...Factors influencing biodiversity Globally, biodiversity levels vary widely across land and oceans. Both physical and human factors influence levels of biodiversity and these factors operate at a variety of scales from local to global. Global physical factors such as variations in climate, play a major role in controlling the presence or absence of limiting factors, such as: • Temperature • Availability of light • Humidity • Nutrient supply • etc. An absence of limiting factors leads to high levels of primary productivity and the energy produced leads to high levels of biodiversity. Conversely, where limiting factors are strongly evident, e.g. in cold temperatures such as the Arctic, arid regions like deserts, darkness, etc. this will lead to low levels of biodiversity. The size of the area is another key factor, as the larger the continuous area the more species that can flourish in it. Hence the recent ‘size matters’ mantra, and the creation of huge transnational conservation areas such as the Peace Parks of Africa. Locally, there are numerous factors that may have an impact on biodiversity: • Disturbance from a natural disaster e.g. hurricanes, volcanoes, tsunamis on both land and ocean ecosystems, Asian tsunami 2004 – destroyed some mangrove forests • Quasi-natural disasters, e.g. wildfires (Victoria, Australia 2009), hunting, fishing, slash and burn farming • Eutrophication from high-tech agricultures Physical factors Human factors • Climate, e.g. temperature...
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...relative importance of human and physical factors in influencing levels of biodiversity. (15) Biodiversity refers to the variety of genes, species and eco-systems in an area. Levels of biodiversity can be influenced by both physical and human factors. Physical factors such as the climate type as well as the age of an area can have a significant impact on the levels of diversity found in that area. Human factors such as deforestation, urbanisation as well as the protection of certain eco-systems carried out by humans can have an impact on the area whether it is negative or positive. The climate of a region may have a huge impact on levels of biodiversity as this determines what flora can survive. Factors such as temperature, water and CO₂ are all limiting factors for plants, places with very few limiting factors such as a tropical rainforest, have high biodiversity because the conditions are good, meaning many plants can grow such as the Atlantic forest, where there are over 20,000 plant species adapted in that specific area. Places with a lot of limiting factors, the levels of biodiversity is low due to harsh conditions. The altitudinal range of an area also has an effect on the levels of biodiversity, the conditions that suit different eco-systems will differ as some are more adapted to thrive in colder environments compared to others who thrive in warmer environments. The age of an area also plays a part in influencing levels of biodiversity as it allows species to adapt depending...
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...1. Providing the Definition: - Deferred costs: costs that are not recognized immediately, but must be paid later - External costs: the transfer of the costs to society - Pollution costs: expenses to correct pollution when it is occurred - Pollution prevention costs: costs to prevent pollutions from happening. 2. What is cost benefit analysis (CBA)? What are the key steps for CBA? - Cost benefit analysis is a formal quantitative method for assessing the costs and benefits of competing uses of a resource or solutions to a problem and deciding which is the most effective. There are four key steps for CBA : - Identification of the project to be evaluated. - Determination of all impacts, favorable and unfavorable present and future on all society - Determination of all value impacts, either directly through market value or indirectly through price estimate - Calculation of the net benefit, which is the total value of positive impacts less the total value of negative impacts. 3. What are the key steps in Scientific Methods? Explain each of them. => Observation: we use our senses or an extension of our senses to analysis an event. => Questioning and exploring: we ask ourselves what will happen. Some questions may be simple speculation, but others may inspire you to further investigation => constructing hypotheses: we try to provide a possible answer to a question or an explanation for an observation that can be tested => testing hypotheses:...
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...Assess the relative importance of human and physical factors influencing levels of biodiversity (15 Marks) There are a range of human factors which affect the levels of biodiversity in an area in positive and negative ways. The way in which people use resources can have a damaging effect on the levels of biodiversity as trees are cut down for wood or paper; in some places this is leading to high levels of deforestation. Particularly in areas such as the tropical rainforest, this can lead to the destruction of habitats and so put many endemic species at risk. Also, in many areas there are poachers who put many species at risk of extinction as they can gain wealth by hunting them. In more built up areas, there is likely to be much lower biodiversity as concrete is built over where plants may have previously grown and areas with the highest biodiversity are relatively undisturbed. Due to an increasing population, many more areas are becoming built up by the process of urbanisation. This gives local species less opportunity to continue or to develop and so lowering the level of biodiversity of the area. In a less direct way, biodiversity can be affected by humans as pollution is created, affecting air quality and contaminating water sources. Pollution can make an area more hostile to other species living in the area which can affect the population of them in a negative way. Particularly in cases of contaminated water sources, the pollution can be toxic to plant or animal species...
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...plants could be killed. we are also using more resources from the Earth, especially natrual raw resources found in the ground, this leads to mining and so destroys landing and may mean animals will have to leave affecting biodiversity. This also leads to the fact that other species might be in the face of harm and could be killed or forced to migrate again effecting diversity. but yet again you cant completely rule out the idea that its always a loss in biodiversity since if a certain species was to live in a specific habitat and we were to destory that habitat they could be forced to move to another species habitat and adapt which increases biodiversity. due to these points the need to conserve species was realized. reasons to conserve could be economical or ecological reasons, this could cover conserving things suhc as regulation of atmospere and climate and retention of fresh water. this would also cover recycling and the growth of food and fuel. there are also ethical reasons for conserving as well as astethic. these could be reasons such as the thought that all living things should have the right to exist or loss of biodiversity stops animals from living in their right of habitat. also reasons such as enjoying the art of conservation and because enviromental factors could help humans recover by helping their mood and plays a huge role in our lives. Me...
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...Sustainable forest management requires three major criteria which are the maintenance of ecological processes within the forest (soil formation, energy flow, biogeochemical cycles (carbon, nutrient and hydrological cycles), maintenance of biodiversity of forest, improving the net social benefits derived from the mixture of forest uses within the constraints by considering the future. Forest provides habitats for more than half of the fauna and flora on the Earth (SCBD, 2001). Forest biome plays an important role in mitigating climate change by serving as carbon sinks (Hassan et al., 2005). Forest land is the most fundamental natural resources which become reduced mainly due to anthropogenic pressures. For proper management of land, it is essential to have information about existing land cover and about the naturalness of the land. The increment in forest cover does not mean that...
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...neighboured by a shipping corridor. The day-to-day use of the corridor has many impacts on the biotic and abiotic factors of the surrounding ecosystem. The movement and anchorage of boats is a contributing factor to this impact. Propellers disturb the sea bed, increasing water turbidity and creating noise. Anchors also disturb the sea bed, creating furrows in the sand. Increasing water turbidity affects light dependent species such as coral and seagrass, the producers upon which the ecosystem relies. This changes the feeding behaviours...
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...[pic] Information on the exam: Unit 3 – GEOG3 - Contemporary Geographical Issues • 30% of A Level • 2 hour 30 minutes written examination • 3 questions: o 1 from Section A – Physical Geography Structured Questions o 1 from Section B – Human Geography Structured Questions o 1 from Section C – Essay Questions (You must not answer the option answered in either Section A or Section B) [pic] |Plate tectonics and associated hazards |Ecosystems: Change and Challenge | | | | |Plate movement |Nature of ecosystems | |Earth structure, plate tectonics theory: convection |Structure of ecosystems, energy flows, trophic levels, | |currents and sea-floor spreading. Evidence: |food chains and food webs. | |continental drift and palaeomagnetism. | | |Destructive, constructive and conservative plate ...
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...Decline in Biodiversity Deanna Garrett ENV497 Chad Goings July 15, 2013 Decline in Biodiversity Biodiversity is important in ecosystems because every life form works together in order for them to function. When these ecosystems are disrupted or altered, or even lacks biodiversity, it poses major threats to all the life forms in it, whether it happens quickly or over a long period of time. When we lack biodiversity, our ecosystems become unstable, which in turn makes them more vulnerable to disasters and they cannot contribute to our well being. Although policy makers may be faced with challenges, many considerations need to be taken into account to preserve biodiversity and to protect these areas so that these ecosystems can function properly and prosper. When we hear the word ‘biodiversity’, it pretty much explains itself. It is the amount of variation of life forms within a given biome, ecosystem, species, or even the entire plant. Many considerations need to be taken into account to preserve biodiversity and to protect these areas so that these ecosystems can function properly and prosper. With respect to the ecosystem and biodiversity, we need to remember that once our natural resources run out and when most ecosystems are destroyed, it is very hard to restore it to what it was. We need to consider our well being, as well as all the other organisms that we share the earth with. We use biodiversity all the time, whether it is direct or indirect. In order for us to...
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... that is not the reality, for humans are one of the main causes of animal extinction and endangerment. As Julia Marton-Lefevre, IUCN's Director General said, “hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions”(in Goodman). In the entire Earth’s history there has only been five great mass extinctions, we are now in the midst of the sixth great mass extinction, driven by human demand for natural resources and the wildlife trade, in addition to other detrimental human actions. Southeast Asia is one of the regions in which numerous species are going extinct, so Southeast Asian governments should be more concerned with the immediate threat of animal extinction in Southeast Asia. The exploitation of natural resources is a key factor in economic growth and...
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... 2 Ecosystems and Economics Human society has had a dramatic impact on ecosystems all over the world. Un-natural actions by man have left ecosystems in a state where they cannot replenish themselves. Human caused degradation and loss to these systems return to affect human health in the end. Every ecosystem on Earth plays part to another, biodiversity, health, and sustainability are all dependant on each other. Once these factors cannot support themselves the health of an ecosystem is in peril. When society changed its habits and how it uses natural resources that in turn affect ecosystems will there be a lessened burden on ecosystems richness and sustainability. This also brings benefit to human society by having resources available farther into the future for use. Ecosystem Loss and Degradation from Human Society The past century has had a tremendous impact on ecosystems all over Earth. Population growth puts an even increasing demand on food, fresh water, fuel, and other resources provided by ecosystems. This has resulted in an irreversible loss in the biodiversity found throughout ecosystems leaving them in a unhealthy weakened state. The ecosystems that are found on Earth today have taken billions of years to evolve. Any actions to an ecosystem that severely change its natural state will affect its success rate. Human societies are dependant...
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...[pic] Information on the exam: Unit 3 – GEOG3 - Contemporary Geographical Issues • 30% of A Level • 2 hour 30 minutes written examination • 3 questions: o 1 from Section A – Physical Geography Structured Questions o 1 from Section B – Human Geography Structured Questions o 1 from Section C – Essay Questions (You must not answer the option answered in either Section A or Section B) [pic] |Plate tectonics and associated hazards |Ecosystems: Change and Challenge | | | | |Plate movement |Nature of ecosystems | |Earth structure, plate tectonics theory: convection |Structure of ecosystems, energy flows, trophic levels, | |currents and sea-floor spreading. Evidence: |food chains and food webs. | |continental drift and palaeomagnetism. | | |Destructive, constructive and conservative plate ...
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...and interference like global climate change caused by human emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, ozone layer depletion, global warming etc. This all leads to damage of food web and ecosystem of the Antarctica. Another serious impact of emission of carbon dioxide is ocean acidification, which is serious damage to the marine ecosystem of Antarctica. These activities are the main causes of disturbed environment of marine ecosystem of Antarctica. Another factor contributing to Antarctica's ecosystem disturbance is the commercial aspect of human activities. Human are harvesting krill to feed their animals and fishes which is negatively affecting the ecosystem of Antarctica. It is affecting the volume of krill and other fishes which are important source of food chain of Antarctica. Because of less krill, food chain of Antarctica is getting disturbed. Researches have shown that due to global warming, sea temperate is rising and cause less formation of ice packs during the winters. It is affecting the marine creatures and causing few species to extinct and few to adapt according to the increased temperature. Below are the...
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...| Midterm Review Project | Chapter 4-14 | | | 1/16/2014 | AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CHAPTER 4 EARTH SYSTEMS AND RESOURCES I. The Nature of Ecology a. Ecology is the study of connections in nature i. Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with one another and with their non-living environment ii. An organism is any form of life. The cell is the basic unit of life in organisms. b. Population i. Members of a species interact in groups called populations. ii. Species of the same population live together in a particular place or habitat. c. Communities and Ecosystems i. A community consists of populations of different species living and interacting in an area ii. An ecosystem is a community interacting with its physical environment of matter and energy. II. The Earth’s life support systems a. The different spheres of life-parts of Earth that support life systems. i. The Earth is made up of interconnected spherical layers that contain air, water, soil, minerals, and life. i.i Atmosphere: thin envelope or membrane of air around the planet. Its inner layer is the troposphere; it extends only about 17 km above sea level. i.ii Stratosphere: subsequent layer; its lower portion contains ozone to filter out the sun’s harmful...
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...Globalization in Guatemala’s Biodiversity Guatemala is a country territorially small, but with a unique natural and cultural in the world. It’s condition as the linkage between two continental spheres, also with the variety of terrestrial and edaphic (physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the land) forms, the amplitude altitudinal, pluvial and thermal, between some other factors, are responsible of the existence of a great variety of ecosystems and of species. Also, Guatemala is one of the countries around the world with a big ethnic diversity. This natural and ethnic diversity have generated many ways of interaction and use of the wild species, as to an intense domestic adaptation that has become an important support for the diet of Guatemalans and of many habitants of many other countries. Guatemala has being denominated Mesoamerican Center, is one of eight important world centers of cultivated plants. It is also part of the Mesoamerican Eco-region, which is one of twenty-five terrestrial eco-regions most important in the world, not only for its large biodiversity but also because of the high threats of itself (Galvez, 2000). This essay will present some of the elements of most importance of the biological biodiversity in the development of the human kind, as its relevance of the natural capital. Guatemala it’s a place of big amplitude of different live organisms that interact as to form complex connections of interdependence. The biodiversity is an important aspect...
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