GEN 013

PEOPLE AND THE EARTH'S ECOSYSTEMS P1 REVIEWER

LESSON 1: For Example:

o The temperature and amount of precipitation

FOUR INTERACTING SPHERES: received directly influences the type of
LITHOSPHERE – the solid part of the earth's crust, consisting vegetation produced.
of rocks and soil. o Warmer climates with higher rainfall will be the
most productive, having taller and more closely
HYDROSPHERE – all of earth's water bodies, including lakes,
spaced trees, like that of the tropical rainforest.
rivers, streams, oceans, groundwater and ice caps.
o Areas with the coldest climates and lowest rainfall
ATMOSPHERE – the layer of gases surrounding the earth. figures have very little vegetation, like that of the
Arctic Tundra.
BIOSPHERE – realm of living things, including plants and
animals.

BIOMES – consist of distinctive plant and animal species

which have adapted to their surrounding environment.
ECOSYSTEM – are specific areas of the environment that
develop as a result of the interaction between the earth's
four spheres. They are characterized by a unique
The main difference between an ecosystem and a biome
collection of living organisms (plants and animals) which
is the scale at which we study them.
have adapted to their surrounding non-living environment
(climate, rocks, soils and water).

ECOSYSTEMS BIOMES
o vary in size. o very large areas.
The model below shows the living and non-living
o can be classified as
components of an ecosystem:
either terrestrial (land-
based biomes) or
aquatic (water-based
biomes).

THE FIVE MAJOR PARTS OF BIOME:

1. AQUATIC BIOMES – include both freshwater and

marine biomes. Freshwater biomes are bodies of
water surrounded by lands such as ponds, rivers, and
lakes
2. GRASSLANDS – are open regions that are dominated
by grass and have a warm, dry climate.

There are two types of grasslands:

o Tropical grasslands (sometimes called savannas).
Savannas are found closer to the equator and
Each component is closely related and affects, or is can have a few scattered trees.
affected by, each of the other components. The arrows in o Temperate grasslands. Temperate grasslands are
the diagram represent the interrelationships that occur found further away from the equator. They do not
between each part of an ecosystem. have any trees or shrubs and receive less
precipitation than savannas.
3. FORESTS – are dominated by trees, and cover about
one-third of the Earth. Forests contain much of the
CLIMATE – the most important factor influencing each of
world’s terrestrial biodiversity, including insects, birds,
the components of an ecosystem.
and mammals.

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PEOPLE AND THE EARTH'S ECOSYSTEMS P1 REVIEWER

The three major forest biomes: Tundra o Arctic Moss o Arctic

o Tropical forests – are warm, humid, and found o Arctic Willow hare
close to the equator. o Polar bear
o Temperate forests – are found at higher latitudes
and experience all four seasons.
o Boreal forests – are found at even higher LESSON 2:
latitudes, and have the coldest and driest climate,
ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY – is a subfield of the wider
where precipitation occurs primarily in the form of
discipline in which researchers and theorists focus on the
snow.
relationships between society and the environment. The
4. DESERTS – are dry areas where rainfall is less than 50
subfield took shape following the environmental
centimeters (20inches) per year. They cover around 20
movement of the 1960s.
percent of Earth’s surface. Deserts can be either cold
or hot, although most of them are found in subtropical
areas. Because of their extreme conditions, there is not
as much biodiversity found in deserts as in other CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY:
biomes.
1. CLIMATE CHANGE – is arguably the most important
5. TUNDRA – has extremely inhospitable conditions, with
topic of research among environmental sociologists
the lowest measured temperatures of any of the five
today. Sociologists investigate the human, economic,
major biomes with average yearly temperatures
and political causes of climate change, and they
ranging from -34 to 12 degrees Celsius (-29 to 54
investigate the effects that climate change has on
degrees Fahrenheit)
many aspects of social life, like behavior, culture,
values, and the economic health of populations
experiencing its effects.
BIOMES ENLIST TWO SPECIES OF ENLIST TWO 2. ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT – this relationship might
PLANTS SPECIES OF focus on the implications of consumption of natural
ANIMALS resources in processes of production, and methods of
Aquatic o Water caltrop All organisms production and resource recapture that aim to be
(Trapa natans) that have gills, sustainable, among other things.
o Chinese water fins, swim 3. ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT – this relationship is
chestnut (Eleocharis bladders, or intimately connected to the first two listed, as the
dulcis) cold-blooded burning of fossil fuels to power industry is recognized by
fishes. climate scientists to be the central driver of global
Grasslands o Grasses, long and o Gazelles warming, and thus climate change.
short. o Zebras 4. POLITICS, LAW, AND PUBLIC POLICY – sociologists who
o Sunflowers focus on these areas investigate topics such as the
Forests o White pine and o Rabbits extent to which and through what mechanisms laws
other conifers are o Foxes regarding emissions and pollution are enforced.
scattered 5. SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND ENVIRONMENT –
throughout the environmental sociologists also examine how social
forest. The middle behaviors, like the use of transportation, consumption
layer is made up of of energy, and waste and recycling practices, shape
small trees, shrubs, environmental outcomes, as well as how
and vines. environmental conditions shape social behavior.
o On the forest floor, 6. INEQUALITY AND ENVIRONMENT – environmental
wildflowers, ferns, sociologists study the way that people have differing
sedges, moss, other relationships to the environment based on relative
plants, and lichen privilege and wealth.
thrive.
Deserts o Cactus o Lizards
o Poppies o Geckos

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PEOPLE AND THE EARTH'S ECOSYSTEMS P1 REVIEWER

LESSON 3: LESSON 4:

HUMAN ECOLOGY – is about relationships between people POPULATION – in human biology, the whole number of
and their environment. In human ecology the environment inhabitants occupying an area (such as a country or the
is perceived as an ecosystem. world) and continually being modified by increases (births
and immigrations) and losses (deaths and emigrations).
ECOSYSTEM – provides services to the social system by
moving materials, energy and information to the social Few aspects of human societies are as fundamental as the
system to meet people’s needs. size, composition, and rate of change of their populations.
Such factors affect economic prosperity, health,
education, family structure, crime patterns, language,
culture indeed, virtually every aspect of human society is
touched upon by population trends.

BASIC COMPONENTS OF POPULATION CHANGE:

1. FERTILITY – is the number of children a woman bears

during her reproductive years and is related to social
behaviors and personal decisions. A typical
measurement used for fertility is the crude birth rate,
which is the number of live births in a given year for
every 1,000 people in a population.

𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 = × 1000
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – can be defined as meeting 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
present needs without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. 2. MORTALITY – the death rate is known as the mortality
rate, which is a measure of the number of deaths in a
population. The mortality rate is typically expressed in
units of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year.
INTENSITY OF DEMANDS ON ECOSYSTEMS – there is a close
connection between the sustainability of human - 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
ecosystem interaction and the intensity of demands that 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 = × 1000
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
people place on ecosystems. We all depend on
ecosystems for material and energy resources. Some 3. MIGRATION – the movement by humans from one
resources such as mineral deposits and fossil fuels are non- area to another is known as migration. The humans
renewable; other resources such as food, water and forest who undergo migration are called migrants.
products are renewable. People use these resources and
return them to the ecosystem as waste, such as sewage, 𝐶𝐵𝑅 − 𝐶𝐷𝑅
garbage, or industrial effluence 𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 =
10

EXPONENTIAL POPULATION GROWTH – is when the birth rate

is constant over a period of time and isn't limited by food
or disease.

The best example of exponential growth is seen in

bacteria.

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PEOPLE AND THE EARTH'S ECOSYSTEMS P1 REVIEWER

LESSON 5: RELATIONSHIP TO ANTHROPOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY:

POLITICAL ECOLOGY – is the study of the relationships ANTHROPOLOGY GEOGRAPHY

between political, economic and social factors with is the study of what makes is the study of the earth's
environmental issues and changes. Political ecology differs us human, through places and the
from apolitical ecological studies by politicizing examination of past and relationships between
environmental issues and phenomena. current civilizations. people and their
environments.

Integrating the two disciplines allows you to examine the

Raymond L. Bryant and Sinéad Bailey developed three
relationship between humans and their environments in an
fundamental assumptions in practicing political ecology:
increasingly globalized and diverse world.
1. First, changes in the environment do not affect society
in a homogenous way: political, social, and economic
differences account for uneven distribution of costs "Political ecologists have devoted some energy to the
and benefits. study of protected areas, which is unsurprising given
2. Second, "any change in environmental conditions political ecology's overall interest in forms of access to,
must affect the political and economic status quo. and control over resources". The argument against
3. Third, the unequal distribution of costs and benefits enclosure of land for conservation is that it harms local
and the reinforcing or reducing of pre-existing people and their livelihood systems, by denying them
inequalities has political implications in terms of the access
altered power relationships that then result. In
addition, political ecology attempts to provide
critiques and alternatives in the interplay of the
POWER – plays a key role in definitions of political ecology.
environment and political, economic and social
Likewise, empirical studies within this field tend to. provide
factors. Paul Robbins asserts that the discipline has a
detailed presentations of various uses of power, involving
"normative understanding that there are very likely
corporate and conservation interventions. influencing
better, less coercive, less exploitative, and more
access to land and natural resources. The results include
sustainable ways of doing things".
struggle and conflict.

From these assumptions, political ecology can be used

to: Why is political ecology important?

Political ecology is useful in that it explains the social

1. Inform policymakers and organizations of the
dynamics of what is wrong and why we have no control
complexities surrounding the environment and
over our economic lives. It explains why in a competitive
development, thereby contributing to better
market economy the minority of people with economic
environmental governance.
power must pollute to survive.
2. Understand the decisions that communities make
about the natural environment in the context of their
political environment, economic pressure, and
societal regulations LESSON 6:
3. Look at how unequal relations in and among societies
affect the natural environment, especially in context GLOBALIZATION – is a term used to describe how trade
of government policy. and technology have made the world into a more
connected and interdependent place. Globalization also
captures in its scope the economic and social changes
that have come about as a result.

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PEOPLE AND THE EARTH'S ECOSYSTEMS P1 REVIEWER

EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION IN THE ENVIRONMENT: LESSON 7:

1. INCREASED TRANSPORT OF GOODS – One of the AGRICULTURE – is the art and science of cultivating the soil,
primary results of globalization is that it opens growing crops and raising livestock. It includes the
businesses up to new markets in which they can sell preparation of plant and animal products for people to
goods and source labor, raw materials, and use and their distribution to markets.
components.

This increased transport of goods can impact on the INTENSIVE FARMING – is an agricultural intensification and
environment in several ways, including: mechanization system that aims to maximize yields from
o Increased emissions available land through various means, such as heavy use
o Habitat destruction of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
o Invasive species

2. ECONOMIC SPECIALIZATION – One of the overlooked EFFECTS OF INTENSIVE FARMING IN NATURAL RESOURCES:
side effects of globalization is that it allows nations and
geographical regions to focus on their economic 1. DESERTIFICATION – decline in organic matter in soil, soil
strengths, content in knowing they can turn to trading contamination (e.g., by heavy metals and
partners for goods they don't produce themselves. This agrochemicals), soil compaction, and erosion.
economic specialization often boosts productivity
2. NITRIFICATION – is one of the major environmental
and efficiency. Unfortunately, overspecialization can
issues associated with agricultural activity. Agricultural
lead to serious environmental issues, often in the form
intensification and pushing toward higher land
of habitat loss, deforestation, or natural resource
productivity during much of the past fifty years was
overuse.
usually accompanied by large applications of
A few examples include: inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizers. This led
o Illegal deforestation Illegal logging drives to high concentrations of nitrates and phosphates in
deforestation, biodiversity loss and climate soils and waters and subsequently to high
change. It can deprive forest communities of eutrophication levels in downstream water bodies.
livelihoods, and the natural resources they rely on, 3. ACIDIFICATION – affects ground water, streams, rivers
and lead to human rights violations, unrest and and lakes. The reasons may be natural ones, such as
violence volcanism or oxidation at natural outcrops of pyrite
o Overfishing is defined as the removal of a fish deposits, or artificial ones, such as atmospheric
species from a body of water at a rate that the deposition of acidity (acid rain) or pyrite oxidation
species cannot replenish, resulting in the species caused by mining or agriculture.
becoming underpopulated or extirpated in that
area.
o Overdependence on cash crops such as coffee,
cacao, and various fruits, which has contributed OVERFISHING – is the removal of a species of fish (i.e.,
to habitat loss, especially in tropical climates fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that
the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e., the
3. DECREASED BIODIVERSITY – Increased greenhouse overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting
gas emissions, ocean acidification, deforestation in the species becoming increasingly underpopulated in
(and other forms of habitat loss or destruction), that area. Overfishing can occur in water bodies of any
climate change, and the introduction of invasive size, such as ponds, wetlands, rivers, lakes or oceans, and
species all work to reduce biodiversity around the can result in resource depletion, reduced biological
globe. growth rates and low biomass levels.

4. INCREASED AWARENESS – While many of

globalization's environmental effects have been
negative, its increase has heightened environmental Effects of overfishing on natural resources:
awareness worldwide.
o Marine ecosystem imbalance
o Fishing of untargeted/endangered marine species

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PEOPLE AND THE EARTH'S ECOSYSTEMS P1 REVIEWER

o Unsustainable Aquaculture LESSON 8:

o Pollution
CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION – relies on the input of
natural resources, which are extracted from the
environment and often processed or manufactured to
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY – is the branch of agriculture
form the final products and services that we produce and
concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fiber,
consume.
milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care,
selective breeding, and the raising of livestock.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS:
Effects of animal husbandry:
1. CLIMATE CHANGE – One of the most well-known
Livestock farming has a vast environmental footprint. It environmental impacts of unsustainable production
contributes to land and water degradation, biodiversity and consumption, which is primarily caused by
loss, acid rain, coral reef degeneration and deforestation. burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas to create the
Nowhere is this impact more apparent than climate energy that powers economic activity.
change - livestock farming contributes 18% of human 2. POLLUTION – The amount of pollution that is created as
produced greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. a result of unsustainable production and consumption
is also causing great damage to the planet's life-
supporting systems of food, water and air, and as a
result harming human health and the health of the
NON-FARMING ACTIVITIES – include handicrafts, small-
planet. Pollution takes places at every stage of the
scale manufacturing (both domestic and non- domestic),
value chain of a product or service, during the
construction, mining, quarrying, repair, transportation,
extraction of raw resources, the processing and
community service, and so on.
manufacturing of goods, as well as distribution and
consumption.

HAWKER – is a type of street vendor; "a person who travels

from place-to-place selling goods." Synonyms include
SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS:
huckster, peddler, chapman or in Britain, costermonger.
However, hawkers are distinguished from other types of 1. Loss of natural resources and environmental damage
street vendors in that they are mobile. can threaten livelihoods, especially of the more than
one billion farmers in the world, leading to food and
economic insecurity as well as nutritional issues.
ARTISAN – is someone that works with their hands to create 2. In addition to nutrition, pollution in land, air and water
unique, functional and/or decorative items using from unsustainable consumption and production also
traditional techniques. Artisans are masters of their crafts cause major health problems, especially for people
and create products such as clothes, toys, tools or living in poor countries.
furnishings. 3. Loss of availability of natural resources and the
livelihoods that depend upon them is also a major
cause of conflict and war, which can jeopardize
PROVIDING SERVICES – If you perform duties that help human rights, further damage the environment,
someone else. destroy livelihoods and harm human health.

It is the poorest people who are most directly dependent

on natural resources for their livelihoods, and most
exposed to risk from damage to these resources and
environmental impacts, with the least means and support
available to cope with the consequences.

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