Systems
Occurs when energy or matter flows and changes location but does not change its state
Transfers
Beetles and worms are an example. They consume Detritus
Detritivores
Large scale farming focused on producing crops or livestock for sale
What is commercial Farming
78% of this gas makes up the atmosphere
Nitrogen
a system in which both matter and energy are exchanged across boundaries
Open
Value system that believes that humans must sustainability manage the global system
Anthropocentric
Bacteria and Fungi are examples
Saprotrophs
Fully decomposed organic matter. Contributes to structure and properties of soil
Humus
Energy Sector, Agriculture, Industry, and Deforestation have caused this GHG to increase
CO2
Daily result of changes in temperature, air pressure and precipitation in an area.
Weather
A threshold at which a system undergoes a rapid and irreversible change
Tipping point
The three types of weathering processes
What is mechanical, chemical and biological?
land is cleared, cultivated for a few years to recover
Shifting Cultivation
Long term patterns of temperature, humidity, wind in a given region
Climate
_________ allows for scientists to simplify complex systems and use them to predict changes. Also allows inputs and outcomes to be examined instantly.
When the output of a process inhibits or reverses the operation of the same process in such a way as to reduce change. Counteracts deviation
Negative Feedback Loop
Determined by the proportions of sand, silt and clay
Gas transfers such as oxygen diffusing into the soil
Aeration
Greenhouse gases
CO2, CH4, N2O, and water vapor
The area of land and water required to sustainably provide all resources at the rate of consumption and the assimilation of all wastes at the rate of production by a given human population
Ecological Footprint
maintains a stable system due to constant flow of inputs and outputs
Steady-state equilibrium
This soil horizon contains minerals leached from above. It has fewer nutrients.
Subsoil (B Horizon)
Climate, soil type and quality, Geography
Layers of the atmosphere
Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, and Thermosphere
The three pillars of sustainability
Economic, Environmental and Social