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human activities that affect biosphere |
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hunting and gathering, agriculture, industry, and urban development
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large fields are planted with a single variety year after year |
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modern agricultural techniques were introduced, like monoculture and use of chemical fertilizers. effort known as green revolution- greatly increased world's food supply
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Definition
| resources that can regenerate if they are alive or can be replenished by biochemical cycles if they are nonliving. plants, water, etc. |
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| a resource that cannot be replenished by natural processes. fossil fuels, coal, oil, and natural gas |
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| a way of using natural resources without depleting them and of providing for human needs without causing long term environmental harm. must take into account both the functioning of the ecosystems and the ways that human economic systems operate. sustainable strategies must enable people to live comfortably and improve their situation. in finding sustainable strategies, ecological research can have a practical, positive impact on the environment |
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| human activities can affect the quality and supply of renewable resources such as... |
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Definition
| land, forests, fisheries, air, and fresh water |
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| wearing away of surface soil by water and wind. plowing land increases rate of soil erosion. |
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| in dry places, a combination of farming, overgrazing, and drought can turn productive areas into deserts |
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| biological diversity. sum total of the genetically based variety of all organisms in the biosphere. one of earths greatest natural resources. species of many kind have provided us with foods, industrial products, and medicines (painkillers, heart drugs, antibiotics, antidepressants, and anticancer drugs) |
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| includes the variety of habitats, communities, and ecological processes in living world |
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| refers to the number of different species in the biosphere |
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Definition
| refers to the sum total of all the different forms of genetic information carried by all organisms living on Earth today |
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Definition
| human activity can reduce biodiversity by altering habitats, hunting species to extinction, introducing toxic compounds into food webs, and introducing foreign species to new environments |
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Definition
| occurs when a species disappears from all or part of its range. |
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| a species whose population size is declining in a way that places it in danger of extinction |
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| as habitats disappear, the species that live in those habitats vanish. development often splits ecosystems into pieces- fragmentation |
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Term
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Definition
| DDT is a pesticide that when consumed can be lethal. DDT was sprayed on plants, and then herbivores ate those plants and the DDT was transferred to them and then carnivores and the DDT was further transferred. process= biological magnification |
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| organisms introduced into new habitats and reproduce rapidly. they reproduce so quickly and don't stop making them a harmful species to the new environment they are in |
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| wise management of natural resources, including preserving habitats and wildlife. conservation efforts focus on protecting entire ecosystems as well as single species. protecting an ecosystem will ensure that the natural habitats and the interactions of many different species are preserved at the same time |
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| goals of conservation biology |
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Definition
| by focusing on protecting specific ecosystems biologists hope to preserve global biodiversity |
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Term
| important systems in the biosphere |
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Definition
| researchers are gathering data to monitor and evaluate the effects of human activities on important systems in the biosphere. 2 of these systems= ozone layer high in the atmosphere and the global climate system |
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Definition
| between 20 and 50 kilometers above earths surface, the atmosphere contains a relatively high concentration of ozone gas called ozone layer- protects earth by absorbing UV rays and blocking most of it |
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Definition
| harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. overexposure can cause sunburn. it can also cause cancer, damage eyes, and decrease organism's resistance to disease. intense UV radiation can also damage tissue in plant leaves and even phytoplankton in the oceans. ozone layer protects us. |
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Definition
| term used to describe increase in the average temperature of the biosphere |
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| causes of major extinctions |
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Definition
| habitat alteration, demand for wildlife products, pollution, and introduced species |
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Term
| value of healthy biosphere |
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Definition
| solar energy, production of oxygen, storage and recycling of nutrients, regulation of climate, purification of water and air, storage and distribution of fresh water, food production, nursery habitats for wildlife, detoxification of human and industrial waste, natural pest and disease control, management of soil erosion and runoff |
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