1.1 - Environmental Value Systems Environmental value system worldview or paradigm that shapes the way an individualor group of people perceive and evaluate environmental issues.This will be influenced by cultural, socio-political, religious,and economic context.Ecocentrism Nature centred. Nature/ecology is central, respectsrights of nature.Values the environment and believes that all livingthings have intrinsic moral value.Anthropocentrismbelieves humans must sustainably manage the globalsystem.People centred and humans can manage earth throughtaxes, legislations and regulations.TechnocentrismTechnology solves problems - believes technologicaldevelopments can provide solutions to environmental issues.Deep EcologistExtreme -Earth over humans; favors self-restraintand individual action; deep mistrust of technology.Soft EcologistIs the belief that individuals have impact and influence.A soft ecologist is someone who believes a small populationor small community can also have an effect on the environment.Environmental Manager Are responsible for overseeing and addressing ecologicaland environmental issues. Affecting the world. Environmentalmanagers try to find solutions to these issues and promotesustainable development.Cornucopian Extreme - people will find a way. World has infiniteresources to benefit humanity -with the development of technology,we will not run out of resources for the population.Tragedy of Commons In a communism state where land is controlled by thegovernment who then refuses or ignores the management of theseproperties which leads to significant damage to the environment. 1 / 10
System A process that involves an input and an output.
EVS influences to an individual can be consideredas a system:
CodependencyAn extreme dependance to something. Typically whenan organism relies on a resource or another organism for survival.
1.2 - Systems and Values Flows Inputs and outputs flow throughout the ecosystem asenergy and matter. Both energy and matter( inputs and outputs)are stored in an ecosystem meaning they cant be destroyed or createdbut only flow throughout the ecosystem and processed in a system Feedback LoopsFeedback loops are when outputs route back as an inputand create a chain. They can be positive or negative tothe system.Systems A system is an assemblage of parts with an input andoutput.Transfers When a form or state does not change after a flowof energy or matter. Movement from one place to another.Input What is taken in and processed in a system Output The result of something produced by the system TransformationsWhen the state of something is changed after a slowof energy or matter. Its changed in form and nature 2 / 10
Storages The natural existence and supply of energy and matterin an ecosystem.Open System exchanges matter and energy with its surroundings Closed SystemExchange energy but not matter.Isolated SystemEnergy or matter is not exchanged.Abiotic Something non living in an environment. Eg. Rocks Biotic Anything living in an environment, organisms Matter Everything that takes up space with a mass.
1.3-Energy and Equilibrium Entropy A disorder of a system. A system with more stateshas more entropy. For example the sun has a higher entropythan the moon because the sun's state constantly changes and hashigher heat.An imbalance in a system.ThermodynamicsThe branch of physics that studies the conversionof different forms of energy.Trophic LevelsThe levels of a food chain in an ecosystem that consistof organisms that share the same function in the foodchain.Equilibrium A balance in which opposing forces are in a stablesituation-no changes are occurring.First law of Thermodynamics Energy can be converted from one form to another withthe interaction of heat, work and internal energy, butitcannot be created nor destroyed, under any circumstances.Second law ofThe entropy of a system increases over time. Entropyis a measure 3 / 10
Thermodynamicsof the amount of disorder in a system.Efficiency the useful energy, the work or output produced bya process divided
by the amount of energy consumed being the input tothe process:
efficiency = work or energy produced / energy consumed efficiency = useful output / input Multiply by 100% to express efficiency as a %.Static EquilibriumAn object in static equilibrium is one that has noincrease in any direction. Happens when there is no exchange betweenreactants and products.Steady State Equilibrium Is an unchanging condition, system or physical processthat remains even after transformation or change.Stable EquilibriumThe system tends to return to the same equilibriumafter disturbance.Unstable Equilibrium The system returns to a new equilibrium after a disturbance.Negative Feedback Loop Happens when the output of the process slows or reversesthe operation of the same process in such a way as toreduce change.Positive Feedback Loop Tend to increase changes and drive the system towardsa tipping point were a new equilibrium is adopted.Albedo Albedo is a measure of how much light is reflectedback from something. It usually refers to Earth and the amountof sunlight that is reflected back into space.
1.4-Sustainability SustainabilityIs the ability to be maintained at the same rate Natural CapitalThe resources a nation has that can produce a sustainablenatural income. 4 / 10
Natural IncomeIs the annual income generated from natural resources.Natural
income can be divided into two groups: Goods and Services.
Goods Where natural resources are converted into naturalincome goods.
For example: wood, food, medicine, paper.
Services Where natural resouces are converted into naturalservice income.
For example:oxygen production, soil stability, etc.
Biome A naturally occurring community in an ecosystem with codependency.Extinction RatesThe number of species that went extinct in a periodof time. Could be projected or past.Ecological Footprints The impact of a person's activity on the environment.Measured by the amount of land or natural resources used for theactivity.Cultivated SystemsLand controlled by humans for agricultural uses.Environmental Input Assessment The evaluation process of the environmental impactscaused by a proposed project or development.Millennium Ecosystem Assessment To assess the linkages between ecosystems and humanwell-being and to determine scientific research for actions necessaryto maintain sustainability with human development andecosystems.
1.5-Humans and pollution Pollution The introduction of a harmful substance into the environmentat a rate which it cant render.Primary PollutantsA primary pollutant is a pollutant directly releasedinto the environment Secondary Pollutants Secondary pollutants are formed in the atmosphere.Unlike primary pollutants, they are not emitted directly from somewhere.They are formed by primary pollutants. 5 / 10
Ozone Ozone is a layer in the atmosphere that absorbs mostof the ultraviolet rays that are entering the lower atmosphere.It is formed naturally but can be affected by secondary and primarypollutants.Point Source Pollution Any single identifiable pollution were the sourcecan easily be spotted.Non-Point Source Pollution Non-point source pollution is a combination of differentsources of pollution.Chronic PollutionChronic pollution is the long-term release of pollutantsthat often go unrecognized because a small amount is released overa period of time.Acute PollutionAcute pollution is a pollution incident when a verybig amount of pollution is released in a very short amount of time.Persistent Pollution Pollution that does not break down in the environment.Biodegradable Pollution Pollution that can be broken down in the environmentand can be turned into natural compounds in the environment.DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, a chemical compoundthat used to be used frequently as a pesticide. It was mainly usedby military in WW2. It was banned in 1972.
2.1-Species and populations
Abiotic FactorsNon-living physical factors in a habitat: temperature,sunlight,
pollutants
Biotic FactorsLiving physical factors in a habitat: interactionsof organisms
Habitat An area or environment that species tend to live in.The natural home to an organism.Population A group of species that live in the same place atthe same time. A 6 / 10
community Niche The abiotic and biotic factors that make up a setbest suitable for an organism. An area an organism lives.Limiting FactorsFactors and conditions that limits the growth in anecosystem. Could be physical or biological. Too much or too littleof something needed to survive. Occurs when population reaches/approachescarrying capacity Carrying CapacityThe maximum number of population, and/or plants, anarea can contain without environment degradation S and J Populations Two modes of representing generalized population growthsand trends.
S: Shows the effects of limiting factors (carryingcapacity)
J: Exponential and shows when there is no limit topopulation size
which is why it looked like the letter J Interactions The actions between organisms. Could be between thesame species.Fundamental NicheRepresents the necessary environmental factors neededfor a species to live and survive.Realized NicheWere the species actually lives resulting from adaptationsand competition. It’s were the animal actually lives.Realized niche is resulted from biotic interactions.Species A group of organisms that can interbreed and sharesimilar characteristics.
2.2-Communities and Ecosystems Community A group of organisms that interact and live in thesame area Ecosystem A group of organisms and their interactions with eachother and other abiotic and biotic factors that make the areathey inhabit. 7 / 10
Respiration The conversion of organic matter into carbon dioxideand water in all living organisms.Carbon dioxide+water-glucose+oxygen PhotosynthesisProduces the raw source for biomass in food chains.Photosynthesis takes place inside the plant and produces food forthe plant to survive. The outcome is glucose Producers (Autotrophs). Are plants in the first trophic levelsuch as plants and algae that make their own food using photosynthesis.They produce biomass.ChemosyntheticTypically found in areas with little/no sunlight,these plants don't need sunlight to create their own food and don't usephotosynthesis but are still in the first trophic level.Consumers Consumers are organisms that eat other organisms toobtain energy.DecomposersOrganisms that obtain their energy from decomposedliving matter.Food Chains A food chain is a diagram that shows how energy ispassed through each trophic level.Food Webs A graphic representation of what eats what in a foodchain pointed with arrows.Ecological Pyramids Is a pyramid that represents the energy passed fromeach trophic level in a food chain.Biomass The total weight of an organism measured in per unitarea.Pyramids of Numbers It's a graphical representation of the number of organismsat each trophic level in a pyramid. Its represented basedon the size of the trophic level on the pyramid.Flow Flows represent either a transfer or a transformationin a system.They are represented with arrows in a model, flowsrepresent a change in location or a change in state. 8 / 10
Rate A rate is the measurement of a quantity or frequencyof something.
For example: the rate of population growth.
Pyramids of Biomass It's a graphical representation of the biomass oforganisms at each trophic level in a food pyramid. They are the massof tissue of living organisms.Pyramids of Productivity Measured in Joules (J), pyramids of represents theenergy acquired from the trophic level below in a pyramid. Usuallythe producers are the largest block in pyramids of productivity sincethey get 100% of the energy from the sun.Bioaccumulationbuild-up of persistent/non-biodegradable pollutantswithin an organism or trophic level in the tissue BiomagnificationBiomagnification - increase in concentration of persistentor non-biodegradable pollutants along a food chain 2.3-Flows of Energy and Matter Biomass The total weight of an organism measured in per unitarea.Net The amount of something left after deductions aremade Gross The total amount of something as a result of an activity Solar energy Is any type of energy that is created from the sun'sradiation Solar radiationProvides heat, light and energy necessary for allliving organisms on earth.Productivity Is the conversion of energy into biomass over a givenperiod of time, so it is a measure of the rate of growth in biomassin plants per unit area per unit time Net Primary Productivity Is the total gain in biomass per unit area per unittime by green plants after the deductions from respiration are made.GPP is used for respiration and the remainder is NPP 9 / 10
Primary Productivity Primary means plant in an ecosystem, so primary productivityis the gain in biomass by autotrophs per unit area per time.Autotrophs convert light energy into chemical energy and primaryproductivity measures the increase in biomass that results fromthe energy conversion in a given period of time.Gross Secondary Productivity The total energy/biomass that is kept by heterotrophsafter fecal loss.Net Secondary Productivity The total energy/biomass that is kept by heterotrophsafter fecal loss and respiration. It is what is available to the nexttrophic level. It is measured in per unit area per given time.Maximum sustainable yield Is equivalent to NSP or NPP because this is biomassthat is already available to the next trophic level. Therefore, itis the maximum level that a resource yields without harming the stock.Carbon and Nitrogen cycles Are biogeochemical cycles were conserved matter movesthrough the ecosystem (water, air and rock).Secondary Productivity Secondary means animals in an ecosystem, specificallyautotrophs, so secondary productivity is the biomass that is gainedand generated through feeding or absorption in units ofmass per unit area per given unit of time.Net ProductivityUnlike gross productivity, net productivity measuresthe amount of biomass or energy left after deductions have beenmade. All organisms have to respire to stay alive so some ofthis energy is used other than for growth in biomass. The gain inbiomass or energy per unit area per unit time that remains afterdeductions from respiration.Gross ProductivityIs the total gain in biomass or energy per given unittime before any deductions.Gross Primary Productivity Autotrophs convert light energy into sugars so itis possible to measure the total amount of sugars produced by a plant.Gross primary productivity measures the total amount ofsolar energy converted into biomass per unit area per unit timeby green plants before any deductions. GPP is gained through photosynthesis.