science
a set of behaviors that are concidered (within a socially acceptable boundry)
tolerance range
anything that adsorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases
carbon sink
the parts of earth occupied by a living organism
biosphere
the cultivation or growth of a single crop or organism especially on agricultural or forest land
monoculture
# of ppl or things sharing a specified characteristic and following one after another
sucession
anything that contains a populations size and slows or stops it from growing
limiting factor
the increase in concentration of a substence
bioamplification
the # of ppl or things that can be conveyed
carry capacity
when forward and reverse processes occur at the same rate, resulting in observable change in the system
dynamic equilibrium
ecosystem definition
a geographic area where plants, animals and other organisms, weather and landscape interact and form a bubble of life
Has a diverse amount of species and plants (engineered or natural ecosystem)
natural ecosystem
has a limited amount of species and plants (engineered or natural ecosystem)
engineered ecosystem
biotic factors in an ecosystem
plants, animals, bacteria
abiotic factors in an ecosystem
water, soil, atmosphere
food chain definition
who eats whom
food web definition
all of the food chains in an ecosystem
5 levels in an ecological pyramid
producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, decomposers
what level are herbivores (ecological pyramid)
primary
what level is omnivores in (ecological pyramid)
secondary
what level are carnivores in (ecologial pyramid)
tertiary
what are the levels called in an ecological pyramid
trophic levels
what is fhe energy transfer in an ecological pyramid
10%
biodiversity definition
it is the variety and variablility of life on earth. biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic species and ecosystem level
what is the importance of biodiversity
it is essential for the process that supports all life on earth
what are factors that influence a population
fertility rates, mortality rates, migration, initial age profile of the pop.
how do biomass, energy and population relate to eachother
growing populations consume more energy. larger populations mean larger building area and smaller arable land area, and biomass energy sustainability is lower.
what is in carbon cycle
glucose, death and waste, fossil fuels, rain water, ocean, rock, CO2 in atmosphere, animals
what is in nitrogen cycle
plants proteins, nitrates in soil, ammonia, N2 in atmosphere
what is in water cycle
cooling, transpiration, precipritation, condensation, water vapour, evaporation, percolation
connections between agriculture and nitrogen cycle
livestock eat crops and produce manuer which goes back into soil, adding organic & mineral form of nitrogen to the soil, which can be used again by next crop
connections between agriculture and carbon cycle
agriculture involves some degree of soil disturbence and hence release of carbon from soils
connections between water cycle and agriculture
agriculture is not the only activity with the potential to affect fresh water negativley
what connections exist between the 4 spheres
a change in one sphere results in a change in 2 or more spheres. Birds (biosphere) fly through the air (atmosphere) and water (hydrosphere) flows through soil (lithosphere)
what connections exist between the hydrosphere
we use water to irrigate crops
what connections exist between the lithosphere and agriculture
it gives us grasslands, lands for human settlement and agriculture.
what connections exist between atmosphere and agriculture
change in ozone, greenhouse gasses and climate change affect agriculture greatly.
what connections exist between biosphere and agriculture
is very closely tied with the practice of green chemistry in many ways
which comes first? cellular respiration or photosynthesis
photosynthesis
photosynthesis definition
the process where green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesise foods from CO2 and H2O
cellular respiration definition
is the process where cells make energy from glucose and oxygen (photosynthesis).
what is sustainable farming
it is meeting societies present food needs and textile needs without ruining the ability for current or future generations
bioaccumilation definition:
the process of accumilation of chemicals in an organism that takes place if the rate of intake exeeds the rate of excecretion
why are forests important
they preserve soils, cycles nutrients and supports biodiversity. they also filter pollutants from air acting as a natural cleaner.
shelterwood cutting
forest cuttings leading the the establishment of a new generation of seedlings of a particular species without planting
selective cutting
it is a way of cutting a certain group of trees. for example only cutting old, diseased, soon to falling trees
clear cutying definition
to cut every tree down in a certain area
impact of climate change on forests
climate change influences lots of natural disasters, insect outbreaks, invasive species, wild fires and storms