AP Environmental Science Review: Units 1 & 2

Vocabulary flashcards covering environmental legislation, water pollution, waste management, air pollutants, plate tectonics, mining, population dynamics, ecological interactions, thermodynamics, and ecosystem services.

Open Pit Mining

A surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open borrow pit.

Strip Mining

the practice of mining a seam of mineral by first scraping away the soil and rock (overburden) above it.

Contour Mining

A form of surface mining used in hilly or mountainous terrain where excavations follow the contour of the mineral deposit.

Mountain Top Removal

A surface mining practice involving the complete removal of mountaintops to expose underlying coal seams.

Subsurface Mining

The extraction of metal and mineral ores from deep underground through tunnels and shafts.

Environmental Effects (Mining)

Habitat destruction, soil erosion, acid mine drainage, water pollution, and dust/air pollution.

Reclamation

the process of restoring land that has been mined to a natural or economically usable state.

divergent Boundaries

Tectonic plates move apart from one another, creating new crust such as mid-ocean ridges.

convergent Boundaries

Tectonic plates collide, forming mountains, trenches, or subduction zones.

Subduction Zones

Areas where one tectonic plate slides beneath another into the mantle.

Transform Boundaries

Plates slide horizontally past one another, frequently causing earthquakes like the San Andreas Fault.

Ring of Fire

A major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur due to plate boundaries.

Mine Reclamation

Restoring mined land back to natural vegetation or functional economic states after extraction finishes.

Exponential Growth (J-Curve)

Rapid, accelerating population growth under ideal conditions that produces a J-shaped curve

Logistic Growth (S-Curve)

population growth that slows as it approaches the carrying capacity, producing an S-shaped curve.

Density-Dependent Factors

Competition, disease, predation.

Density-Independent Factors

Natural disasters, drought, temperature extremes.

$r$-Selected Species

Many small offspring, no care, fast growth.

$K$-Selected Species

Few large offspring, high parental care (humans).

Survivorship Curves

Type I: High late-life mortality (humans). Type II: Constant mortality rate (birds). Type III: High early-life mortality (trees/fish).

Keystone Species

Disproportionately large ecosystem impact.

Indicator Species

Early warnings of ecosystem degradation (amphibians).

Mutualism

Species interaction where both benefit ($+/+$).

Commensalism

Species interaction where one benefits ($+/0$).

Parasitism

Species interaction where one harms host ($+/-$).

First Law of Thermodynamics

Energy cannot be created or destroyed.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

Energy conversions increase entropy (heat loss).

Trophic Cascade

Ecological changes triggered by top predators that ripple downward through lower trophic levels.

Ecosystem Services

Provisioning: Food/water. Supporting: Soil/cycling. Regulating: Climate/flood control. Cultural: Recreation.

Positive Feedback Loop

Amplifies change (ice melting $\rightarrow$ lower albedo $\rightarrow$ more warming).

Negative Feedback Loop

Restores equilibrium (predator-prey cycles).

Trophic Level

Each hierarchical level in an ecosystem, comprising organisms sharing the same function in the food chain.

Provisioning Services

Products obtained directly from ecosystems, such as food, water, timber, and medicine.

Supporting Services

services necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling, soil formation, and photosynthesis.

Regulating Services

Benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes, such as climate regulation, flood control, and water purification.

Cultural Services

Non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems, such as recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual benefits.

Invasive Species

Non-native species that spread widely and cause ecological or economic harm.

indicator species

species that serve as an early warning that an ecosystem is being damaged or polluted

specialist species

Species with a narrow niche, specific dietary needs, or restricted habitats

Generalist Species

Species with a broad niche that can live in many different places and eat a variety of foods.

intraspecific competition

Competition among members of the same species.

Interspecific Competition

Competition between different species for the same limited resources

carrying capactiy

The maximum number of individuals of a given species that a particular environment can sustainably support.

Population Distribution/Dispersion (Clumped, Uniform, Random)

How individuals are spaced out across an area—whether clustered in patches, evenly spaced, or randomly distributed.

Ecological Niche

The role and position a species has in its environment, including its resource use and interactions with other species.

Resource Partitioning

When species divide a niche to avoid direct competition for resources, such as feeding at different times or heights.