Biological resources and sustainability

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Affluence
the level of richness or poverty
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Per capita
per person, such as the per capita use of resources or per capita waste production
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Altruism
acting for the benefit of all or others
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Pasture
an area of land used for grazing livestock
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Pesticide
a chemical that is used to kill pest species
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Sustainable
an activity that can be carried out without making life more difficult for people in the future
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Photoautotroph
an organism that produces high-energy food substances using light, e.g. all photosynthetic organisms
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Food chain
a sequence of organisms arranged to show their feeding relationships and food energy flow; primary producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer, etc.
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Trophic level
a position in a food chain, e.g. primary producer, secondary consumer
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Herbivore
an animal that only eats plant food
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Rumen
the stomach chamber in which bacteria digest cellulose in ruminants, e.g. cattle, sheep
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Carnivore
an organism that gains its food energy from other heterotrophs
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Omnivore
an organism that eats plant and animal foods
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Agroecosystem
the living organisms, physical processes and their interactions in a farming system
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Selective breeding
producing offspring from particular chosen parents, usually to produce offspring with desirable characteristics
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Genetic Modification
the method of altering an organisms genetic make up by artificially introducing genes from another organism, often of another species
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Limiting factor
an environmental factor present in insufficient amounts to allow a process to occur at a faster rate
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Biota
Living organisms
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Evapotranspiration
the combined movement of water into the atmosphere from the evapotranspiration from surfaces and transpiration from leaves
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Solar Insolation
sunlight landing on a surface
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Topography
the 3D shape of the land surface
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Aspect
the direction something faces in terms of sunlight
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Tenant farmer
a farmer that rents land from the owner
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Quota
a limit on the number of quantity of items, e.g. milk production
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Haber process
a chemical process used to manufacture ammonia from which nitrate fertilisers can be made
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F1 hybrid
the first generation of offspring produced by breeding from two distinct true-breeding varieties. All the offspring have the same combinations of characteristics
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True-breeding variety
a variety of selectively bred organism where all members are genetically almost identical and produce similar offspring
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Asexual reproduction
production of new organisms using the genetic material from a single individual. The offspring are genetically identical to the parent
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Vegetative propogation
asexual reproduction
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Cloning
an artificial form of asexual reproduction
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Crossbreeding
producing offspring by mating parents of two different breeds or varieties
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Hybrid vigour
the good health achieved by breeding between breeds that aren't closely related. This reduces the risk of inbreeding and recessive gene diseases
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Heterosis
the hybrid vigour produced by breeding between two organisms that aren't closely related
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IRB
a Green Revolution rice variety
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Green Revolution
the agricultural changes since the mid 20th century, where high yielding cereal varieties were bred to increase food production
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Genetic engineering
the method of altering an organisms genetic makeup by artificially introducing genes from another organisms, often of another species
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Transgenics
the process of artificially transferring genetic material from one organism into an individual of another species
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Horizontal gene transfer
the transfer of genetic material between organisms without normal breeding taking place, e.g. the transfer of genes that give pesticide of antibiotic resistancee between bacteria
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Auxin
a group of plant hormones
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Gibberelin
a group of plant hormones
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Ethylene
a chemical that stimulates fruit ripening
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BST
bovine somatotropin - an animal hormone used to stimulate milk production
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Anabolic steroid hormones
a female or male hormone used to increase livestock gross growth efficiency
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Endemic pests
a pest that is normally present
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Epidemic pests
a pest that is not normally a problem but may become a serious pest when the population suddenly increases
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Monoculture
the growth of a single type of crop, usually over a large area
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Liposoluble
the property of a substance dissolving in lipids
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Organochlorine pesticides
persistent insecticide group, e.g. DDT, dieldrin, aldrin. Most are now banned or restricted
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Systemic
a substance that is absorbed and transported throughout an organism
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Organophosphate pesticides
insecticide group, e.g. parathion, malathion
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Pyrethoid pesticides
insecticide group
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Zoonose
a micro-organism that is carried by livestock which, if transferred to humans, causes disease
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Crop rotation
the practice of growing a different crop in a field on a cycle of three, four or five years
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Mulch
material added to the soil surface, e.g. shredded crop waste to inhibit weed growth
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Phermone
a chemical released by an organism that changes the behaviour of other members of the same species, especially to attract a mate
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Humus
the colloidal material in soil that is the end product of the decomposition of dead organic matter
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Macronutrient
a plant nutrient needed in large amounts, e.g. N,P,K
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Micronutrient
a plant nutrient needed in small amounts
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Extensive agriculture
agriculture where the maximum total yield is achieved by distributing the inputs over the total available area. Inputs are usually low
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Intensive agriculture
farming where high yields are achieved by using large inputs per unit area
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USLE
universal soil loss equation
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Tillage
cultivation by turning the soil, e.g. ploughing
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Marshall plan
a US scheme after the Second World War to provide food aid to Europe
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Set aside
farmland that has been taken out of production and is not cultivated but is kept in a condition where it could be farmed again
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ESA
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
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Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS)
a scheme where farmers could get grants for a range of activities that benefited the environment or improved amenity value for the public
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ESS
Environmental Stewardship Scheme
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Crustaceans
group of invertebrates with jointed limbs and an exoskeleton, e.g. crabs, lobsters and shrimps
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Molluscs
invertebrate organisms with a hard shell, e.g. oysters, clams, mussels and squid
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Algae
primitive photosynthetic organisms that drift with the water currents
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Phytoplankton
free floating photosynthetic organisms that drift with the water currents
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Algal blooms
the rapid growth of an algae population
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Photic layer
the water layer into which light can penetrate
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Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)
the greatest amount that can be sustainably harvested
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Overfishing
fishing above the maximum sustainable yield
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Pelagic
living near the water surface, e.g. herring and tuna
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Demersal
living on the seabed, e.g. cod and plaice
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Bycatch
the non-target organisms that are caught when fishing
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Aquaculture
the artificial production of aquatic organisms, including fish farming
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Climax community
the community of organisms at the end of primary succession
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Taiga
the Northern conifer forest biome found in Canada, Scandinavia and Russia
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Conifers
trees that produce their seeds in cones, e.g. pine and fir trees
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Stomata
the pores on a leaf through which gases are exchanged and transpiration water is lost
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Temperate
a temperate climate has summers and winters of roughly equal length and rarely has temperature extremes
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Deciduous
the process of shedding all leaves at the same times
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Understorey
the layer of tree vegetation beneath the canopy layer
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Tropical
the region of the Earth within 221/2 of the equator, where the sun is overhead at some time during the year
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Primary productivity
the energy captured during photosynthesis
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Canopy
the uppermost layer of vegetation in a forest
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Stratification
layering, as seen with vegetation layers in forests
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NPP
net primary productivity - the energy captured by an autotroph during photosynthesis but which has not been used in respiration
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Coppicing
the process where trees are cut to ground level every few years. The re-growth produces long narrow stems
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Pollarding
the process whereby trees are cut back to 1.2m above the ground every few years. The regrowth produces long, narrow stems
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Forest parks
Forestry Commission forest areas that are open to the public for recreational use
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National Forest
an area in the East Midlands of England where woodland creation and countryside management is being carried out for the benefit of the local communities and wildlife
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Community Forest
a deliberately managed and planted forest for the benefit of the community
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Programme for Belize (PfB)
independent conservation organisation that manages the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area in Belize, Central America
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Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC)
an organisation that certifies sustainable forestry operations
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Planned Obsolescence
the deliberate plan to make items that don't last as long as they could have, usually for commercial gain
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Ecological footprint
the area of the Earth's surface that is needed to provide the resources that are used by the human population and to deal with the wastes produced
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Ecological debt
this is the concept that we are exploiting the planet at a faster rate than it can replace the resources we have used
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Ecological Debt Day
this is the day on which it is estimated that we have used up the whole year's worth of resources
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Carbon footprint
this is the part of an ecological footprint caused by the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases
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Biocapacity
a measure of the biological productivity of an area
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Independent variable
the factor that is deliberately altered to see if it affects the dependent factor
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Dependent variable
the factor that may be controlled by the independent variable - the results that are measured
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Homogenous
evenly mixed
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Quadrat
an area, usually square or circular, in which samples are taken
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Pitfall trap
a method of sampling animal populations by collecting individuals that fall into traps set into the ground
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Secchi disc
a circular disc divided into four black and white segments that is used to estimate water turbidity
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

per person, such as the per capita use of resources or per capita waste production

Back

Per capita

Card 3

Front

acting for the benefit of all or others

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

an area of land used for grazing livestock

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

a chemical that is used to kill pest species

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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