1. human impacts on soil
1.1. loam
1.1.1. snad & clay mixed to gether
1.1.2. it is the best soil for plants
1.2. sand & clay
1.2.1. clay has small sized particles, particles are packed tightly (not porous), reduced space for air, water or plants roots to grow
1.2.2. sand has large particles, greater porosity allows for lots of aeration, water drains easily
1.3. irrigation
1.3.1. it is used mainly for agriculture, it is artificial application for water to land or soil, irrigation may have negative impact on soil
1.4. leaching: Nutrients are dissolved in the irrigation water & then washed away
1.5. Marconutrients
1.5.1. they are: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulphur
1.5.2. nitrogen promotes lush green growth. phosphorus promotes growth of flowers. potassium adds to the plants ability to survive harsh condition
1.6. why are fertilizers harmfull
1.6.1. pollution of most of our streams, rivers, ponds, lakes and even coastal areas. synthetic chemical run-off into the nearby waterways. cause algea blooms in turn creating "a lead zone"
2. What makes an ecosystem?
2.1. Living(biotic) things include *producers(autotrophs) ex.plants, algae, phytoplankton *consumers(heterotrophs) ex. animals and humans *decomposes
3. Who makes an ecosystem?
3.1. Non-living(abiotic) things include *weather *landscape *inorganic matter ex. air, water, minerals
4. Where are ecosystems found?
4.1. EVERYWHERE
4.2. Small(pond) or large(desert) * Natural (rainforest,coral) or artificial (ex. aquarium) *Different types are based on the environment such as terrestrial fresh water, marine/ocian
5. Why learn about ecosystems?
5.1. Animals, their diets and habits by looking at them in their environment. How the environment plays a major role in the interconnection and survival of animals. the cycles (hydrological,nutrient, energy,food) that occur to maintain life
6. The Sphere's
6.1. Geosphere/lithosphere
6.1.1. The lithosphere is the solid outer part of the earth
6.1.2. It is about 100 km deep in most part
6.1.3. Always moving (tectonic plates)
6.1.4. The lithosphere serves as a source of minerals
6.1.5. High mountains ranges like Rockies and Andes. High plains like those in taxas, lowa and brazil
6.2. Hydrosphere
6.2.1. Hydrosphere is the total amount of water on the earth
6.2.2. earth is 70% water
6.2.3. Can be vapour, liquid or ice
6.2.4. The cryosphere is the frozen part of the hydrosphere
6.2.5. The water cycle: starts in the ocean, evaporates, goes to the atmosphere, rains to a stream, then to lake back to the ocean
6.3. Biosphere
6.3.1. Is where ever life exists. Ranges from root system of plants to ocean trenches, to lush rain forest and mountains tops
6.3.2. It over laps with the other sphere if there is life. The bio sphere is 3.5 billion years old.
6.3.3. The earliest forms of the bio sphere are called prokaryotes which lived without oxygen. prokaryots include bacteria and Archean which are single cell organisms. Prokaryotes used photosynthesis to evalve the biosphere
6.3.4. There is more oxygen in the biosphere which then lets more complex life grow.
6.3.5. biosphere supports between 3 and 30 million species of plants/ animals/ fungi/ prokeryotes and single celled eukaryotes such as protozoans.
6.3.6. humans had a big impact on biosphere
6.4. Atmosphere
6.4.1. Is a thin layer of gases the surrounds the earth
6.4.2. Protected us from the vacuum of space
6.4.3. There are layers of the atmosphere *lowest level interacts with the earth, the highest level interacts with space. looks like a blanket of gas.
6.4.4. 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide
6.4.5. The tropsphere is the only atmospheric layer that can support life. It is the most pulluted part of the atmosphere
6.4.6. Some pollutants called Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) make it into the stratosphere and break up the ozone layer
7. Niche, chains & webs
7.1. ecological niche
7.1.1. It is the role and positions a species has on its environment
7.1.1.1. *herbivores- plant eaters *carnivore- meat eaters *omnivores-both meat and plants *scavengers- eats dead animals that have already been picked
7.2. food chain
7.2.1. Food Chain describes who eats who in the wild. It is represented by linear arrows going from one organism to the other
7.3. food web
7.3.1. Interconnecting food chains. More realistic respresentation of interactions. But all arrows are going in one direction
7.4. trophic levels
7.4.1. the position an organism takes along a food chain
7.4.2. 1st trophic level are produces * 2st tophic level primary consumers * 3rd tropic level: secondary consumers *4th trophic level : tertiary consumers
8. abiotic & biotic limiting factors
8.1. abiotic
8.1.1. temperature, light, water, soil
8.1.2. every species can live within a range of these factors, this range is called the tolerance range
8.2. biotic
8.2.1. Relationships and interactions of space
8.2.2. competition
8.2.2.1. two individuals try to gain the same resource
8.2.3. predation
8.2.3.1. one individual feed off another
8.2.4. Mutualism
8.2.4.1. two individuals benefiting each other
8.2.5. prasitism
8.2.5.1. one individual lives on or in and feeds on a host organism
8.2.6. commensulism
8.2.6.1. one individual benefits and other is neither benefited or harmed
9. human impact on water
9.1. *71% of earth is coverd in water * 96.5% is ocean (salt water) *3% is fresh water (usable water) *0.3% is surface water, 30% is ground water (of the the 3%)
9.2. surface water
9.2.1. made of: lakes, reservoirs and rivers
9.2.2. uses of surface water * irrigation, industrial use, thermoelectric power, live stock, aquaculture, mining
9.3. ground water
9.3.1. found in rivers aquifers, and sinkholes. below the earth surface. water stored between soil particles
9.3.2. uses of ground water *irrigation, industrial use, livestock, aquaculture, mining, public supply, domestic
9.4. aquatic ecosystems are threatened by large amounts of sediments in water produced due to land-use change and agriculture. * farming clearing forests, building roads, and mining.
9.5. Point Source is the source of pollution is known. Non-point source- contaminants that enter water sources through ways hard to identify
10. photosynthesis
10.1. carbon dioxide, water, glucos (sugar), oxygen, light
10.2. light+6CO2+6H2O—>C6H12O6+6O2
10.3. only happens in plants
10.4. produces sugar and oxygen
10.5. Rate of photosynthesis describes how much sugar a plant can produce over time. in other words "How productive is the plan?"
11. cellular respiration
11.1. C6H12O6+6O2—>6CO2+6H2O+ATTP
11.2. produces carbon dioxide, water and energy(attp)
11.3. main source of attaining energy
11.4. can happen in both plants and animals
12. The cycles
12.1. hydrological/water cycle
12.1.1. condensation, precipitation, evaporation, percolation, decomposition, capillarity, absorption, transpiration
12.2. carbon cycle
12.2.1. photosynthesis takes it in cellular respiration buts it out, emission produces it so does deforestation and decomposition. abortion absorbs.
12.3. nitrogen cycle
12.3.1. atmosphere nitrogen comes down in lighting then nitrifying bacteria, then comes nitrates in soil. nitrogen helps fix bacteria in plants. plant protein goes to animal protein then they die and the nitrogen gets trapped in the ground, ammonium, dentitrifying bacteria goes back to the atmosphere