IB ESS Vocabulary

physical water scarcity

water consumption exceeds 60% of the usable supply

mitigation

relates to attempts to reduce causes of climate change

natural income

renewable/sustainable harvestable quantity generated by natural capital

services

natural processes that provide a benefit to human environment

ecological footprint

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

non-point source pollution

pollution from many/widely dispersed origins

primary pollution

pollutant active on emmission

habitat

environment where a species normally lives

fundamental niche

full range of conditions/resources in which a species could survive and reproduce

bioaccumulation

when non-biodegradable toxins absorbed by a given trophic level are not broken down/excreted, accumulates in tissues

primary productivity

gain by producers in energy/biomass per unit area per unit time

biome

collection of ecosystems sharing similar climatic conditions

quadrat

empty square frames ok known area used to measure abundance of plants/non-mobile animals

speciation

process through which new species form

IUCN

worlds oldest/largest global environmental organization aimed at showing how biodiversity is essential to solve environmental issues

Agenda 21

plan of action to achieve sustainable development worldwide in the 21st century, carried out locally

flagship species

charismatic species that are used to publicize conservation campaigns, stimulate public action, economic support

hydrological cycle

continuous movement of water between atmosphere, land, and sea

irrigation

extra water added to a soil/plant to encourage growth

grey water

waster water produced from homes/offices, from sinks, showers, baths, dishwashers

GMOs

addition of certain traits (DNA) to a plant/animal to make it more nutritious, grow faster, more resistant to diease/pests

trent biotic index

scale that uses freshwater species to make conclusions about the level of pollution

arable farming

cultivation of crops, wheat farming

pastoral farming

rearing of animals, sheep

stratosphere

layer of earths atmosphere extending from tropopause to about 50km

albedo

amount of incoming radiation that is reflected by the earths surface/atmosphere

greenhouse effect

role of certain atmospheric gases to trap outgoing long-wave radiation/raise earths temperatures

tipping point/threshold

critical level beyond which change in a system becomes potentially irreversible\

thermal inversion

atmospheric situation in which cold air is found at low altitudes/warm air at higher altitudes, inverting normal pattern of a decrease in temperature with increasing altitude

acid deposition

increased amount of acid in rainfall and the placing/leaving of acid on rocks/soil, result of human activity

wet deposition

rain/snow that have become acidified through emissions of sulfur dioxide/oxides of nitrogen

adaptation

relates to attempts to manage impacts of climate change

total fertility rate

average number of births per woman of childbearing age

natural increase

increase resulting from the crude birth rate being higher than the crude death rate

sustainability

use of resources at such a rate that allows natural regeneration and or minimizes damage to environment

EVS

environmental value system: a world view that shapes the way an individual/group perceive and evaluate environmental issues (influenced by culture, religion, education, economics)

ecocentric

believe that the environment is the center of humanity

technocentric

believe that issues within the environment can be fixed with technology

anthropocentric

believes that laws/regulation/taxes should manage issues within the environment

deep ecologist

place value/importance on nature for the humanity of man/believe ecological laws should dictate morality

closed system

a system in which energy is exchanged with its surroundings (earth)

open system

a system in which both energy and matter are exchanged with its surroundings (natural ecosystems)

isolated system

a system that exchanges neither matter or energy with its surroundings (universe)

entropy

a measure of the amount of disorder, chaos, or randomness in a system: greater disorder, higher entropy

equilibrium

state of balance among components of a sytem

positive feedback

increases change, promotes deviation away from equilibrium/towards tipping point

negative feedback

counteract deviation from equilibrium/promotes stability

sustainability

use/management of resources that allows full natural replacement of the resources exploited and recovery of the ecosystems affected by their extraction/use

natural capital

natural resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of goods/services

goods

marketable commodities exploited by humans

point source pollution

pollution from single/identifiable source

secondary pollution

pollutant arising when primary pollution undergoes chemical change

species

group of organisms that share common characteristics/interbreed to produce fertile offspring

niche

particular set of abiotic/biotic conditions and resources an organism/population responds to

realized niche

actual conditions/resources in which a species exists due to biotic interactions

respiration

conversion of organic matter into carbon dioxide and water in all living organisms, releases energy

photosynthesis

conversion and storage of sunlight energy as organic matter, releases oxygen

biomagnification

increasing concentration of a non-biodegradable toxin as it passes along food chain due to loss of other biomass

gross primary productivity

total gain in energy/biomass per unit area per unit time fixed by photosynthesis on green plants

net primary productivity

gain by producers in energy/biomass per unit area per unit time remaining after allowing for respiratory losses

gross secondary productivity

total gain by consumers in energy/biomass per unit area per unit time through absorption

net secondary productivity

gain by consumers in energy/biomass per unit area per unit time remaining after allowing for respiratory losses

zonation

changes in a community along an environmental gradient due to factors like altitude/latitude, tidal level

pioneer community

first stage of an ecological succession that contains species able to live in difficult environmental conditions

climax community

final stage of a succession, balanced/stable

population density

number of individuals of each species in a specific area

transect

used to measure changes along an environmental gradient

habitat diversity

range of different habitats in an ecosystem/biome

genetic diversity

range of genetic material present in a population of a species

diversity index

quantitative measure of species richness

evenness

measure of relative abundance of different species making up species richness in an area

plate tectonics

movement of the 8 major plates

fossil record

remains of organisms preserved, for example in a rock with simpler organisms found in it

geological time

arrangement of events that have shaped the earth over long periods of time

mass extinction

extinction events in which at least 75% of the species on earth dissapear

habitat degredation

decrease in quality/complexity of the area where organisms live

habitat fragmentation

habitat is divided into smaller areas that are seperate from each other

red list

information that assesses the conservation sttaus of species on a worldwide basis

Rio Declaration

document produced at Earth Summit in 1992 that ourlined future sustainable development around the world

captive breeding

process of raising animals outside their natural habitat/surroundings in a controlled environment, zoos

keystone species

species that have a disproportionately large effect on their environment, determining the structure of an ecosystem/other species depend on them

system

set of interrelated component which are connected to form a working unit

evotranspiration

combined losses of evaporation and transpiration

aquifer

water-bearing rock, permeable rock with pores that contain water

water stress

total annual extraction of water as a proportion of the renewable supply in a given area

water scarcity

lack of water due to physical/economic reasons

economic water scarcity

country physically has sufficient water to meet its needs, requires additional storage/transport facilities

water insecurity

lack of access to sufficient amounts of safe drinking water

aquaculture

raising fish commercially as food for humans/animal feed

biorights

rights of an endangered/unique species or landscape to be protected

productivity

production of energy/organic matter per unit of time

anoxia

lack of oxygen

biotic index

use of plant/animal species to make conclusions about the level of pollution

inputs

factors influencing a system

outputs

results from a system

primary productivity

biomass gained by producers in a specific area in a specific amount of time

loam soil

mixed soil consisting of sand, silt, clay

potential evapotranspiration

total amount of water that could be lost to evaporation and transpiration if there was an unlimited supply of water

intensive farming

high inputs/yields per unit area, such as battery hen production

extensive farming

low inputs/yields per unit area, free-range chicken production