VITUG, KYLA MAE

BAUTISTA, KAREN
Environmental Science Midterm Reviewer Resource depletion can encompass various types of
resources, including but not limited to:
Lesson 1: Introduction to Environmental Science
Non-Renewable Resources: These are resources that
Environment - the surrounding external conditions cannot be replaced within a human lifespan, as they take
influencing development or growth of people, animal or millions of years to form. Examples include fossil fuels
plants; living or working conditions, etc. (Singh, 2006) (coal, oil, and natural gas) and minerals (like metals and
ores).
All things around us with which we interact:
Renewable Resources: These are resources that can
 Living things (Animals, Plants, Fungi, etc.) naturally replenish themselves over time, but excessive
 Non- living things (Soil, Water, Rocks, etc.) exploitation can still lead to depletion. Examples include
freshwater, forests, and fisheries.
 Our built environment (Buildings, human-created
living centers) Biodiversity: The loss of various species and habitats
due to human activities can lead to ecosystem
 Social relationships and institutions imbalances, which in turn can disrupt the availability of
resources and impact the planet's overall health.
Earth’s Sphere
Soil Fertility: Excessive agricultural practices,
 Lithosphere- solid earth deforestation, and pollution can lead to soil degradation
 Atmosphere- gases (air) and erosion, reducing the capacity of land to support
agriculture and compromising food production.
 Hydrosphere- all water
Water Depletion: Over-extraction of groundwater and
 Biosphere- all life surface water for agriculture, industry, and domestic use
can lead to water scarcity and ecosystem degradation.
Elements of Environment
Ozone Depletion: The release of substances like
 Physical Environment chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) into the atmosphere has led
to the thinning of the ozone layer, which protects the
 Biological Environment Earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
 Cultural Elements Pollution- is a degradation or an undesired change in air,
Environmental Science- the interdisciplinary study of water, or soil that affects the health of living things.
humanity’s relationship with other organisms and the Biodegradable pollution will break down naturally over
nonliving physical environment. time.
- It is the academic field that takes physical, biological, Non-biodegradable pollution does not break down.
and chemical sciences to study the environment and
Environmental ethics- is the discipline that studies the
discover solutions to environmental problems.
moral relationship of human beings to the environment.
Environmental science and the issues that it studies Two main categories of ethics in human culture in
are complex and interdisciplinary. modern history
Includes concepts and ideas from multiple fields of  Anthropocentrism- It is the view or belief that
study. human beings are superior to all other organisms
Decisions have impacts in all these fields of study. - This set of ethics protects and promotes of human
Why we study environmental science? interests or well-being at the expense of all other factors.

 We depend on our environment  Ecocentrism- It is a perspective that places

importance on the ecosystem as a whole.
 Environmental Science is our modern way of
seeking answers to the questions - The preservation of ecosystems or other living
things takes priority over human needs.
 Our environment improves the quality of our lives
Hetch Hetchy Debate
 Environmental science teaches us how to protect
our environment in the face of rising human - The debate about whether to build a dam in the
population and anthropogenic activities that degrade Hetch Hetchy valley was one of the first big debates
natural resources and ecosystems. between these two philosophies

Resource Depletion- refers to the exhaustion, reduction, 1. When the growing city of San Francisco, California
or consumption of natural resources at a rate that proposed building a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley
exceeds their natural replenishment or regeneration. This to provide a steady water supply, Congress debated
occurs when human activities, such as industrialization, whether to make a water resource available or
urbanization, and over exploitation, outpace the Earth's preserve a wilderness between 1908 and 1913.
capacity to restore these resources within a reasonable 2. The dam was eventually constructed.
time frame.
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BAUTISTA, KAREN
3. The justification for building it was best stated by
Gifford Pinochet, the first man in charge of the
U.S. Forest Service. One of the most basic principles of economics is supply
and demand.
4. "Where conflicting interests must be reconciled, the
question shall always be answered from the RELATIONSHIP OF ECONOMY AND THE
standpoint of the greatest good of the greatest ENVIRONMENT
number in the long run.“  Resource Dependency- economy relies on natural
5. The focus of the resource conservationists was to resources such as minerals, water, forests, and fossil
protect open land. fuels for production and consumption.

6. The National Parks system, and the National  Ecosystem Services- environment provides
Forest system were both created during this time. essential services known as ecosystem services,
such as clean air and water, pollination, climate
Modern environmentalism regulation, and waste assimilation.
Rachel Carson published a book in 1962 entitled Silent  Impact of Economic Activities- Economic
Spring about the effects of pesticides on large activities, including industrial production,
predatory birds, particularly the bald eagle. agriculture, and urbanization, can have significant
environmental impacts. For instance, industrial
Modern Environmentalism- this movement began a processes may release pollutants into the air and
public awakening to threats of pollution and toxic water, leading to pollution and environmental
chemicals to humans as well as other species degradation.

Global environmentalism- explores issues and  Environmental Degradation- Unsustainable

problems over the entire world, not just within the local economic activities can lead to environmental
community. degradation, including deforestation, soil erosion,
biodiversity loss, and climate change. Such
Following the 1970s, environmentalism began to degradation can undermine the long-term health of
consider issues that affected the entire planet: ecosystems, disrupt natural processes, and reduce
the availability of resource
 Biodiversity loss
 Feedback Loop- Environmental degradation can, in
 Food production turn, impact the economy. Climate change-related
events like extreme weather can damage
 Climate Change infrastructure, disrupt supply chains, and lead to
 Human population growth economic losses. Biodiversity loss can affect sectors
like agriculture and pharmaceuticals that rely on
 Economic inequality between nations diverse plant and animal species.

Garrett Hardin wrote an essay called “The Tragedy of  Regulation and Policy- Governments and
the Commons”, describing the source of environmental international bodies often enact regulations and
problems as a conflict: policies to manage the relationship between the
environment and the economy. These measures aim
Short-term interests of individuals vs. Long-term to promote sustainable practices, limit pollution,
interests of civilization and the Earth itself and ensure resource conservation.

The tradegy of the commons  Green Economy- The concept of a green economy
emphasizes environmentally friendly practices and
1. A small village consists mostly of farmers that raise sustainable development.
and sell sheep at a nearby city.
 Economic Valuation of Environment- Economic
2. The only place for the sheep to graze is a commons tools like cost-benefit analysis and ecosystem
in the center of the village. valuation attempt to assign economic value to
environmental resources and services.
3. A commons is an area that belongs to no individual;
it is shared by the entire society. CASE STUDY: BHOPAL PESTICIDES PLANT
4. Likely outcome: Villagers obtain as many sheep as 1. In December of 1984, a pesticide factory located
possible, allow to graze in the commons. near the town of Bhopal, India leaked a large
amount of toxic chemicals into the air.
5. Maximize short-term financial gain.
2. The chemicals resulted in an immediate death toll of
The Tragedy of the Commons describes the likeliness
about 3,000 people, with 8,000 more dying of long-
of a commons area being exploited for short-term
term health ailments.
economic gain.
3. A total of 558,125 injuries were reported to the
Economics has a huge influence in environmental
Indian government.
decision-making.

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BAUTISTA, KAREN
4. A settlement of $470 million was reached by Union  Cultural Services- a non- material benefit that
Carbide and the Indian government. contributes to people’s intellectual, cultural and
social development.
 Supporting services- indirect or very long-term
One of the factors that led to the Bhopal disaster and impacts on people, but underlie other ecosystem
lack of cleanup is that at the time, India was a services, particularly provisioning services.
developing country.
Biotic and Abiotic factors - determine the survival and
Four basic principles of environmental science growth of an organism and the productivity of the
 Systematic principle of environment ecosystem in which an organism lives.

 Principle of environmental capacity Producers ( autotrophs)- Sunlight is the main energy

source for life on earth
 Symbiosis principle between human and
environment -Use light or chemical energy to make food

 Entropy principle - Plants, Plant-like protists (algae) or Bacteria

Lesson 2: Ecological principles and concepts Photosynthesis—use light energy to convert carbon
dioxide and water into oxygen and carbohydrates
Ecology- It is the scientific study of interactions between
different organisms and between organisms and their Chemosynthesis—performed by bacteria, use chemical
environment or surroundings energy to produce carbohydrates.

Ecological organization Consumer(heterotrophs)- Organisms that rely on other

organisms for their energy and food supply.
 Species- Group of organisms similar to another that
they can breed and produce fertile offspring. Herbivores- obtain energy by eating only plants.

 Population- is a group of individuals of a single Carnivores- eat only animals

species living together within a particular Omnivores- eat both plants and animals.
geographic area. They interbreed and compete with
each other for resources. Decomposers- breaks down dead organic matter.
 Community- Different populations that live Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction
together in a defined area. —from the sun or inorganic compounds to
autotrophs (producers) and then to heterotrophs
 Ecosystem- A collection of all organisms that live (consumers).
in a particular place together with their nonliving
environment. Food chain- It is a series of steps in which organisms
transfer energy by eating and being eaten
 Biome- A group of ecosystems that have the same
climate and similar dominant communities. Grazing Food Chain-
 Biosphere- The portion of earth that supports life. Detritus Food Chain-
The biosphere extends several km up in the
atmosphere to the deepest parts of the oceans. Food web- a detailed interconnecting diagram that
shows the overall food relationships between organisms
Ecosystem- is a community or group of living organisms in a particular environment.
that live in and interact with each other in a specific
environment Energy pyramid- also known as a trophic or ecological
pyramid, is a graphical representation of the energy
Types of Ecosystem found within the trophic levels of an ecosystem.
 Natural Ecosystem- Totally dependent on solar  Energy Pyramid shows relative amount of energy
radiation e.g. forests, grasslands, oceans, lakes, available at each trophic level.
rivers, and deserts.
 Organisms in a trophic level use the available
 Manmade Ecosystem- Dependent on solar energy- energy for life processes (such as growth,
e.g. agricultural fields and aquaculture ponds. photosynthesis, cellular respiration, metabolism,
etc.) and release some energy as heat.
Ecosystem services- the multitude of benefits that
nature provides to society.  Remember: Every chemical process that happens in
your body releases heat as a byproduct (ex: burning
Types of Ecosystem services calories).
 Provisioning services- goods that directly benefit  Rule of 10—only about 10% of the available
people. energy within a trophic level is transferred to the
 Regulating services- processes that moderate next higher trophic level.
natural phenomena Biomass pyramid- shows the flow of energy between
various levels. Producers and consumers make up the
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biomass pyramid, which displays all their comparative Habitat- is the physical environment in which a species
masses at the same time. lives and to which it is adapted.
Nutrients Cycling- movement of nutrient elements Predation—one organism captures and feeds on another
through the various components of an ecosystem. organism
Another name of nutrient cycling is biogeochemical
cycles  Predator—one that does the killing

Carbon cycle- describes the process in which carbon

atoms continually travel from the atmosphere to the  Prey—one that is the food
Earth and then back into the atmosphere.
Symbiosis—any relationship in which two species live
The global carbon cycle consists of following steps: closely together.
 Photosynthesis  Mutualism—both species benefit (WIN-WIN)
 Respiration a. Ex: insects and flowers
 Decomposition Commensalism- one member of the association benefits
 Combustion and the other is neither helped nor harmed (WIN- 0)

Nitrogen cycle- refers to the cycle of nitrogen atoms - Example: Barnacles on a whale
through the living and non-living systems of Earth. The Parasitism- one organisms lives on or inside another
nitrogen cycle is vital for life on Earth. organism (host) and harms it.
Five main process in Nitrogen Cycling: - The parasite obtains all or part of its nutritional needs
 Nitrogen Fixation from the host. (WIN-LOSE)

 Nitrification - Example: fleas on a dog

 Assimilation LESSON 3: CORE ECOLOGICAL LAWS

 Ammonification BARRY COMMONER

 Denitrification • Barry Commoner, a founder of modern ecology

and one of its most provocative thinkers and
Water cycle- describes how water is exchanged (cycled)
through Earth's land, ocean, and atmosphere. mobilizers in making environmentalism a
people’s political cause.
Process in Water Cycling:
• Responsible for the first celebration of Earth day
 Evaporation in the world.
 Condensation
• His famous book, "The Closing Circle,"
 Precipitation published in 1970, provides a clear and
Phosphorus cycle- is the circulation of phosphorus in understandable example of what ecology truly
various forms through nature. Of all the elements means.
recycled in the biosphere, phosphorus is the scarcest and
BARRY COMMONER’S FOUR LAWS OF ECOLOGY
therefore the one most limiting in any given ecological
system. 1. “Everything Is Connected to Everything Else”
Ecological succession- is the process by which the mix - It reflects the existence of the elaborate
of species and habitat in an area changes over time. network of interconnections in the ecosphere:
Gradually, these communities replace one another until a - Food chain and food web
“climax community”—like a mature forest—is reached, - Bioaccumulation takes place in a single
or until a disturbance, like a fire, occurs. organism over the span of its life, resulting in a
Competition- when two organisms of the same or higher concentration in older individuals.
different species attempt to use an ecological resource in - Biomagnification takes place as chemicals
the same place at the same time. Ex: food, water, shelter transfer from lower trophic levels to higher
Niche- the ecological niche involves both the place trophic levels within a food web, resulting in a
where an organism lives and the roles that an organism higher concentration in apex predators.
has in its habitat. - COMPETITION AND PREDATION
A given habitat may contain many different species,
but each species must have a different niche. Two 2. “Everything Must go Somewhere”
different species cannot occupy the same niche in the - This is, of course, simply a somewhat informal
same place for very long. This is known as the restatement of a basic law of physics—that
competitive exclusion principle. matter is indestructible. Applied to ecology, the
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BAUTISTA, KAREN
law emphasizes that in nature there is no such 2. Habitat functions
thing as “waste.”
3. Production functions
LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS
4. Information functions.
• First law of thermodynamics: Energy can
neither be created nor be destroyed, it can only
be transferred from one form to another. FUNCTIONAL UNIT OF ECOSYSTEM
• Second law of thermodynamics: The entropy of  Productivity – It refers to the rate of biomass
any isolated system always increases. production.
LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MASS (MATTER)  Energy flow – It is the sequential process
through which energy flows from one trophic
• The mass in an isolated system can neither be
level to another. The energy captured from the
created nor be destroyed but can be
sun flows from producers to consumers and
transformed from one form to another.
then to decomposers and finally back to the
BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE environment.

 The main role of a biogeochemical cycle is to  Decomposition – It is the process of breakdown

recycle the elements on the earth. of dead organic material. The top-soil is the
major site for decomposition.
3. “Nature Knows Best”
 Nutrient cycling – In an ecosystem nutrients are
 The third law of ecology holds that any major
consumed and recycled back in various forms
man-made change in a natural system is likely to
for the utilization by various organisms.
be detrimental to that system.
TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM
ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
An ecosystem can be as small as an oasis in a desert, or
• Ecological succession is important for the
as big as an ocean, spanning thousands of miles. There
growth and development of an ecosystem.
are two types of ecosystem:
4. “There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch”
A. TERRISTRIAL ECOSYSTEM
 Exploitation of nature, will always carry an
1. Forest Ecosystem
ecological cost and will inevitably involve the
 A forest ecosystem is an ecosystem where many
conversion of resources from useful to useless.
organisms live together with the environment's
LESSON 5: ECOSYSTEM TYPES abiotic components.
 Forests are significant carbon sinks and
WHAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM?
participate in controlling and balancing the
 An ecosystem is a structural and functional unit overall temperature of the Earth.
of ecology where the living organisms interact
Types of Forest Ecosystem
with each other and the surrounding
environment.  Tropical evergreen forest
 They occupy about 7% of the earth’s
STRUCTURE OF THE ECOSYSTEM
surface.
 The structure of an ecosystem is characterized  They are found mostly near the equator.
by the organization of both biotic and abiotic  They have sparse undergrowth
components. This includes the distribution of interspersed with clearings
energy in our environment. It also includes the  Tropical deciduous forest
climatic conditions prevailing in that particular  They are also called the monsoon
environment. forests and spread over the region
receiving rainfall between 200 cm and
The structure of an ecosystem can be split into two 70 cm.
main components, namely:  Trees of this forest-type shed their
• Biotic Components leaves for about six to eight weeks in
dry summer.
• Abiotic Components  Temperate evergreen forest
FUNCTIONS OF ECOSYSTEM  Temperate evergreen forests are found
in the United States, Canada, Europe,
1. Regulatory functions and Asia, in areas that generally receive
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BAUTISTA, KAREN
between 300 and 900 mm of rain per  Stony Desert
year and with seasonal temperature
 Cold Desert
extremes ranging from -40 to 20 °C.
 Temperate deciduous forest B.AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM
 The average daily temperatures range
Freshwater Ecosystem- is an aquatic ecosystem that
between -30°C (-22°F) and 30°C (86°F) includes lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and wetlands.
with a yearly average of 10°C (50°F). Hot These have no salt content in contrast with the marine
summers and cold winters are typical in ecosystem.
this biome.
 On average, this biome receives 750 to
1,500 millimeters (30 to 59 inches) of
rain per year.
 Taiga Types of Freshwater Ecosystem
 The taiga is a forest of the  Lentic Ecosystem- water bodies that are moving
cold, subarctic region. slowly or are still in some places come under lentic.
 The soil beneath the taiga often For example, ponds, lakes, pools, etc. Lakes are
contains permafrost—a layer of known as large water bodies and are surrounded by
permanently frozen soil. land.
 Coldness is the dominant climatic factor  Lotic Ecosystem- water bodies that are moving at a
in taiga ecosystems. fast pace fall under a lotic. For example, streams
and rivers.Animals adapt to the stream/river’s
current (hooks and suckers to cling to rocks,
2. Grassland Ecosystem streamline bodies).
 Grassland ecosystems are referred to as
 Wetland Ecosystem- environments characterized
those ecosystems where the number of by soils saturated with water for a long time fall
trees is low. These ecosystems mainly under wetlands.
consist of grasses, shrubs, and herbs.
Marine ecosystems- are usually characterized by the
 Grassland ecosystems are commonly
presence of salt content. These ecosystems have a higher
situated in both the tropical and salt content than the freshwater ecosystem. Moreover,
temperate regions globally; however, they are known as the largest type of ecosystem on
they have distinct variations. Earth.
 Savanna:
Various human activities that affect an ecosystem
 Grassland that is located closer to the
equator than prairies.  Agriculture
 Savannas can receive as much as 120  Deforestation
cm of rain per year.
 In addition to grass, scattered shrubs  Overpopulation and consumption
and small trees can grow in the  Plastic production
savanna.
 Emission of greenhouse gases and other greenhouse
3. Tundra Ecosystem
gases
 Tundra ecosystems are devoid of trees and are
found in cold climates or where rainfall is scarce.  Destruction of the reefs
These are covered with snow for most of the  Draining streams/rivers and destruction of critical
year. Tundra type of ecosystem is found in the freshwater aquifer recharge areas (water pollution)
Arctic or mountain tops.
 Overhunting and overexploitation
 Desert Ecosystem- exist worldwide and cover
 Invasive species
about 17 percent of desert areas. These are areas
where annual rainfall is usually measured less than Invasive species
25 mm. Due to fewer trees and land of sand,
 Swietenia macrophylla, commonly known
sunlight intensifies in these ecosystems.
as mahogany
Types of Desert Ecosystem
 Rhinella marina, commonly known as The cane
 Sand Desert toad frog

 Rock Desert
 Plateau Desert

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BAUTISTA, KAREN