1. Unit 2.7 Measuring changes in the system
DP ESS12
Unit 2.7
Measuring changes in the system

2. 2.7.1 Describe and evaluate methods for
measuring changes in abiotic and
biotic components of an ecosystem
along an environmental gradient.

3. Measuring changes Random sampling
Estimating population size is important in understanding ecology
Impossible to count every member of a population of each species
Random sampling is used to estimate

4. Measuring changes Random sampling Quadrats are often used
A square of a known size
Used to take a count of populations within a random sample of an area

5. Measuring changes Random sampling Quadrats are often used
A square of a known size
Size depends on size of species studied
10 cm2 for mosses
1 m2 for pine trees or earthworms

6. Measuring changes Random sampling Quadrats are often used
Used to take a count populations within a random sample of an area
Suitable to uniformly distributed organisms
The more quadrats counted, the better the data

7. Measuring changes
Random sampling
Quadrats are often used

9. Measuring changes Random sampling
Randomly place quadrats in studied area
Can “throw” square randomly
Better to create a grid then use random- number generator to choose which squares
Count the number of species/organisms
Take an average and divide by total area

11. Measuring changes Transects
Some organisms’ distributions show a trend in a particular direction
Usually happens when two ecosystems meet
Terrestrial to aquatic
Grasses less common towards the ocean
Edges of forests
Towards or away from cities
Up a mountain (changes in altitude)

12. Measuring changes Transects Can be studied using transects
Sampling organisms along a line
At right angle to unidirectional force
Altitude, distance to water, etc.

13. Measuring changes
Transects

14. Measuring changes Transects Lay down a straight line
Along a representative part of the habitat or using a Random number generator
Perpendicular to physical force
Count the number of species/organisms
Those touching the line, or…
Using a quadrat at regular intervals
Keep count of distance
Repeat at least three times

16. Measuring changes Transects Line transect Lay down a line
Count organisms touching it or at regular intervals

17. Measuring changes Transects Belt transect
Lay down two lines a little distance from each other
Count organisms in quadrats at regular intervals

18. Measuring changes Transects Continous Interupted
Mark all organisms touching the transect
Interupted
Mark organisms at a specific interval

19. Measuring changes
Transects

20. 2.7.2 Describe and evaluate methods for
measuring changes in abiotic and
biotic components of an ecosystem
due to a specific human activity.

21. Measuring changes Tools Nuclear Contamination
Dosimeters are used to measure radiation
Measurements in microroentgens per hour at ground level

22. Measuring changes Tools Excavations and mining
Size of landforms created or destroyed can be determined
Measure lowering of the surface (mm/yr)
Measure volume carried (tons/yr or m3/yr)

23. Measuring changes Tools Satellite imagery
Very reliable, covers a large area, and allows us to see change over time.

24. Measuring changes Satellite resources Landsat (NASA) Copernicus (ESA)
32 years of continuous data (1972)
Copernicus (ESA)
previously GMES
Google Maps
Mount Mabu, Mozambique
Amazonian Rainforest Streetview

25. Measuring changes Satellite resources Landform creation/ destruction
mining
energy production
manufacturing
Sheikh HAMAD

26. Measuring changes Major environmental disasters
Major Environmental Disasters (Wikipedia)
Seveso, Italy (1976) - dioxin
Amoco Cadiz (France, 1978) - oil
Ok Tedi river, Papua New Guinea ( ) - mining
Bhopal, India (1984) - methyl isocyanate
Chernobyl, Ukraine (1986) - nuclear event Level 7

27. Measuring changes Major environmental disasters
Major Environmental Disasters (Wikipedia)
Exxon Valdez, Alaska (1989) - oil
Prestige, Portugal (2002) - oil
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (2006) - oil
Kingston Fossil Plant, Tennessee (2008) - coal slurry
Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico (2010) - oil

28. Measuring changes Major environmental disasters
Major Environmental Disasters (Wikipedia)
Fukushima Daiichi, Japan (2011) - nuclear event Level 7
Hanford, Washington (1986-?) - most contaminated nuclear site in US

29. Measuring changes Examples Chernobyl 1986, Russia: Design drawback
Nuclear reactor blew up
Design drawback
Human errors due to poor supervision
Result
Increase in thermal power which lead to more explosions
Contaminated soil, plants and animals.

30. Measuring changes Examples Response:
Fire fighters tried to turn it off, it took 5000 tonnes of sand, lead and clay.
UN gave £75 million to make it safe and it was fixed by an international team ten years later.
People had to evacuate 30km away
15cm of soil depth was removed
Wall built around it
Food was contaminated
wEtjA

31. Measuring changes Examples Development Urbanization Agriculture
Shibam, Yemen
Urbanization
Masdar
Agriculture
Amazonian rainforest
Housing
Sydney development Table of Contents
Transportation and Building
Samphire Hoe

32. 2.7.3 Describe and evaluate the use of environmental impact
assessments (EIAs).

33. Measuring changes

34. Measuring changes EIAs Environmental Impact Assessment
Establish the impact of a project on the environment
Provide a simple summary so that normal people can understand the implications

35. Measuring changes EIAs
Inform and guide the decisions made regarding a project
Quantify (measure) what the environment is like now and how it would be affected by the project

36. Measuring changes EIAs Typical projects requiring EIA’s: dams roads
ports
airports
power plants
subdivisions (large-scale suburban housing developments)

37. Measuring changes EIAs EIA's include several different components:
Baseline study - Determines the current state of the site’s environment
Scoping - Identifies and assesses the possible impacts
Mitigation - limiting the impacts to acceptable levels
Non-technical summary – Inform the public of the results

38. Measuring changes 1. Baseline study
Measure the biotic and abiotic factors before the site is disturbed:
microclimate
water, soil, &/or air quality
diversity
species richness and evenness
endangered species
impacts on human populations
health
economics

39. Measuring changes 2. Scoping What will definitely change?
How will it change?
How much will it change?
How will that change affect:
diversity of flora and fauna
people living in or near the area
physical (abiotic) components of the nearby ecosystem

40. Measuring changes 3. Mitigation
What constitutes “acceptable” levels? Who determines those levels?
What must be done to limit those impacts?
Who is responsible for those actions?
Who is responsible for monitoring the changes?
What are the consequences for exceeding the acceptable levels of change?

41. Measuring changes 3. Non-technical summary
Theoretically designed to explain the science in everyday language so that an average citizen can understand the issues around the project.

42. Measuring changes EIAs Difficult for it to be complete
Lack of data
Quality of the baseline study.
So, often speculative
Few concrete answers.
Potentially changes a project
Avoiding negative environmental impact