Humans & Ecosystems
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Transcript of Humans & Ecosystems
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Humans & Ecosystems
What services do ecosystems provide?
How do humans affect ecosystems?
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The Human System
This graph shows how much grain it takes to make one pound of each kind of meat.
If we did not eat beef then we could feed 3 times as many people on Earth.
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The Human System
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Violations of the First Principle of Ecosystem Sustainability
• Excessive use of fossil fuels.• Feeding largely on the third trophic level.• Use of coal or nuclear power.• Use of agricultural land to produce meats.
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Violations of the Second Principle of Ecosystem Sustainability
• Lack of recycling.• Excessive use of fertilizers.• Destruction of tropical rain forests.• Nutrient overcharge into aquatic ecosystems.• Production and use of nonbiodegradable
compounds.
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Ecosystems respond to Disturbance
Disturbance
An event caused by physical, chemical or biological agents that results in changes in population size or community composition
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Watershed Studies
• Watershed • All of an area of land in a given landscape that
drains into a specific stream, river, lake or wetland or larger body of water.
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Resistance v. Resilience
• Resistance is a measure of how much a disturbance can affect its flow of energy and matter
• Resilience the rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance
• Restoration Ecology is a new scientific discipline that is interested in restoring damages ecosystems.
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Intermediate disturbance hypothesis
• Ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels.
• WHY????
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Ecosystems provide valuable services
Instrumental Services:• Provisions are goods that humans can use
directly. (examples?)• Regulating services provided by natural systems
help regulate environmental conditions. (examples?)
• Support systems are services that natural systems provide (e.g. pollination, natural filters, pest control)
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Ecosystem Services and Functions
Gas, climate and water regulationWater supplyErosion controlSoil formationPollinationBiological control
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Ecosystem Services and Functions
Food productionRecreationRaw materialsNutrient cyclingWaste treatment
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Intrinsic Values of Ecosystems
• The Resilience of an ecosystem ensures that it will continue to provide benefits to humans—but this depends greatly on species diversity
• Cultural Services are part of the aesthetic benefits to many people. (examples??)