AP Environmental Science Midterm

Biosphere

The global sum of all ecosystems, encompassing all living organisms and their interactions with the environment.

Biome

A large geographic biotic community, characterized by specific climate conditions and distinct plant and animal species.

Ecosystem

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment, functioning together as a system.

Community

A group of interacting organisms of different species that live in the same area and share resources.

Population

A group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area, interacting and reproducing with one another.

Individual

A single organism of a particular species that can reproduce and interact with other organisms.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship between two different species where both benefit from the interaction.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits at the expense of the other, typically harming it in the process.

Resource partitioning

The process by which competing species use the environment differently in a way that helps them to coexist.

Temporal partitioning

A form of resource partitioning where species utilize the same resource at different times, reducing competition.

Spatial partitioning

A form of resource partitioning where species use different physical spaces or habitats to minimize competition for resources.

Morphological partitioning

A form of resource partitioning where species evolve different physical traits or structures to exploit different resources, reducing competition.

Terrestrial biomes are defined by…

annual temperature and precipitation, which are represented by a climatogram.

Salinity

The concentration of salt in water, which influences the distribution and abundance of aquatic organisms.

Flow

The movement of water in rivers, streams, and other bodies of water, affecting ecosystems and organisms within these environments.

Depth

The vertical distance from the surface of a body of water to its bottom, influencing light penetration and habitat availability for aquatic life.

Warmer water holds ____ dissolved O2 so it can support ____ organisms

less, fewer

Littoral

The zone of a body of water that is close to the shore, where sunlight penetrates to the bottom, supporting diverse plant and animal life.

Limnetic

The open water zone of a body of water, where sunlight penetrates but does not reach the bottom, supporting plankton and larger aquatic organisms.

Profundal

The deep, dark zone of a body of water that is below the limnetic zone, where sunlight does not penetrate and supports organisms adapted to cold, low-light conditions.

Benthic

The bottom zone of a body of water, consisting of sediments and organic matter, where organisms such as benthos live and thrive.

Wetland

A saturated area of land that supports aquatic plants, providing important ecosystem services like water filtration and habitat for wildlife.

Intertidal zone

The area of the shoreline that is exposed to the air at low tide and submerged at high tide, hosting a unique ecosystem adapted to fluctuating conditions.

Estuary

A coastal area where freshwater from rivers meets and mixes with saltwater from the ocean, creating a unique ecosystem that supports diverse wildlife and plant species.

Carbon sink

A natural environment, such as forests or oceans, that absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases, helping to mitigate climate change.

Carbon source

An environment that releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than it absorbs, contributing to climate change.

Fossil fuels

Natural substances formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals, primarily composed of carbon, that are burned for energy.

What percent of the atmosphere is Nitrogen?

70%

Nitrogen fixation

The process by which atmospheric nitrogen is converted into a form usable by living organisms, often facilitated by certain bacteria and plants.

Nitrogen assimilation

The process by which plants and other organisms take up nitrogen compounds, such as ammonium and nitrate, and incorporate them into organic molecules like amino acids and proteins.

Nitrogen ammonification

The process by which organic nitrogen is converted back into ammonia by decomposers, making it available for uptake by plants.

Nitrification

The process by which ammonia is oxidized to nitrites and then to nitrates by bacteria, making nitrogen available to plants.

Denitrification

The process by which bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas, returning nitrogen to the atmosphere and completing the nitrogen cycle.

Eutrophication

The process in which excessive growth of algae occurs in a water body due to excessive minerals and nutrients. This process can lead to oxygen depletion and harm aquatic life.

Primary productivity

The rate at which energy is converted by photosynthetic and chemosynthetic autotrophs to organic substances in an ecosystem.

1st Law of Thermodynamics

Energy is never created nor destroyed

2nd Law of Thermodynamics

Each time energy is transferred, some of it is lost as heat

10% Rule

Only ten percent of energy from one level is transferred to another. The rest of it is lost as heat.

Keystone species

A species that, if removed, would cause its ecosystem and food web to be dramatically different or eliminated.

Tragedy of the Commons

An act with self-interest which overexploits and depletes shared resources

Externalities

Negative costs associated with human actions, that aren’t accounted for in the price

Effects of clear cutting

Increases soil erosion, evaporation of water in soil, nitrates in streams, and amount of soil in the atmosphere. Impacts biodiversity more than selective cutting

Negative effects of tree plantations

Lowers biodiversity and all the same age

General forest benefits

Filtering of air pollutants, removal and storage of CO2 from the atmosphere, habitat for organisms

Deforestation consequences

Reduces air filtering and releases CO2

Slash and burn

Method of clearing land for agriculture by cutting trees and burning them

Furrow irrigation

Trench dug along crops and filled with water, 66% efficient

Drip irrigation

Holes is hose allow water to slowly drip out, 95% effective

Flood irrigation

Flooding entire field, 10% efficient

Spray irrigation

Surface water sprayed through pipes, 90% efficient

Soil salinization

The process of salt building up in soil over time

What does the depletion of aquifers cause

Saltwater intrusion, cone of depression

Green Revolution

A shift in agriculture away from small family operated farms to large industrial scale agribusiness

Monocropping

Growing one single species of crop

Tiling

Mixing and breaking up of soil to make planting easier

Pesticides

Chemicals that are toxic to pests, can cause pests to become resistant

GMOs in crops

Grow for pest resistant trait that is added through genetic modification

CAFO

Concentrated animal feeding operation

Manure lagoons

Large, open storage pits for animal waste

Overgrazing

Too many animals grazing an area of land removes all vegetation

Fishery

Populations of fish for commercial fishing

Fishery collapse

Collapse when overfishing causes 90% population die off, population may never recover

Bottom trawling

Dragging a large net along ocean floor, catches unintended targets and destroys reefs

Ore

Commercially valuable deposits of concentrated minerals that can be harvested and used as raw materials

Metals

Elements that have reduced electricity, heat, and have structural proportions for building

Reserve

The known amount of a resource left that can be mined

Overburden

Soil, vegetation, and rocks that are removed to get to a deposit below

Tailings and slag

Leftover waste material separated from the valuable metal of ore

Surface mining

Mining closer to the surface of the earth, open pit, becoming more scarce

Subsurface mining

More expensive due to higher insurance and health care for workers

Core

Dense mass of solid nickel, iron, and radioactive elements that release massive amounts of heat

Mantle

Liquid layer of magma surrounding core, kept liquified by intense heat from core

Asthenosphere

Solid, flexible, outer layer of mantle, beneath the lithosphere

Lithosphere

Thin, brittle layer of rock floating on top of mantle

Crust

Very outer layer of the lithosphere, earth’s surface

Divergent

Plates move away from each other

Convergent

Plates move towards each other, leads to subduction

Transform

Plates slide past each other in opposite directions

Ring of Fire

Pattern of volcanoes all around pacific plate

Transform faults

Likely location of earthquakes

Hotspots

Areas of especially hot magma rising up to the lithosphere

Soil Horizon O

Organic, grass/leaves/plants, 0-0.1 meters

Soil Horizon A

Topsoil/humus, 0.1 m to 0.3 m

Soil Horizon E

Leaching, loss of organic matter/lighter in color, below A

Soil Horizon B

Subsoil, more clay than topsoil/lower levels of organic matter/blocky, .3 m to 1 m

Soil Horizon C

Weathered rock, 1 m to 1.3 m

Soil Horizon R

Bedrock

Three soil particles

Sand, silt, clay

Soil texture

The % of sand, silt, and clay in soil

Porosity

How much (volume of) water that a soil sample can hold

Permeability

How easily water drains through soil

Too sandy for growth

70%

Too much clay for growth

30%

Ideal soil for most plant growth

40-40-20

Percent of nitrogen in the Earth’s atmosphere

78%

Percent of oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere

21%

Percent of argon in the earth’s atmosphere

0.93%