GC 170A1: EXAM 5
34 Cards in this Set
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Carrying capacity
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Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support
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increase in population was associated with
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tool- making revolution, agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution
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whats not a serious reason for tropical rainforest deforestation
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search for tropical medicine
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anthropomorphic
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Attributing human characteristics or qualities to objects, animals, or gods
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homomorphic
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exhibiting similarity of form
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anthropogenic
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Derived from human activities
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eutrophic
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A process by which nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, become highly concentrated in a body of water, leading to increased growth of organisms such as algae or cyanobacteria.
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Tropical rain forests tend to have most of their carbon and nutrients in (1)____, whereas temperate forests have most carbon and nutrients in (2)____. [hint: M275-276, Fig. 10.13]
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plants, soil
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most of the wood being harvested around the world goes to what
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fuel wood
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Inputs of CO2 to the atmosphere from volcanoes are _______ CO2 emissions from fossil fuels.
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much less than
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Which of the following is NOT a mechanism whereby humans input the greenhouse gas, CO2, to the atmosphere?
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nuclear power plants
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Deforestation not only takes place in tropical rain forests, but it has taken place in non-tropical forests as well, of which deforestation of in the 1800s is a good example.
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New england and U.S. midwest
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The highest atmospheric CO2 levels over the last 600 million years occur or occurred ________.
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500 million years ago
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The largest reserves of conventional oil on our planet are located in _________________.
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middle east
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Which of the following would be the best example of a renewable energy resource (in terms of the perspective of human lifetimes)?
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ethanol/alcohol
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Although it would be really nice to flip the switch and immediately use only renewable energy resources, unfortunately currently around ______ of commercial energy in the U.S. is still provided by fossil fuels.
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80-90%
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About 55-60% of the CO2 from fossil fuels remains in the atmosphere. Where does the rest of it go?
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biosphere and oceans
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Which factor does not determine carrying capacity?
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mating habits
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what factors do contribute to mating habits
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energy, natural resources, interactions
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How are the nitrogen and sulfur cycles related to the carbon cycle?
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plant productivity (photosynthesis) uses CO2 but also requires nitrogen and sulfur, fossil-fuel burning not only inputs CO2 into the atmosphere, but inputs N and S oxides, SO2 and NO2 are released into Earth's atmosphere during wildfires along with CO2
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Which of these does not a reason for tropical deforestation at present?
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CO2 fertilization
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What is Thomas Malthus' hypothesis of world population rates (dating back to the early 1800s)?
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Population will increase exponentially unless affect by war, disease, and famine
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Which of the following is NOT a natural event impacting soils?
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agriculture
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A gigaton of carbon is _______.
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1 billion tons
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How could global climate change affect human health?
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increase in malaria with warming (unless it also dries, in which case malaria may be reduced); increase in heat-related deaths, etc.
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Before recent deforestation, is it fair to say that the distribution of forests (locations and species) in North America has been stable over the last 150,000 years? Explain,
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No. During the full glacial 20,000 years ago, a continental ice sheet covered much of N. America as far south as St. Louis. Therefore, the remaining forest was compressed into latitudes below this.
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Is the size of CO2 flux to the atmosphere from fossil fuels to the atmosphere really pretty small compared to fluxes to the atmosphere from natural sources? Explain.
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Yes. 8-9 GtC is currently entering the atmosphere from f-f burning each year, but around 200 GtC per year enter the atmosphere from respiration+decomposition on land together with evasion from the ocean. Thus, f-f inputs are around 5% of the natural inputs. So, why then are we concerned w…
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How is the population profile (i.e., age distribution or "population pyramid") of the United States different than Mexico?
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Mexico has a broader base, with a greater fraction of individual in the pre-reproductive age classes (primed for rapid population growth). The US distribution is more uniform with reduced fraction of individuals in pre-reproductive age classes and a higher fraction in post-reproductive ag…
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Why are tropical/equatorial rain forests important?
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productivity/oxygen production/biodiversity/genetic storehouse/tropical pharmacy/C storage
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Give 2 examples of "land-use change".
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forest to agriculture; forest to pasture; farmland to highways; etc.
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What factors determine the rate of increase (or decrease) of population?
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birth rate, death rate, immigration/emigration (known as dispersal), sex ratio, age distribution
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If a country has a population of 100 million, and its population is increasing at a rate of 3.5% per year, how long will it take to double to 200 million people?
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20 years (use "rule of 70")
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What is "Peak Oil"?
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eventual peak production (year) of oil worldwide, after which oil availability/production will decline and maybe calamity and disaster will occur (see video link in syllabus); expected by about 2020.
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Amazingly, forests have been around on our planet ______.
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about 400 million years
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GC 170A1: EXAM 1