Human Impact Chapter 6 Vocab ONLY

Non-renewable resource A necessity of life (resource) which can NOT be replenished by natural means; Ex: fossil fuels Non-renewable resource Wearing away of the surface soil by water and wind erosion

monoculture Renewable resource Farming strategy in which large fields are planted with a single crop variety year after year monoculture a necessity of life (resource) which can regenerate quickly and that is replaceable; Ex: trees, water Renewable resource

Program in which endangered species are allowed to breed in zoos until numbers increase and then are returned to their natural habitats Captive breeding Forests that have never been cut that provide unique habitats for wildlife Old growth forests OR “virgin” forests

Uppermost layer of soil that contains most of the nutrients and is susceptible to erosion topsoil Wavelength of sunlight that causes sunburn, skin cancer, and cataracts which the ozone layer protects us from Ultra violet (UV)

Green revolution Sustainable development The development of highly productive crop strains and the use of modern agriculture techniques to increase yields of food crops Green revolution Way of using natural resources without depleting them and of providing for human needs without causing long term harm to the environment Sustainable development

desertification smog A mixture of chemicals (smoke + fog) A process caused by a combination of poor farming practices, overgrazing, and drought that turns productive land in areas with dry climates into deserts desertification A mixture of chemicals (smoke + fog) that occurs as a gray-brown haze in the atmosphere smog

pollutant biodiversity Harmful material that can enter the biosphere through land, water, or air pollutant the sum total of the variety of organisms in the biosphere; It is a measure of the health of an ecosystem biodiversity

extinct term used to refer to a species that has died out Splitting of ecosystems into small areas Habitat fragmentation

endangered Biological magnification increasing concentration a harmful a species whose population size is rapidly declining and will become extinct if the trend continues without intervention endangered increasing concentration a harmful substance in organisms at higher trophic levels in a food chain or web Biological magnification

Pesticide used to kill mosquitoes that a species likely to become endangered if not protected threatened Pesticide used to kill mosquitoes that concentrated in prey birds (like eagles) and caused them to lay eggs with weak shells DDT

Invasive species conservation plants or animals that have migrated or been introduced into places where they are not native and for which there are no natural predators or parasites to control their population Invasive species the wise management of natural resources, including the preservation of habitats and wildlife conservation

Areas containing endangered ecosystems that could benefit most from efforts and $ to preserve them Hot spots Atmospheric layer in which ozone (03) gas is relatively concentrated which protects us from the sun’s ultra-violet radiation Ozone layer

Acid rain Global warming Rain containing nitric and sulfuric acids caused by burning fossil fuels Acid rain Increase in the average temperatures of the Earth Global warming

Illegal hunting of animals Fuels such as oil, coal, or natural gas produced by the decay of dead organic matter that cause many environmental problems such as global warming and acid rain Fossil fuels Illegal hunting of animals poaching

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Governmental body whose job it is to monitor and enforce environmental regulations, provide education on environmental issues, conduct environmental research, and provide funding for environmental programs Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Agreement signed by almost 200 countries, including the United States, which agreed to reduce (and eventually stop) the use of ozone depleting chemicals. Montreal Protocol

The giant aquifer that supplies water for drinking and agricultural irrigation to much of the farming midwest Ogallala Act passed to protect endangered species that prevents importation into the United States of anything that comes from an endangered animal Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Act

Agreement, aimed at reducing global warming, which has been ratified by 104 nations that asks participants to reduce by 2012 their greenhouse gas emissions to a percentage of their 1990 emission levels. (The President Bush has questioned some of the details of the treaty and the US has not ratified it) Kyoto Accord Chemicals containing chloro- and fluorocarbons used in aerosol cans and refrigerants that cause a depletion of the ozone layer CFC’s

Area in which the addition of an abundance of limiting nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus cause an algal bloom, blocking sunlight, and causing the death of organisms below Dead zone Tell where we could see this problem in the United States Gulf of Mexico where Mississippi River empties

Natural process in which atmospheric gases trap energy from sunlight as heat Greenhouse effect the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment ecology

All the organisms that live in a place together with their nonliving or physical environment ecosystem an immediate increase in the amount of algae and other producers that results from the addition of a large amount of limiting nutrient Algal bloom