Environmental Science final (yikes)

what is the annual economic cost of soil loss in the US?

(44 billion dollars annually) rates of loss: 10-100* that

Clean Air Act

(CAA, 1970) set emission standards for cars and limits for release of air pollutants

population growth rate

(birth rate−death rate)+(immigration rate−emigration rate)

Ways the atmosphere affects the environment

-Controls total amount of radiation -Selectively filters amount and type of radiation earth receives

Residency Time

-How long water stays in storage -Varies greatly w the kind of material you're working with and type of storage -As important as the path water takes

two types of fieldwork

-manipulation -natural monitoring

Montreal protocol

-ozone depletion first detected in 1973 -ozone hole -1974: chlorine destroyed ozone -in 1976, the national academy of sciences donated research $ -international agreement signed in 1987 to protect the stratospheric ozone layer by phasing out the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances

steps to policy change

1. identify problem 2. identify cause 3. envision solution 4. get organized 5. cultivate access and influence 6. manage development of policy

3 ways to study the environment or to complete an experiment

1. lab studies 2. field studies 3. computer models (limitations) -lacks experimental control -many variables

The world population growth rate is currently approximately ________%.

1.2

In 2016, the population of the United States was approximately 325 million people, with an annual growth rate of approximately 0.7%. If the population of the U.S. were to continue to grow at this rate, what would be the approximate population size of the U.S. in the year 2216?

1.3 billion

If a population roughly doubles in the course of 50 years, its growth rate would be close to ________%.

1.4

The United Nations currently predicts that Earth will be home to almost ________ billion people by the year 2050.

10

Fourth Assessment Reports (FAR)

100's of scientific reports, documents, observed trends, etc, assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, its potential effects, and options for adaptation and mitigation

what percentage of freshwater is in rivers and lakes?

2-3%

Toxic Substances Control Act

A 1976 U.S. law that directs the Environmental Protection Agency to monitor thousands of industrial chemicals and gives the EPA authority to regulate and ban substances found to pose excessive risk.

Roadless rule

A 2001 Clinton Administration executive order that put 31% of national forest land off-limits to road construction or maintenance.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

A U.S. law enacted on January 1, 1970, that created an agency called the Council on Environmental Quality and requires that an environmental impact statement be prepared for any major federal action

Silent Spring

A book written to voice the concerns of environmentalists. Launched the environmentalist movement by pointing out the effects of civilization development. Written by Rachel Carlson

phthalates

A class of endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in fire retardants and plasticizers.

halocarbon

A class of human-made chemical compounds derived from simple hydrocarbons in which hydrogen atoms are replaced by halogen atoms such as bromine, fluorine, or chlorine

sulfur dioxide (SO2)

A colorless gas that can result from the combustion of coal.

soil

A complex plant-supporting system consisting of disintegrated rock, organic matter, air, water, nutrients, and microorganisms.

Variable

A condition in an experiment that can change

overnutrition

A condition of excessive food intake in which people receive more than their daily caloric needs.

Undernutrition

A condition of insufficient nutrition in which people receive less than 90% of their daily caloric needs.

Soil degradation

A deterioration of soil quality and decline in soil productivity, resulting primarily from forest removal, cropland agriculture, and overgrazing of livestock.

paradigm

A dominant philosophical and theoretical framework within a scientific discipline

organic fertilizer

A fertilizer made up of natural materials (largely the remains or wastes of organisms), including animal manure, crop residues, fresh vegetation, and compost.

inorganic fertilizer

A fertilizer that consists of mined or synthetically manufactured mineral supplements

sustainable forest certification

A form of ecolabeling that identifies timber products that have been produced using sustainable methods. The Forest Stewardship Council and several other organizations issue such certification.

air pollutant

A gas or particulate material added to the atmosphere that can affect climate or harm people or other living things.

greenhouse gas

A gas that absorbs infrared radiation released by Earth's surface and then warms the surface and troposphere by emitting energy, thus giving rise to the greenhouse effect

transgene

A gene that has been extracted from the DNA of one organism and transferred into the DNA of an organism of another species.

secondary pollutant

A hazardous substance produced through the reaction of primary pollutants with one another or with other constituents of the atmosphere.

primary pollutant

A hazardous substance, such as soot or carbon monoxide, that is emitted into the troposphere directly from a source.

lead

A heavy metal that may be ingested through water or paint, or that may enter the atmosphere as a particulate pollutant through combustion of leaded gasoline or other processes

World heritage sites

A location internationally designated by the United Nations for its cultural or natural value.

nitrogen cycle

A major nutrient cycle consisting of the routes that nitrogen atoms take through the nested networks of environmental systems

atmosphere

A mixture of gases that surrounds a planet or moon.

Colony Collapse Disorder

A mysterious malady afflicting honeybees, which has destroyed roughly one-third of all honeybees in the United States annually over the past decade. Likely caused by chemical insecticides, pathogens and parasites, habitat and resource loss, or combinations of these factors.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)

A naturally occurring soil bacterium that produces a protein that kills many pests, including caterpillars and the larvae of some flies and beetles.

Weed

A pejorative term for any plant that competes with our crops. The term is subjective and defined by our own economic interests, and is not biologically meaningful.

ozone layer

A portion of the stratosphere, roughly 17-30 km (10-19 mi) above sea level, that contains most of the ozone in the atmosphere

fee-and-dividend

A program of carbon taxes in which proceeds from the taxes are paid to consumers as a tax refund or dividend. This way, if polluters pass their costs along to consumers, consumers will not lose money.

wildland-urban interface

A region where urban or suburban development meets forested or undeveloped lands.

environmental impact statement (EIS)

A report of results from detailed scientific studies that assess the potential effects on the environment that would likely result from development projects or other actions undertaken by the government

Shelterbelt

A row of trees or other tall perennial plants that are planted along the edges of farm fields to break the wind and thereby minimize wind erosion.

national park

A scenic area set aside for recreation and enjoyment by the public and managed by the National Park Service. The U.S. national park system today numbers more than 400 sites totaling 84 million acres and includes national historic sites, national recreation areas, national wild and scenic rivers, and other areas.

New forestry

A set of ecosystem-based management approaches for harvesting timber that explicitly mimic natural disturbances

dose-response analysis

A set of experiments that measure the response of test animals to different doses of a toxicant. The response is generally quantified by measuring the proportion of animals exhibiting negative effects.

keystone species

A species that has an especially far-reaching effect on a community

Seed Bank

A storehouse for samples of seeds representing the world's crop diversity.

green buildings

A structure that minimizes the ecological footprint of its construction and operation by using sustainable materials, using minimal energy and water, reducing health impacts, limiting pollution, and recycling waste.

epidemiological study

A study that involves large-scale comparisons among groups of people, usually contrasting a group known to have been exposed to some toxicant and a group that has not.

toxicant

A substance that acts as a poison to humans or wildlife

Fertilizer

A substance that promotes plant growth by supplying essential nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorus

community-supported agriculture (CSA)

A system in which consumers pay farmers in advance for a share of their yield, usually in the form of weekly deliveries of produce.

Biocapacity

A term in ecological footprint accounting meaning the amount of biologically productive land and sea available to us.

neurotoxins

A toxicant that assaults the nervous system. Neurotoxins include heavy metals, pesticides, and some chemical weapons developed for use in war

endocrine disruptors

A toxicant that interferes with the endocrine (hormone) system

pathway inhibitors

A toxicant that interrupts vital biochemical processes in organisms by blocking one or more steps in important biochemical pathways. Compounds in the herbicide atrazine kill plants by blocking key steps in the process of photosynthesis

allergen

A toxicant that overactivates the immune system, causing an immune response when one is not necessary.

phylogenetic tree

A treelike diagram that represents the history of divergence of species or other taxonomic groups of organisms

chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)

A type of halocarbon consisting of only chlorine, fluorine, carbon, and hydrogen

climate diagram

A visual representation of a region's average monthly temperature and precipitation

SLOSS

Abbreviation for "single large or several small." The debate over whether it is better to make reserves large in size and few in number or many in number but small in size

acid rain

Acid deposition that takes place through rain.

Populations in ocean fisheries have been dropping for decades, but the amount of fish caught has not declined. What factor is responsible for masking this drop in fish populations?

Advanced technology has allowed fishing fleets to find fish more efficiently.

sustainable agriculture

Agriculture that can be practiced in the same way and in the same place far into the future

No-till

Agriculture that does not involve tilling (plowing, disking, harrowing, or chiseling) the soil. The most intensive form of conservation tillage.

industrial agriculture

Agriculture that uses large-scale mechanization and fossil fuel combustion, enabling farmers to replace horses and oxen with faster and more powerful means of cultivating, harvesting, transporting, and processing crops. Other aspects include large-scale irrigation and the use of inorganic fertilizers. Use of chemical herbicides and pesticides reduces competition from weeds and herbivory by insects.

Drainage Basin

Also called a watershed Area drained by a river or stream system Fundamental working unit for all hydrology unit

Humidity

Amount of water vapor in air

low-pressure system

An air mass in which air moves toward the low atmospheric pressure at the center of the system and spirals upward, typically bringing clouds and precipitation

high-pressure system

An air mass with elevated atmospheric pressure, containing air that descends, typically bringing fair weather

national forest

An area of forested public land managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The system consists of 191 million acres (more than 8% of the nation's land area) in many tracts spread across all but a few states.

Biodiversity hotspot

An area that supports an especially great diversity of species, particularly species that are endemic to the area.

nutrient

An element or compound that organisms consume and require for survival

cap-and-trade

An emissions trading system in which government determines an acceptable level of pollution and then issues polluting parties permits to pollute -A company receives credit for amounts it does not emit and can then sell this credit to other companies

Green revolution

An intensification of the industrialization of agriculture in the developing world in the latter half of the 20th century that has dramatically increased crop yields produced per unit area of farmland.

Natural resource

Any of the various substances and energy sources that we take from our environment and that we need in order to survive

catalytic converter

Automotive technology that chemically treats engine exhaust to reduce air pollution

Thomas Malthus

British economist who maintained that increasing human population would eventually deplete the available food supply until starvation, war, or disease arose and reduced the population

Your uncle is a rancher in Wyoming and is having problems with wild horses on land he leases from the federal government. Which agency would likely be best for him to contact to resolve his problems?

Bureau of Land Management

chemical hazard

Chemicals that pose human health hazards. These include toxins produced naturally, as well as many of the disinfectants, pesticides, and other synthetic chemicals that our society produces.

sustainable development

Development that satisfies our current needs without compromising the future availability of natural capital or our future quality of life

Which term is used to describe the conversion of natural resources into goods and services?

Economy

macronutrient

Elements and compounds required in relatively large amounts by organisms

micronutrients

Elements and compounds required in relatively small amounts by organisms

kinetic energy

Energy of motion.

Potential energy

Energy of position

Members of the _____ movement would be very concerned about the unequal exposure of members of a certain race to pollution.

Environmental Justice

_________ ecosystems occur where fresh water from rivers mixes with saltier marine waters to produce a highly productive ecosystem with varying salinity levels.

Estuary

chronic exposure

Exposure for long periods of time to a toxicant occurring in low amounts.

Flashy

Fast, sudden response Rocky /no vegetation EX: Mojave desert

Secondary forest

Forest that has grown back after primary forest has been cut

metamorphic rock

Formed by great heat and/or pressure that reshapes crystals within the rock and changes its appearance and physical properties

igneous rock

Formed from cooling magma

sedimentary rock

Formed when dissolved minerals seep through sediment layers and act as a kind of glue, crystallizing and binding sediment particles together

Why are over one-sixth of the world's people at risk for running out of drinking water?

Glaciers in many areas are melting.

A company that produces household cleaners decides to produce a "green" version of its products, even though the formulas are virtually unchanged compared to the original formulas. This is an example of _______.

Greenwashing

How have volcanoes formed the Hawai'ian Islands with no subduction zones nearby?

Hawai'ian volcanoes are situated above a hot spot

Biological Hazards

Human health hazards that result from ecological interactions among organisms. These include parasitism by viruses, bacteria, or other pathogens.

cultural hazards

Human health hazards that result from the place we live, our socioeconomic status, our occupation, or our behavioral choices, include smoking, unsafe working conditions, poor diet, drugs, drinking, driving, criminal assaults, unsafe sex, etc

Which of the following statements about Earth's carrying capacity for humans is true?

Humans have a carrying capacity like all other species, although we can develop technology to help us overcome some of the limits that we would otherwise face.

residence time

In a biogeochemical cycle, the amount of time a nutrient typically remains in a given reservoir before moving to another.

biomass

In ecology, organic material that makes up living organisms; the collective mass of living matter in a given place and time

bottleneck

In environmental science, a step in a process that limits the progress of the overall process.

Why are island species particularly vulnerable to introduced species?

Island species evolved in isolation and lack defenses against introduced species.

What is Earth's natural capital?

It is the accumulation of Earth's wealth of resources.

National forest management act

Legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in 1976, mandating that plans for renewable resource management be drawn up for every national forest.

lava

Magma that is released from the lithosphere and flows or spatters across Earth's surface

Which of the following is an example of mitigation?

Making legislation to reduce our use of fossil fuels

endemic

Native or restricted to a particular geographic region

artificial selection

Natural selection conducted under human direction

_____ removes nitrogen from the atmosphere.

Nitrogen fixation Nitrogen fixation is the conversion of nitrogen gas to a form that can be used by plants (and other organisms).

Under current law, can captured wild horses be sold for meat?

No.

Why much water is there in there in the hydrosphere?

Oceans - 97.5% Ice- 1.9% →→ 75% of total fresh water Groundwater - .5% Rivers and Lakes - .02% Atmosphere - .0001% , .00001%

If the government implements a program immediately to use fertility-control drugs, how often would wild horses have to be treated?

Once every two years.

nitrogen oxide (NOX)

One of a family of compounds that includes nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

volatile organic compound (VOC)

One of a large group of potentially harmful organic chemicals used in industrial processes. One of six major pollutants whose emissions are monitored by the EPA and state agencies.

ozone-depleting substance

One of a number of airborne chemicals, such as halocarbons, that destroy ozone molecules and thin the ozone layer in the stratosphere

______ ecosystems include hydrothermal vent communities in the deep ocean bottom.

Open-ocean

tropospheric ozone

Ozone that occurs in the troposphere, where it is a secondary pollutant created by the interaction of sunlight, heat, nitrogen oxides, and volatile carbon-containing chemicals.

Hydrologic cycle

P=R+Et+G P=Precipitation R= Runoff Et= EvapoTranspiration G= Groundwater storage

Porosity

Pore space between grains -tells how much water can be stored

Sun

Principle source of energy on Earth

polluter-pays principle

Principle specifying that the party responsible for producing pollution should pay the costs of cleaning up the pollution or mitigating its impacts

Hydrograph

Record of discharge over time

nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

Reddish-brown gas formed when nitrogen oxide reacts with oxygen in the air.

Wien's law

Relates wavelength of light w sun's intensity

The slowly increasing distance between South America and Africa is due to ____________

Seafloor Spreading

Silt

Sediment consisting of particles 0.002-0.005 mm in diameter

sand

Sediment consisting of particles 0.005-2.0 mm in diameter.

Clay

Sediment consisting of particles less than 0.002 mm in diameter.

Subdued

Slow response Heavy vegetation EX: amazon river basin

loam

Soil with a relatively even mixture of clay-, silt-, and sand-sized particles.

particulate matter

Solid or liquid particles small enough to be suspended in the atmosphere and able to damage respiratory tissues when inhaled. - Includes primary pollutants, such as dust and soot, as well as secondary pollutants, such as sulfates and nitrates. An EPA criteria pollutant.

Tertiary consumers

Something that eats secondary consumer

What is the greatest negative environmental impact that occurs when people live in suburbs instead of living in cities?

Suburbanites take up many times as much space as city dwellers.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)

Synthetic compounds that provide fire-retardant properties and are used in a diverse array of consumer products, including computers, televisions, plastics, and furniture. Released during production, disposal, and use of products, these chemicals persist and accumulate in living tissue and appear to be endocrine disruptors.

Primary Producers

Take energy from sun and convert it to green stuff (grass)

scrubber

Technology to chemically treat gases produced in combustion in order to reduce smokestack emissions

uneven-aged

Term describing stands consisting of trees of different ages. Uneven-aged stands more closely approximate a natural forest than do even-aged stands.

topsoil

That portion of the soil that is most nutritive for plants and is thus of the most direct importance to ecosystems and agriculture. A soil horizon also known as the A horizon

Which piece of legislation set strict standards for air quality and pollution control?

The Clean Air Act

Discharge = Q

The amount of water draining from a river or a stream over a period of time Units: cfs (cubic feet per second) or cms -Q=A x V -A= Cross sectional area -V= Velocity

total fertility rate

The average number of children born to a woman during her childbearing years.

Life expectancy

The average number of years an individual can be expected to live, given current social, economic, and medical conditions. Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a newborn infant can expect to live.

front

The boundary between air masses that differ in temperature and moisture

Earth's oceans hold:

The bulk of all of the water found on earth (The oceans contain 97.22% of all water)

Energy

The capacity to change the position, physical composition, or temperature of matter; a force that can accomplish work.

evaporation

The conversion of a substance from a liquid to a gaseous form.

carbon footprint

The cumulative amount of carbon, or carbon dioxide, that a person or institution emits, and is indirectly responsible for emitting, into the atmosphere

A factory in a rural part of the United States has just been implicated for releasing toxic substances into the same water source that is used for drinking water in the area. Which of the following statements is true regarding this factory?

The factory is a point source of water pollution.

fundamental niche

The full niche of a species

airshed

The geographic area that produces air pollutants likely to end up in a waterway.

Poaching

The illegal killing of wildlife, usually for meat or body parts.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

The leading set of standards for certification of a green building

weather

The local physical properties of the troposphere, such as temperature, pressure, humidity, cloudiness, and wind, over relatively short time periods

troposphere

The lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere

How can the actions of packrats serve as proxy indicators of climate change?

The packrat middens preserve plant parts for centuries.

reproductive window

The portion of a woman's life between sexual maturity and menopause during which she may become pregnant.

realized niche

The portion of the fundamental niche that is fully realized (used) by a species

carbon pricing

The practice of putting a price on the emission of carbon dioxide, either through carbon trading or a carbon tax, as a means to address global climate change.

Endangered species act

The primary legislation, enacted in 1973, for protecting biodiversity in the United States. It forbids the government and private citizens from taking actions (such as developing land) that would destroy endangered species or their habitats, and it prohibits trade in products made from endangered species.

Habitat fragmentation

The process by which an expanse of natural habitat becomes broken up into discontinuous fragments, often as a result of farming, logging, road-building, and other types of human development and land use.

carbon capture and storage

The process of capturing waste CO2, transporting it to a storage site, and depositing it where it will not enter the atmosphere, normally underground.

eutrophication

The process of nutrient enrichment, increased production of organic matter, and subsequent ecosystem degradation in a water body

productivity

The rate at which plants convert solar energy (sunlight) to biomass. Ecosystems whose plants convert solar energy to biomass rapidly are said to have high productivity

relative humidity

The ratio of water vapor that air contains at a given temperature to the maximum amount it could contain at that temperature.

transpiration

The release of water vapor by plants through their leaves.

stratosphere

The second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. -it contains the ozone layer

acid deposition

The settling of acidic or acid-forming pollutants from the atmosphere onto Earth's surface

Environmental Science

The study of -how the natural world works -how our environment affects us -how we affect the environment

Adaptive management

The systematic testing of different management approaches to improve methods over time

monoculture

The uniform planting of a single crop over a large area

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

The use of multiple techniques in combination to achieve long-term suppression of pests, including biocontrol, use of pesticides, close monitoring of populations, habitat alteration, crop rotation, transgenic crops, alternative tillage methods, and mechanical pest removal.

atmospheric pressure

The weight (or gravitational force) per unit area produced by a column of air.

atmospheric deposition

The wet or dry deposition onto land of a wide variety of pollutants, including mercury, nitrates, organochlorines, and others

Island biogeography theory

Theory initially applied to oceanic islands to explain how species come to be distributed among them.

How do power utilities promote energy efficiency as a market incentive to their customers?

They offer discounts to customers who purchase and use energy efficient appliances and light bulbs

What is the biggest concern regarding the wild horses in the West?

They take food from livestock.

Which of the following is true regarding marine reserves?

They tend to increase species diversity.

Primary Consumers

Things that eat grass (grasshopper)

Secondary Consumers

Things that eat primary consumer (bird)

seed-tree

Timber harvesting approach that leaves small numbers of mature and vigorous seed-producing trees standing so that they can reseed a logged area.

Which of the following statements best describes competition for a niche?

Two species could divide a niche through "resource partitioning."

Conservation Reserve Program

U.S. policy in farm bills since 1985 that pays farmers to stop cultivating highly erodible cropland and instead place it in conservation reserves planted with grasses and trees.

Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act

US legislation, enacted in 2016, that updates the Toxic Substances Control Act and directs the EPA to monitor and regulate industrial chemicals

intrinsic value

Value ascribed to something for its intrinsic worth; the notion that the thing has a right to exist and is valuable for its own sake

instrumental value

Value ascribed to something for the pragmatic benefits it brings us if we put it to use

precipitation

Water that condenses out of the atmosphere and falls to Earth in droplets or crystals

Which of these is true of pollinators in modern agriculture?

While bees are the most important pollinators, crop plants are also pollinated by wasps, moths, butterflies, birds, beetles, flies, and even bats.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

a 1973 treaty facilitated by the United Nations that protects endangered species by banning the international transport of their body parts

Convention on Biological Diversity

a 1992 treaty aims to conserve biodiversity, use biodiversity in a sustainable manner, and ensure the fair distribution of biodiversity's benefits

Forest type

a category of forest defined by its predominant tree species

carcinogen

a chemical or type of radiation that causes cancer

convective circulation

a circular current driven by temperature differences

smart growth

a city planning concept in which a community's growth is managed in ways intended to limit sprawl and maintain or improve residents' quality of life.

breakdown products

a compound that results from the degradation of a toxicant.

even-aged

a condition in timber plantations in which all the trees are the same age

dose-response curve

a curve that plots the response of test animals to different doses of a toxicant, as a result of dose-response analysis

humus

a dark, spongy, crumbly mass of material made up of complex organic compounds, resulting from the partial decomposition of organic matter

snag

a dead tree that is still standing. Snags are valuable for wildlife

transit oriented development

a development approach in which compact communities in the new urbanism style are arrayed around stops on a major rail transit line

infectious disease

a disease in which a pathogen attacks a host

noninfectious disease

a disease that develops as a result of an individual organism's genes, lifestyle, and environmental exposures, rather than by pathogenic infection

asbestosis

a disorder resulting from lung tissue scarred by acid following prolonged inhalation of asbestos

Soil horizon

a distinct layer of soil

carbon tax

a fee that the government charges polluters for each unit of greenhouse gas they emit

Desertification

a form of land degradation in which more than 10% of a land's productivity is lost due to erosion, soil compaction, forest removal, overgrazing, drought, salinization, climate change, water depletion or other factors

policy

a formal set of general plans and principles intended to address problems and guide decision making in specific instances

IPAT model

a formula that represents how humans' total impact (I) on the environment results from the interaction among three factors: population (P), affluence (A), and technology (T) I=PxAxT

Land degradation

a general deterioration of land, decreasing its productivity and biodiversity, impairs the functioning of its ecosystems, and reduces the ecosystem services the land can offer us

landscape

a geographic region where an array of ecosystems exist

Species-area curve

a graph showing how number of species varies with the geographic area of a landmass or water body

radon

a highly toxic, radioactive, colorless gas that seeps up from the ground in areas with certain types of bedrock and can build up inside basements and homes with poor air circulation

Feedlot

a huge indoor or outdoor pen designed to deliver energy-rich food to animals living at extremely high densities

urban growth boundary

a line on a map established to separate areas zoned to be high density and urban from areas intended to remain low density and rural. The aim is to control sprawl, revitalize cities, and preserve the rural character of outlying areas.

Land Trust

a local or regional organization that purchases land valued by its members, with the aim of preserving it in its natural condition

greenbelts

a long and wide corridor of park land, often encircling an entire urban area.

Farmers' market

a market at which local farmers and food producers sell fresh, locally grown items

Genetic diversity

a measurement of the differences in DNA composition among individuals within a given species

compost

a mixture produced when decomposers break down organic matter such as food and crop waste in a controlled environment

slash-and-burn

a mode of agriculture frequently used in the tropics in which natural vegetation is cut and then burned, adding nutrition to the soil, before farming begins

neonicotinoid

a new class of chemical insecticide. Sprayed on plants or used to coat seeds. When seeds are treated, the poison becomes systemic throughout the plant, dispersing through its tissues as it grows and making the tissues toxic to insects

Corrridor

a passageway of protected land established to allow animals to travel between islands of protected habitat

Pest

a pejorative term for any organism that damages crops that we value.

Pollination

a plant-animal interaction in which one organism transfers pollen from flower to flower, fertilizing ovaries that grow into fruits with seeds

species

a population or group of populations of a particular type of organism whose members share certain characteristics and can breed freely with one another and produce fertile offspring

Multiple use

a principle guiding management policy for national forests specifying that forests be managed for recreation, wildlife habitat, mineral extraction, water quality, and other uses, as well as for timber extraction

Reducing Emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD)

a proposed international program, still being developed, to encourage the conservation of forests globally for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to control climate change

mass transit

a public transportation system for a metropolitan area that moves large numbers of people at once. buses, trains, subways, streetcars etc.

Life-cycle analysis

a quantitative analysis of the inputs and outputs across all stages of an item's production, transport, sale, and use, and finally its disposal -in an attempt to judge the sustainability of the process and make it more ecologically efficient

Probability

a quantitative description of the likelihood of a certain outcome

exurb

a region surrounding a city and beyond the suburbs, generally inhabited by affluent individuals seeking more space than the suburbs provide

meta-analysis

a scientific analysis that gathers together results from all scientific studies on a particular research question and statistically analyzes their data for significant patterns or trends that hold across all of them together

Conservation biology

a scientific discipline devoted to understanding the factors, forces, and processes that influence the loss, protection, and restoration of biodiversity within and among ecosystems

urban ecology

a scientific field of study that views cities explicitly as ecosystems. Researchers in this field apply the fundamentals of ecosystem ecology and systems science to urban areas.

community

a set of populations of different species living together in a particular area

public policy

a set of rules made by governments, regulatory agencies, etc.

suburb

a smaller community located at the outskirts of a city

Demographers

a social scientist who studies the population size, density, distribution, age structure, sex ratio, and rates of birth, death, immigration, and emigration of human populations

greenways

a strip of park land that connects parks or neighborhoods ; often located along a river, stream, or canal.

carbon trading

a system by which countries and organizations receive permits to produce a specified amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which they may trade with others.

Hypothesis

a testable statement that attempts to answer a scientific question

toxins

a toxic chemical stored or manufactured in the tissues of living organisms. EX: a chemical that plants use to ward off herbivores or that insects use to deter predators.

teratogen

a toxicant that causes harm to the unborn, resulting in birth defects

mutagen

a toxicant that causes mutations in the DNA of organisms

Biosphere reserve

a tract of land with exceptional biodiversity that couples preservation with sustainable development to benefit local people

Debt-for-nature swap

a transaction in which a conservation organization pays off a portion of a developing nation's international debt in exchange for the nation's promise to set aside reserves, fund environmental education, and better manage protected areas

revenue-neutral carbon tax

a type of carbon tax in which there is no net transfer of money from citizens or the private sector to the government. monies paid are either refunded by a fee-and-dividend approach or other tax rates are lowered to compensate

toxic air pollutant

a type of chemical that is known to cause cancer, reproductive defects, or neurological, developmental, immune system, or respiratory problems in humans, and/or to cause substantial ecological harm by affecting the health of nonhuman animals and plants

Conservation concession

a type of concession in which a conservation organization purchases the right to prevent resource extraction in an area of land, generally to preserve habitat in developing nations

resilience

ability of an ecological community to change in response to disturbance but later return to its original state

resistance

ability of an ecological community to remain stable in the presence of a disturbance

ethics

academic study of good and bad, right and wrong

mutation

accidental change in DNA that may range in magnitude from the deletion, substitution, or addition of a single nucleotide

The greatest use of fresh water worldwide is __________.

agricultural

traditional agriculture

agriculture in which human and animal muscle power, along with hand tools and simple machines, performs the work of cultivating, harvesting, storing, and distributing crops

Conservation tillage

agriculture that limits the amount of tilling of soil

organic agriculture

agriculture that uses no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides but instead relies on biological approaches such as composting and biological control

biocentric view

all living things view

experimental control

all variables except for one (one single variable is changed)

Nitrifying bacteria convert _____ to _____.

ammonium ... nitrites

Relative humidity

amount of water vapor at temp / capacity of air that is at temp X 100

National wildlife refuge

an area of public land set aside to serve as a haven for wildlife and also sometimes to encourage hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, photography, environmental education, and other uses

Dust Bowl

an area that loses huge amounts of topsoil to wind erosion as a result of drought and/or human impact

Pesticide

an artificial chemical used to kill insects, plants, or fungi

ecosystem

an assemblage of all organisms and nonliving entities that occur and interact in a particular area at the same time

edge effect

an impact on organisms, populations, or communities that results because conditions along the edge of a habitat fragment differ from conditions in the interior

demographic fatigue

an inability on the part of governments to address overwhelming challenges related to population growth

organism

an individual living thing

Biophilia

an inherent love for and fascination with nature and an instinctive desire people have to affiliate with other living things

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

an international group of scientists that evaluates scientific studies related to climate change to thoroughly and objectively assess the data

genetically modified organism (GMO)

an organism that has been genetically engineered using recombinant DNA technology

vector

an organism that transfers a pathogen to its host. EX: mosquito that transfers the malaria pathogen to humans.

Control

an unmanipulated point of comparison for treatments in an experiment

Red list

an updated list of species facing unusually high risks of extinction

Forest

any ecosystem characterized by a high density of trees

Aquiclude

any material that obstructs the flow of water

asbestos

any of several types of mineral that form long, thin, microscopic fibers - a structure that allows asbestos to insulate buildings for heat, muffle sound, and resist fire. When inhaled and lodged in lung tissue, asbestos scars the tissue and may eventually lead to lung cancer or asbestosis.

Genetic engineering

any process scientists use to manipulate an organism's genetic material in the lab by adding, deleting, or changing segments of its DNA

Aquifer

any water transmitting material

estuary

area where a river flows into the ocean, mixing fresh water with saltwater

divergent plate boundaries

area where tectonic plates push apart from one another as magma rises upward to the surface, creating new lithosphere as it cools and spreads

how does the concentration of organic matter vs. parent material change as we move downwards through soil, into the Earth?

as you go down into the surface, organic matter decreases, and parent material increases

background extinction rate

average rate of extinction that occurred before the appearance of humans

Which of the following was a factor in helping to reduce total fertility rate of developed countries in the recent past?

better medical care

In animal populations, DDT causes _____.

birth defects

Which of these would be an example of mitigation rather than adaptation for global climate change?

building more wind turbines to generate energy from renewable sources rather than fossil fuels

Most of the indoor air pollution in developing countries comes from __________.

burning fuelwood

Why do joints increase weathering rates?

by increasing surface area

An element associated with all organic compounds is _______.

carbon

global climate change

change in aspects of Earth's climate, such as temperature, precipitation, and storm intensity (global warming)

Why do minerals experience chemical weathering?

change in chemical structure or properties, rocks formed at depth are less stable at surface pressures and temperatures, and will react to produce more stable forms.

dissolution

chemical weathering type minerals are dissolved in fluid and can be transported as ions

hydrolysis

chemical weathering type water reacts with carbon dioxide to produce carbonic acid, which weathers silicate rocks into clays, bicarbonates, and other ions

feedback loop

circular process in which a system's output serves as input to that same system

Soil that is 50% clay, 20% silt, and 30% sand would be categorized as ________.

clay

what different factors determine the soil type that forms in a region?

climate (temp and precipitation), relief of ground surface, nature/composition of parent material, time to develop, and number and types of living organisms

paleoclimate

climate of the geological past

landslide

collapse and downhill flow of large amounts of rock or soil. A severe and sudden form of mass wasting.

sustainability

conserving resources, maintaining functional ecological systems, and developing long-term solutions, such that Earth can sustain our civilization and all life for the future

Australia is composed of relatively old and thick _________

continental crust

Biological control

control of pests and weeds with organisms that prey on or parasitize them, rather than with chemical pesticides

primary production

conversion of solar energy to the energy of chemical bonds in sugars during photosynthesis, performed by autotrophs

_________ ecosystems are being affected by the process of ocean acidification, which threatens their long-term existence.

coral reef

ethical standard

criterion that helps differentiate right from wrong

ocean acidification

decreasing pH of ocean waters due to absorption of excess atmospheric CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels

A scientist measures the ___ in an experiment

dependent variable

Salt can be removed from seawater by __________.

desalinization: mimicking the hydrologic cycle by taking ocean water and hastening evaporation with heat, and then condensing the vapor

Climate

describes an area's long-term atmospheric conditions, including temperature, precipitation, wind, humidity, barometric pressure, solar radiation, and other characteristics. Climate differs from weather

By what chemical weathering mechanism and in what rock type is karst topography formed? What does this have to do with the Corvette Museum and caves?

dissolution, limestones - bad for corvettes, but great for making caves

What type of irrigation method wastes as little as 10% of the water applied to the plants?

drip irrigation

social cost of carbon

economic cost of damages resulting from each ton of carbon dioxide we emit

A(n) _____ is a region where fresh water and salt water mix.

estuary

conservation ethic

ethic holding that people should put natural resources to use but also have a responsibility to manage them wisely

preservation ethic

ethic holding that we should protect the natural environment in a pristine, unaltered state

relatavist

ethicist who maintains that ethics do and should vary with social context

universalist

ethicist who maintains that there exist objective notions of right and wrong that hold across cultures and situations

disturbance

event that affects environmental conditions rapidly and drastically, resulting in changes to the community and ecosystem

ecocentric view

everything in the ecosystem view

convergent evolution

evolutionary process by which very unrelated species acquire similar traits as they adapt to similar selective pressures from similar environments

acute exposure

exposure to a toxicant occurring in high amounts for short periods of time

mass extinction event

extinction of a large proportion of the world's species in a very short time period due to some extreme and rapid change or catastrophic event

DDT is _____-soluble so it accumulates in _____.

fat... milk Fat-soluble DDT accumulates in the fats of milk and from there can be transferred to children.

The earthquakes that occur in Southern California generally occur above a ________

fault

Wilderness area

federal land that is designated off-limits to development of any kind but is open to public recreation, such as hiking, nature study, and other activities that have minimal impact on the land

negative feedback loop

feedback loop in which output of one type acts as input that moves the system in the opposite direction

positive feedback loop

feedback loop in which output of one type acts as input that moves the system in the same direction

Because of the Green Revolution, the average U.S. cornfield increased its yields by _____ during the 20th century.

fivefold

genetically modified food

food derived from a genetically modified organism

niche

functional role of a species in a community

subsidy

government grant of money or resources to a private entity, intended to support and promote an industry or activity. A tax break is one type of subsidy

Which of the following have the ability to absorb energy from Earth's surface and then emit infrared radiation in all directions?

greenhouse gases

Precipitation that infiltrates Earth's surface and percolates downward becomes ________

groundwater

population

group of organisms of the same species that live in the same area

A __________ is defined as the living and nonliving elements around an organism.

habitat

climate

he pattern of atmospheric conditions that typifies a geographic region over long periods of time

Old Faithful Geyser at Yellowstone National Park in the United States acquires its energy from a ____________

hotspot

anthropocentric view

human centered view

Water is renewed naturally by Earth as it moves through the __________.

hydrologic cycle

Know which rock types experience hydrolysis vs. oxidation.

hydrolysis - silicate rocks oxidation - mafic rocks

The largest percentage of fresh water today is located in:

ice sheets and glaciers.

Endangered

in danger of becoming extinct in the near

A scientist manipulates the________ in an experiment

independent variable

The type of agriculture that occupies over 25% of the world's croplands and dominates farms in the Midwest is __________.

industrial agriculture

The transitional stage in the demographic transition model is initiated by ________.

industrialization

infant mortality rates

infant mortality rates

core

innermost part of Earth, made up mostly of iron, that lies beneath the crust and mantle.

cumulative impacts

integrated effect of changes as they work throughout the system

Rocky shorelines that are home to sea stars, mussels, crabs, and anemones and experience fluctuating water levels are _______ ecosystems

intertidal

Data

is information obtained from scientific studies

If you wanted to predict which biome you would find in an area, what two things would you would need to know about that area?

its annual rainfall and temperature

Floating brown algae that provide food and shelter for a diversity of animals characterize __________ ecosystems

kelp forest

_____________ is a large body of water that has extensive areas of open water, some of which is too deep for photosynthetic life.

lake

cropland

land that people use to raise plants for food and fiber

rangeland

land used for grazing livestock

first law of thermodynamics

law stating that energy can change from one form to another, but cannot be created or lost.

law of conservation of matter

law stating that matter may be transformed from one type of substance into others, but that it cannot be created or destroyed.

2nd law of thermodynamics

law stating that the nature of energy tends to change from a more-ordered state to a less-ordered state

temperature inversion

layer of dense, cool air trapped under a layer of warm dense air, pollution in trapped layer may build to harmful levels. Frequent in Los Angeles, California and Mexico City, Mexico.

asthenosphere

layer of the upper mantle, just below the lithosphere, consisting of especially soft rock.

public trust doctrine

legal philosophy that holds that natural resources such as air, water, soil, and wildlife should be held in trust for the public and that government should protect them from exploitation by private interests

green tax

levy on environmentally harmful activities and products aimed at providing a market-based incentive to correct for market failure. Compare subsidy

crust

lightweight outer layer of the Earth, consisting of rock that floats atop the malleable mantle, which in turn surrounds a mostly iron core.

Threatened

likely to become endangered soon

A nutrient, like nitrogen, that is required in a large amount in an ecosystem is called a(n) __________.

macronutrient

biome

major regional complex of similar plant communities; a large ecological unit defined by its dominant plant type and vegetation structure

The _____ ecosystem is the largest of Earth's ecosystems.

marine

carrying capacity

maximum population size of a given organism that a given environment can sustain

case history

medical approach involving the observation and analysis of individual patients

Montreal Protocol

meeting in 1987 where a group of nations met in Canada and agreed to take steps to fight against Ozone Depletion-CFC's banned

selection system

method of timber harvesting whereby single trees or groups of trees are selectively cut while others are left, creating an uneven-aged stand

magma

molten liquid rock

For how long have accurate measurements of Earth's climate been recorded?

more than a century

Primary forest

natural forest uncut by people

mineral

naturally occurring solid element or inorganic compound with a crystal structure, a specific chemical composition, and distinct physical properties

system

network of relationships among a group of parts, elements, or components that interact with and influence one another through the exchange of energy, matter, and/or information

ways that two populations of the same species can be geographically isolated...

newly formed mountain ranges glaciers lava flows

Denitrifying bacteria convert _____ to _____.

nitrates...nitrogen gas

fossil fuels

nonrenewable natural resource, such as crude oil, natural gas, or coal, produced by the decomposition and compression of organic matter from ancient life

criteria pollutant

one of six common pollutants regulated by the EPA: carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide,ozone particulates, sulfur dioxide

In the policy-making process, science is _________.

only one of the factors that influence policy makers

primary consumer

organism that consumes producers and feeds at the second trophic level

producers

organism that uses energy from sunlight to produce its own food

Decomposers

organisms that break down dead or decaying organisms, and in doing so, they carry out the natural process of decomposition

species coexistence

outcome of interspecific competition in which no competing species fully excludes others and the species continue to live side by side

competitive exclusion

outcome of interspecific competition in which one species excludes another species from resource use entirely

lithosphere

outer layer of Earth, consisting of crust and uppermost mantle and located just above the asthenosphere. More generally, the solid part of Earth, including the rocks, sediment, and soil at the surface and extending down many miles underground

culture

overall ensemble of knowledge, beliefs, values, and learned ways of life shared by a group of people

What caused the Aral Sea, the fourth largest lake on Earth, to lose four-fifths of its volume in 40 years?

overconsumption by cotton farmers

Fill in the blanks: ozone is made of __________ and is broken down by __________atoms.

oxygen, chlorine

pathogen

parasite that causes disease in its host

freeriders

party that fails to invest in conserving resources, controlling pollution, or carrying out other responsible activities and instead relies on the efforts of other parties to do so

logistic growth pattern

pattern of population growth that results as a population at first grows exponentially and then is slowed and finally brought to a standstill at carrying capacity by limiting factors

character displacement

phenomenon resulting from competition among species in which competing species evolve characteristics that better adapt them to specialize on the portion of the resource they use

know the different physical and chemical weathering processes (given a list, know which term belongs in which category. be able to give brief definitions of each process)

physical kinds: ice wedging, mineral wedging, thermal expansion and contraction, unloading, root wedging, water chemical kinds: dissolution, hydrolysis

physical hazard

physical processes that occur naturally in our environment and pose human health hazards. These include discrete events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fires, floods, blizzards, landslides, hurricanes, as well as ongoing natural phenomena such as ultraviolet radiation from sunlight.

thermal expansion

physical weathering type rocks expand when warm and shrink when cool this is why you don't put rocks in fire, or do if you want to break rocks up so they are easier to move

mineral wedging

physical weathering type salt wedging is especially common, and occurs where evaporation of water leads to the growth of crystals in cracks

root wedging

physical weathering type trees grow relatively quickly in comparison to the span of geologic time, and their roots can pry rocks apart

water

physical weathering type water causes weathering largely by abrading rocks with the rocks that it is transporting

ice wedging

physical weathering type water expands 8-9% in volume and ice can exert 20,000 PSI pressure when water freezes in rocks, this can physically push them apart this is most effective in areas with daily freeze/thaw cycles

unloading

physical weathering type when rocks form at depth, uplift and erosion may expose them and cause them to form an exfoliation dome, where they flake off in sheets this is common with granite (imagine our batholiths and plutons rising up and spalling like this)

What are the limiting factors to population growth?

physical, chemical, and biological attributes of the environment that act as bounds for population growth

limiting factor

physical, chemical, or biological characteristic of the environment that restrains population growth

regional planning

planning similar to city planning but conducted across broader geographic scales, generally involving multiple municipal governments

Intercropping

planting different types of crops in alternating bands or other spatially mixed arrangements

lead poisoning

poisoning by ingestion or inhalation of the heavy metal lead, causing an array of maladies including damage to the brain, liver, kidney, and stomach; learning problems and behavioral abnormalities; anemia; hearing loss; and even death. Can result from drinking water that passes through old lead pipes or ingesting dust or chips of old lead based paint.

light pollution

pollution from urban or suburban lights that obscures the night sky, impairing people's visibility of stars

emissions test

practice of buying and selling government-issued marketable permits to emit pollutants. Under a cap-and-trade system, the government determines an acceptable level of pollution and then issues permits to pollute

cellular respiration

process by which a cell uses the chemical reactivity of oxygen to split glucose into its constituent parts, water and carbon dioxide -C6H12O6(sugar)+6O2→6CO2+6H2O+energy

speciation

process by which new species are generated -mainly occurs due to populations that become physically separated over some geographic distance

tragedy of the commons

process by which publicly accessible resources open to unregulated use tend to become damaged and depleted through overuse.

REACH

program of the European Union that shifts the burden of proof for testing chemical safety from national governments to industry and requires that chemical substances produced or imported in amounts over 1 metric ton per year to be registered with a new European Chemicals Agency. REACH, which stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals, went into effect in 2007

greenwashing

public relations effort by a corporation or institution to mislead customers or the public into thinking it is acting more sustainably than it actually is

adaptation

pursuit of strategies to protect ourselves from the impacts of climate change

Absolute humidity

quantity of water in a particular volume of air

Permeability

rate at which water flows through material

rainshadow

region on one side of a mountain or mountain range that experiences arid climate

symbiosis

relationship between different species of organisms that live in close physical proximity

competition

relationship in which multiple organisms seek the same limited resource

earthquake

release of energy that occurs as Earth relieves accumulated pressure between masses of lithosphere and that results in shaking at the surface.

fossils

remains, impression, or trace of an animal or plant of past geologic ages that has been preserved in rock or sediments

nonrenewable natural resource

resources that are in limited supply and are formed much more slowly than we use them

renewable natural resource

resources that are virtually unlimited or that are replenished by the environment over relatively short periods

________ meanders across land and structures the landscape.

river

how can we use bowen's reaction series to predict when different minerals will weather?

rocks that formed earlier in Bowen's reaction series are less resistant to weathering than rocks that formed later

Salt-tolerant grasses & shrubs dominate _________ ecosystems, which occur on the coast at temperate latitudes

salt marsh

ecological economics

school of economics that applies the principles of ecology and systems thinking to the description and analysis of economies

environmental economics

school of economics that modifies the principles of neoclassical economics to address environmental challenges

ecology

science that deals with the distribution and abundance of organisms, the interactions among them, and the interactions between organisms and their nonliving environments

conservation biology

scientific discipline devoted to understanding the factors, forces, and processes that influence the loss, protection, and restoration of biodiversity within and among ecosystems

___________ found in the Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe is composed of dense and relatively young rock

seafloor crust

Bioprospecting

searching for organisms that might provide new foods, medicines, or other products

Layered __________ exposed by erosion can be seen when looking at the Grand Canyon in the United States.

sedimentary rock

Which is the largest source of oil input into the world's oceans?

seeps from naturally occurring seafloor deposits

food chain

series of feeding relationships. As organisms feed on one another, energy is transferred from lower to higher trophic levels

What type of farming has led to the destruction of mangroves?

shrimp

model

simplified representation of a complex natural process, designed by scientists to help understand how the process occurs and to make predictions

volcano

site where molten rock, hot gas, or ash erupts through Earth's surface, often creating a mountain over time as cooled lava accumulates

Which of the following is an unhealthy mixture of pollutants that forms over cities?

smog

demographer

social scientist who studies the population size; density; distribution; age structure; sex ratio; and rates of birth, death, immigration, and emigration of human populations

rock

solid aggregation of minerals

pioneer species

species that arrives earliest, beginning the ecological process of succession in a terrestrial or aquatic community

generalist

species that can survive across a wide array of habitats or that can use a wide array of resources

specialist

species that can survive only in a narrow range of habitats or that depends on very specific resources

habitat

specific environment in which an organism lives, including both biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) elements

Point sources of air pollution are __________.

specific spots--such as a factory's smokestacks--where large quantities of pollution are discharged

succession

stereotypical series of changes in the composition and structure of an ecological community through time

Resource management

strategic decision making about how to extract resources, so that resources are used wisely and conserved for the future

The Tohoku Earthquake

struck Japan on 11th March 2011 was one of the biggest earthquakes recorded in the last 100 years and caused shaking at the surface that lasted 6 minutes

The extremely deep ocean Marianas Trench is a result of ______________

subduction

The benthic zone of aquatic environments is defined as the _____.

substrate at the bottom of the body of water

biosphere

sum total of all the planet's living organisms and the nonliving portions of the environment with which they interact

________ refers to all liquid fresh water located above ground.

surface water

Transgenic

term describing an organism that contains DNA from another species

scientific method

testing of ideas -uses observations -follows a sequence of steps (observations, questions, hypothesis, predictions, test, results)

Experiment

tests the validity of a hypothesis

What event is credited with leading to the passage of the Clean Water Act?

the Cuyahoga River catching fire -Pollution floating in the water of the Cuyahoga River caught fire multiple times in the 1950s and 1960s

What is the role of the Energy Star program in energy conservation?

the Energy Star is given for electrical appliances with energy efficiency that meets certain standards for low energy consumption

Mitigation

the action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something -improving energy efficiency -switching to clean and renewable energy sources -preserving forests, recovering landfill gas -encouraging farm practices that protect soil quality

threshold dose

the amount of a toxicant at which it begins to affect a population of test animals

ED50 (Effective dose 50%)

the amount of a toxicant it takes to affect 50% of a population of test animals

LD50 (lethal dose 50%)

the amount of a toxicant it takes to kill 50% of a population of test animals

radiative forcing

the amount of change in thermal energy that a given factor causes

dose

the amount of toxicant a test animal receives in a dose-response test

Deposition

the arrival of eroded soil at a new location

Irrigation

the artificial provision of water to support agriculture

Ecosystem-based management

the attempt to manage the harvesting of resources in ways that minimize impact on the ecosystems and ecological processes that provide the resources

Background extinction rate

the average rate of extinction that occurred before the appearance of humans

inversion layer

the band of air in which temperature rises with altitude

Parent Material

the base geologic material in a particular location

Salinization

the buildup of salts in surface soil layers

Bioaccumulation

the buildup of toxicants in the tissues of an animal

Deforestation

the clearing and loss of forests

environmental policy

the commitment of an organization to the laws, regulations, and other policy mechanisms concerning environmental issues.

malnutrition

the condition of lacking nutrients the body needs, including a complete complement of vitamins and minerals

overgrazing

the consumption by too many animals of plant cover, impeding plant regrowth and the replacement of biomass

bedrock

the continuous mass of solid rock that makes up Earth's crust

Nitrogen fixation

the conversion of nitrogen to a form that plants can use

Nitrification

the conversion of organic nitrogen-containing compounds to nitrites and nitrates

soil profile

the cross-section of soil as a whole, including all soil horizons from the surface to the bedrock

Aquaculture

the cultivation of aquatic organisms for food in controlled environments

terracing

the cutting of level platforms, sometimes with raised edges, into steep hillsides to contain water from irrigation and precipitation. Transforms slopes into series of steps like a staircase, enabling farmers to cultivate hilly land while minimizing their loss of soil to water erosion

toxicity

the degree of harm a chemical substance can inflict

contraception

the deliberate attempt to prevent pregnancy despite sexual intercourse

Extirpation

the disappearance of a particular population from a given area, but not the entire species globally

Extinction

the disappearance of an entire species from earth

mass wasting

the downslope movement of soil and rock due to gravity

A marine ecosystem is exposed to a potentially devastating invasive species and responds by remaining stable throughout the invasion. It could be said that _____.

the ecosystem demonstrated resistance to the disturbance

birth control

the effort to control the number of children one bears, particularly by reducing the frequency of pregnancy

Family planning

the effort to plan the number and spacing of one's children, so as to offer children and parents the best quality of life possible

Mass extinction event

the extinction of a large proportion of the world's species in a very short time period due to some extreme and rapid change or catastrophic event.

Pre-Industrail Stage

the first stage of the demographic transition model, characterized by conditions that defined most of human history. In pre-industrial societies, both death rates and birth rates are high

Post-industrial stage

the fourth and final stage of the demographic transition model, in which both birth and death rates have fallen to a low level and remain stable there, and populations may even decline slightly

Private, voluntary efforts to keep the "tragedy of the commons" in check are often less effective than mandated public policy because of _______.

the free-rider predicament

food security

the guaranteed availability of an adequate, safe, nutritious, and reliable food supply to all people at all times

clear-cutting

the harnessing of timber by cutting all the trees in an area. Most ecologically damaging method

precautionary principle

the idea that one should not undertake a new action until the ramifications of that action are well understood

Understory

the layer of a forest consisting of small shrubs and trees above the forest floor and below the subcanopy

What is base level, and why is it important? How do dams change base level?

the lowest level that a stream can erode to sea level is ULTIMATE base level, though there are a few streams that erode to points lower than thing in the world! At base level, we are at the lowest point in the system and gravity will no longer help our stream do work

Biomagnification

the magnification of the concentration of toxicants in an organism caused by its consumption of other organisms in which toxicants have bioaccumulated

biotechnology

the material application of biological science to create products derived from organisms

risk

the mathematical probability that some harmful outcome (for instance, injury, death, environmental damage, or economic loss) will result from a given action, event, or substance.

Maximum sustainable yield

the maximal harvest of a particular renewable natural resource that can be accomplished while still keeping the resource available for the future

Subcanopy

the middle level of trees in a forest, beneath the canopy

Ecosystem diversity

the number and variety of ecosystems in a particular area. One way to express biodiversty

Species diversity

the number and variety of species in the world or in a particular region

urban heat island effect

the phenomenon whereby a city becomes warmer than outlying areas because of the concentration of heat generating buildings, vehicles, and people, and because buildings and dark paved surfaces absorb heat and release it at night.

polyculture

the planting of multiple crops in a mixed arrangement or in close proximity

crop rotation

the practice of alternating the kind of crop grown in a particular field from one season or year to the next

Prescribed fire

the practice of burning areas of forest or grassland under carefully controlled conditions to improve the health of ecosystems, return them to a more natural state, reduce fuel loads, and help prevent uncontrolled catastrophic fires

zoning

the practice of classifying areas for different types of development and land use

overshoot

the practice of consuming more resources than are being replenished

agriculture

the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock for human use and consumption

community-based conservation

the practice of engaging local people to protect land and wildlife in their own region

Captive breeding

the practice of keeping members of threatened and endangered species in captivity so that their young can be bred and raised in controlled environments and subsequently reintroduced into the wild

contour farming

the practice of plowing furrows sideways across a hillside, perpendicular to its slope, to help prevent the formation of rills and gullies

leaching

the process by which minerals dissolved in a liquid (usually water) are transported to another location (generally downward through soil horizons)

weathering

the process by which rocks and minerals are broken down, turning large particles into smaller particles. Weathering may proceed by physical, chemical, or biological means

Risk Management

the process of considering information from scientific risk assessment in light of economic, social, and political needs and values, in order to make decisions and design strategies to minimize risk

Forestry

the professional management of forests

city planning

the professional pursuit that attempts to design cities in such a way as to maximize their efficiency, functionality, and beauty also known as urban planning

risk assessment

the quantitative measurement of risk, together with the comparison of risks involved in different activities or substances

rate of natural increase

the rate of change in a population's size resulting from birth and death rates alone, excluding migration.

Erosion

the removal of material from one place and its transport to another by the action of wind or water

Concession

the right to extract a resource, granted by a government to a corporation

Waterlogging

the saturation of soil by water, in which the water table is raised to the point that water bathes plant roots. Waterlogging deprives roots of access to gases, essentially suffocating them and damaging or killing the plants

Forensic science

the scientific analysis of evidence to make an identification or answer a question relating to a crime or an accident

Toxicology

the scientific field that examines the effects of poisonous chemicals and other agents on humans and other organisms

transitional stage

the second stage of the demographic transition model, which occurs during the transition from the pre-industrial stage to the industrial stage. It is characterized by declining death rates but continued high birth rates.

environmental health

the study of how environmental factors affect human health and quality of life and the health of ecological systems essential to environmental quality and long term human well-being

environmental toxicology

the study of toxicants that come from or are discharged into the environment, including the study of health effects on humans, other animals, and ecosystems

Industrial stage

the third stage of the demographic transition model, characterized by falling birth rates that close the gap with falling death rates and reduce the rate of population growth

replacement fertility

the total fertility rate (TFR) that maintains a stable population size

gentrification

the transformation of a neighborhood to conditions (such as expensive housing and high end shops and restaurants) that cater to wealthier people. often results in longtime lower-income residents being priced out of their homes and apartments.

response

the type or magnitude of negative effects an animal exhibits in response to a dose of toxicant in a dose response analysis

sprawl

the unrestrained spread of urban or suburban development outward from a city center and across the landscape

Canopy

the upper level of tree leaves and branches in a forest

Assimilation

the uptake of nutrients into an organism

precision agriculture

the use of technology to precisely monitor crop conditions, crop needs, and resource use to maximize production while minimizing waste of resources

biodiversity

the variety of life across all levels of biological organization, including the diversity of species, genes, population, and communities

Demographic transition

theoretical model that describes the expected drop in once-high population growth rates as economic conditions improve the quality of life in a population

Milankovitch cycle

theory that says every 100,000 years the earth naturally cools down and goes into an ice age caused by the wobble of the earth's axis and change of shape of earth orbit.

shelterwood

timber harvesting approach that leaves small numbers of mature trees in place to provide shelter for seedlings as they grow.

secondary production

total biomass that heterotrophs generate by consuming autotrophs

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC)

treaty outlined a plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000 through a voluntary approach -Emissions kept rising, however, so nations forged a binding agreement to require emissions reductions

This layer of the atmosphere contains 75% of the atmosphere's molecules, is closest to the planet's surface, is constantly mixing, and gives us our weather.

troposphere

proxy indicator

type of indirect evidence that serves as a substitute for direct measurement and sheds light on past climate

noise pollution

undesired ambient sound

Long ago, two sisters were talking as they returned from their morning trip to collect mushrooms, seeds, berries, and green leaves for the day's meals. The younger woman was watching the progress of a small rabbit as it hopped across the path and toward the clan's trash midden (refuse heap), where broken tools (made of bone, stone, or shell) were tossed, and where discarded food was thrown. She noticed the rabbit stop and begin nibbling at the many new, green shoots sprouting across one side of the midden. She walked over to look, and she saw that some of last year's discarded dried fruits were growing. Surprised and interested, she called her sister over to discuss this find. It is probably TRUE that ________.

until now, this group had not considered deliberately planting seeds

development

use of natural resources for economic advancement

rock cycle

very slow process in which rocks and the minerals that make them up are heated, melted, cooled, broken, and reassembled, forming igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks

food web

visual representation of feeding interactions within an ecological community that shows an array of relationships between organisms at different trophic levels

greenhouse effect

warming that results when solar radiation is trapped by the atmosphere

__________ is the entire land area that supplies a river or stream with water from precipitation

watershed

hydrosphere

water—salt or fresh, liquid, ice, or vapor—in surface bodies, underground, and in the atmosphere

worldview

way of looking at the world that reflects a person's (or a group's) beliefs about the meaning, purpose, operation, and essence of the world

how does weathering differ from erosion?

weathering - breakdown of rocks at the Earth's surface erosion - transport of Earth materials from on place to another via gravity, flowing water, wind and glaciers

___________ has water-saturated soil, shallow standing water, and ample vegetation.

wetland

convergent plate boundaries

where tectonic plates converge or come together. Can result in subduction or continental collision

transform plate boundaries

where two tectonic plates meet and slip and grind alongside one another, creating earthquakes

No-till farming would be most beneficial for farmers ________.

with steeply sloped fields