AP Environmental Science

Fracking

hydraulic fracturing, a method of oil and gas extraction that uses high-pressure fluids to force open cracks in rocks deep underground.

Environment

The sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life.

Environmental Science

The field of study that looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature.

System

Any set of interacting components that influence one another by exchanging energy or materials.

Ecosystem

A particular location on Earth with interacting biotic and abiotic components.

Biotic

Living.

Abiotic

Nonliving.

Environmentalist

A person who participates in environmentalism, a social movement that seeks to protect the environment through lobbying, activism, and education.

Environmental studies

The field of study that includes environmental science and additional subjects such as environmental policy, economics, literature, and ethics.

Ecosystem Services

The processes by which life-supporting resources such as clean water, timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops are produced.

Environmental indicator

An indicator that describes the current state of an environmental system.

Sustainability

Living on Earth in a way that allows humans to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources.

Biodiversity

The diversity of life forms in an environment.

Speciation

The evolution of new species.

Background extinction rate

The average rate at which species become extinct over the long term.

Greenhouse gasses

Gases in Earth's atmosphere that trap heat near the surface.

Anthropogenic

Derived from human activities.

Development

Improvement in human well-being through economic advancement.

Sustainable Development

Development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations.

Biophilia

Love of life.

Ecological footprint

A measure of how much an individual consumes expressed in an area of land.

Terrestrial Biome

A geographic region categorized by a particular combination of average annual temperature, annde4xual precipitation, and distinctive plant growth forms on land

Tundra

Arctic Tundra /Antarctic tundra /Alpine tundra (top of mountains) located: Near poles climate: Cold year-round with a short summer and low rainfall year-round Low growing vegetation: small shrubs, mosses, and lichens limiting factors/adaptions: Freezing temps, slow decomp., slow soil formation, low soil nutrients soil: Thin soil that is nutrient-depleted and frozen or waterlogged (permafrost)

Boreal Forest

aka taiga located: 50°N - 60°N in Europe, Russia, North America, climate: cold winters short growing season, low precip vegetation: coniferous evergreen trees, pine, and fir, (waxy needles) some deciduous trees, such as Birch, Maple, and aspen, limiting factors/ adaptations: more constrained by temperature than precipitation slow decomp soil: a thick layer of organic material but poor soil in nutrients

Temperate Rain Forest

located: coastal (West coast of N Am from N Cali → Alaska, in S Chile, on the East Coast of Aus and in neighboring Tasmania and on the W coast of new Zeland climate: 5°C - 20°C mild summers, and winters, 12-month growing season, winters(rainy), summers(foggy) vegetation: coniferous (fir, spruce, cedar +hemlock) +redwoods ferns and mosses limiting factors: slow decomp bc of needles +temp soil: poor nutrient soil bc trees take so much

Temperate Seasonal Forest

aka temperate deciduous forests located: E US, Japan, China, Europe, Chile, E Aus climate: 5°C - 20°C warm summers, cold winters, 39 in of percip vegetation: broadleaf deciduous( beech, maps, oak, hickory,), coniferous trees too limiting factors: rapid decop(broadleafs), greater productivity bc of fertility+ growing season soil: more nutrients than boreal forests

Woodland/ Shrubland

used for grazing animals, drought-tolerant crops, deep rotted crops (grapes→wine) located: SoCal, SSAM, SW Aus, S Africa, Mediterranean climate: 5°C - 20°C hot dry summers, mild rainy winters, 12-month growing season vegetation: drought-resistant shrubs ( yucca, scrub Oak, and sagebrush) limiting factors: constrained by percip in summer, and temp in winter, natural wildfires in hot dry summer, plants adapted to fire (release seeds after fire) soil: low in nutrient bc of leaching by winter rains

Temperate Grassland

aka Cold Desert prairies, pampas, steppe located: great plains NAm(praires), SAm,(pampas), central asia +E europe (steppes), climate: 5°C - 20°C cold harsh winters, hot dry summers, long growing season vegetation: grasses, non-woody flowering plants, (wildfires frequent grazing) limiting factors: constrained by percip in summer and temp in winter, fires are common, rapid decomp, deep roots store, energy→ quick regrowth, soil: large amounts of nutrients= very productive

Tropical Rain-Forest

located: 20°N- 20°S of the equator, central and S AM, Africa, SE Asia, NE Aus, tropical islands, climate: 20°C+ warm wet, little seasonal temp variation, frequent percip, vegetation: ⅔ terrestrial species, large trees form canopy→ shades vegetation, shorter trees (sub-canopy), epiphytes, (hold small aquatic ecosystems above the floor), woody vines, limiting factors, rapid decomp, 24,000 ha cleared each year for agriculture, soil: few nutrients bc of lush vegetation, high productivity

Tropical Seasonal Forest/Savanna

tropical deciduous forests located: central Am, Atlantic coast SAm, S Asia, NW Aus, Sub Saharan Africa, climate: 20°C+ warm temps, wet and dry seasons, vegetation: dry dense shrubs and trees, → savannas, grasses, scatter deciduous trees, acacia, baobab trees, rain in summer, adaptations: drop leaves during the dry season, fires discourage woody plants, decomp but low percip contrains plants from using nutrients released in soil: fairly fertile good for growing, (agricultural and grazing land),

Subtropical Desert located: 30°N- 30°S

Mojave desert, SW US, Sahra, Arabian, Middle East, Great victorian, climate: 20°C+, hot temp, extremely dry conditions vegetation: sparse vegetation, cacti, euphorbias succulents, (vulnerable to disturbance bc of slow overall growth so long recovery times) adaptations: (prevent water loss small leaves, or modified into the spine, outer layer thick, few pores for water /air exchange, photosynthesis along plant stem, (store water there) has spikes to discourage grazing soil: dry infertile

Littoral Zone

the shallow zone of soil and water in lakes and ponds where most algae and emergent plants grow.

Limnetic Zone

A zone of open water in lakes and ponds.

Phytoplankton

Floating algae.

Profundal Zone

A region of water where sunlight does not reach, below the limnetic zone in very deep lakes.

Benthic Zone

The muddy bottom of a lake, pond, or ocean.

Oligotrophic

Describes a lake with a low level of productivity.

Mesotrophic

Describes a lake with a moderate level of productivity.

Eutrophic

Describes a lake with a high level of productivity.

Coral Bleaching

A phenomenon in which algae inside corals die, causing the corals to turn white.

Photic Zone

The upper layer of ocean water in the ocean that receives enough sunlight for photosynthesis.

Aphotic Zone

The deeper layer of ocean water that lacks sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis.

Chemosynthesis

A process used by some bacteria in the ocean to generate energy with methane and hydrogen sulfide.

Stream

type: Fresh, depth: Shallow, water flow: Varies, Streams often lead to rivers and carry organic matter downstream

River

type: Fresh, depth: Varies/Deep, water flow: Varies, Rivers carry organic matter downstream; rapids mix oxygen into the water to support fish

Lake

type: fresh, depth: deep, water flow: low, There are different layers/zones where photosynthesis occurs or doesn't (Littoral Zone, Limnetic Zone, Profundal Zone, Benthic Zone), oligotrophic lakes(low productivity) mesotrophic lakes(moderate productivity) eurotropic lakes(high level of productivity)

Pond

type: fresh, depth: deep/varies, water flow: low/varies, Ponds are smaller, but also have the zones (Littoral Zone, Limnetic Zone, Profundal Zone(not deep enough prob), Benthic Zone)

Freshwater wetland

type: fresh, depth: shallow, water flow: low, Contain swamps, marshes, and bogs. (most productive biomes), Help with flooding and droughts, filter pollutants, ⅓ pop of endangered birds live there

Salt March

type: salt, depth: shallow, water flow: low, nonwoody vegetation, found in estuaries where ocean and river mix., very productive, helps filter contaminants, ⅔ of Marine fish and shellfish species spend their larval stages in estuaries

Mangrove Swamp

type: salt, depth: shallow, water flow: low, contain salt-tolerant trees, roots help against erosion, provide shelter for shellfish and fish, grow in estuaries

Intertidal Zone

type, depth, water flow all vary, hard area for organisms to live when low tide an exposed to sun and heat (Barnacle,s sponges, algae, mussels, crabs, and sea stars)

Coral Reef

type: salt, depth: shallow, water flow: low/varies, can only live where they will receive sunlight for algae to do photosynthesis to make sugar, coral bleaching because of ph changes and high temps algae die coral dies shorrtly after

Open Ocean

type: salt, depth: deep, water flow: low/varies, where no sunlight reaches the ocean, zones, there are species living because of chemosynthesis zones: (Photic Zone, Aphotic Zone, Benthic Zone)

Biosphere

the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth (or analogous parts of other planets) occupied by living organisms.

Biogeochemical Cycles

The movements of matter within and between ecosystems.

Hydrologic Cycle

The movement of water through the biosphere.

Transpiration

The release of water from leaves during photosynthesis.

Evapotranspiration

The combined amount of evaporation and transpiration.

Runoff

Water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers.

Macronutrients

One of six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.

Limiting Nutrient

A nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in a lower quantity than other nutrients.

Nitrogen Fixation

A process by which some organisms can convert nitrogen gas molecules directly into ammonia.

Leaching

The transportation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater.

eutrophication

excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.

Water Cycle (Hydrologic Cycle)

driven by the sun, sinks=(oceans, rivers, and lakes), glaciers, groundwater (aquifers) water vapor, atmospheric gas, and living organisms. Humans impact this by overuse water faster than it can replenish itself in the water cycle, we increase pollutants and runoff, we reduce infiltration with the pavement, we accelerate topsoil erosion we increase the risk of flooding and we alter weather with deforestation

Carbon cycle

sinks= ocean w/ calcium carbonate(shells), limestonel, fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal) tropical rainforest, Tundra, permanently frozen plant matter, atmosphere, living organisms, carbon= building block of life, Humans impact this by burning fossil fuels and cutting down trees

Nitrogen cycle

Plants rely on electrical discharge(lightning) and nitrogen-fixing bacteria to make nitrogen usable for plants, sinks= atmosphere, nitrogen= limiting factor for primary productivity, Humans impact this by altering the amount of nitrogen that is stored in the biosphere (burning oil, fertilizers, and deforestation)

FNAAD

stands for fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification, denitrification

ANPAN

Stands for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, proteins, ammonia, and nitrogen gas.

phosphorus cycle

Phosphates come from weathering rocks, sinks = phosphate salts w/ phosphate ions, terrestrial rock formations, and ocean bottom sediment. Does not include the atmosphere, Phosphate is incorporated into nucleic acids, ADP, and ATP bones and teeth, human impact humans mining for phosphate salts that are added to fertilizers which can cause eutrophication and clearing of rainforests causes phosphates to wash away.

sulfur cycle

Sulfur comes from volcanoes releasing sulfur dioxide and decomposers releasing sulfur dioxide, sinks= underground sulfate salts, essential nutrient used in amino acids proteins enzymes and Keratin, make and burn gas w/ sulfur --> acid rain, extract Metals(copper lead + zinc)

Ecosystem

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Producers (Autotrophs)

An organism that uses the energy of the sun to produce usable forms of energy.

Photosynthesis

The process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose.

Cellular Respiration

The process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds.

Heterotrophs/Consumers

An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms.

Primary Consumers

Consumers that eat producers.

Secondary Consumers

A carnivore that eats primary consumers.

Tertiary Consumers

A carnivore that eats secondary consumers.

Trophic Levels

The successive levels of organisms consuming one another.

Food Chain

The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers.

Food Web

A complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels.

Scavengers

An organism that consumes dead animals.

Detritovores

An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles.

Decomposers

Fungi and bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystem.

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time.

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire.

Biomass

The total mass of all living matter in a specific area.

Standing Crop

The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time.

Ecological Efficiency

The proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another.

Trophic Pyramid

A representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels.

Community ecology

The study of interactions between species.

Competition

The struggle of individuals to obtain a shared limiting resource.

Competitive exclusion principle

The principle stating that two species competing for the same limiting resource cannot coexist.

Resource partitioning

When two species divide a resource based on differences in their behavior or morphology.

Predation

An interaction in which one animal typically kills and consumes another animal.

True predators

Kill prey immediately, usually consume entire prey.

Herbivores

An animal that feeds on plants.

Parasites

An organism that lives on or in another organism of another species and benefits from nutrients of the others expense.

Parasitoids

A specialized type of predator that lays eggs inside other organisms -- referred to as its host.