.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Industrially manufactured chemical gases that deplete stratospheric ozone, reducing the atmosphere's ability to absorb harmful ultraviolet radiation.

Biological magnification

The tendency of persistent chemical pollutants to accumulate in increasingly higher concentrations at successive trophic levels of a food chain.

Weather

The day-to-day state and short-term atmospheric conditions of the Earth at a specific time and location.

Climate

The long-term average weather conditions of temperature, precipitation, and winds that describe a region over periods of decades or centuries.

Microclimate

Environmental conditions that vary over very small geographical distances within a larger regional climate zone.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

The specialized United Nations scientific body charged with evaluating and presenting scientific findings regarding global climate change.

Sustainable development

Economic and social development that uses environmental resources in ways that safeguard ecosystem services without depleting them for the future.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

A framework comprising 17 interlinked global targets designed to eliminate extreme poverty, preserve planetary systems, and improve human life.

Renewable resource

A biological or physical material that can be naturally replenished or reproduced in reasonable timeframes by a functioning, healthy ecosystem.

Nonrenewable resource

A finite resource formed over geological timescales that cannot be replenished or replaced by natural processes once depleted.

Resilience

The capacity of a biological community or human socioeconomic system to withstand, adapt to, and recover from disturbances and environmental stresses.