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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