Honors Biology Notes May 19 - 23

Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources Renewable resources can regenerate and are replaceable Nonrenewable resources cannot be replenished by natural processes Sustainable use – using natural resources at a rate that does not deplete them

Land Resources Loss Soil Erosion – wearing away of surface soil by water and wind Desertification – once productive areas of the world gradually become desert because of farming, overgrazing, and drought

Forest Resource Loss Deforestation – loss of forest Leads in time to severe erosion

Loss of Ocean Resources Overfishing has depleted fish populations around the world As fish populations plummet, they can eventually collapse completely if they become too low

Air Resources Impact Factories and automobiles contribute to smog buildup Smog – a mixture of chemicals that occurs as a gray-brown haze in the atmosphere Pollutant – a harmful material that can enter the biosphere through the land, air, or water Acid Rain – a combination of strong acids and precipitation Sulfur and Nitrogen compounds in smog (from burning fossil fuels) combine with water to form acid rain

Biodiversity Definition: the sum total of the genetically based variety of all organisms in the biosphere Ecosystem Diversity: includes all the habitats, communities, and ecological processes in the living world Species Diversity: refers to the number of different species in the biosphere Genetic Diversity: refers to the sum total of all of the different forms of genetic information carried by all organisms living on Earth today Biodiversity is an important natural resource that can be used to develop medicines and other goods for human use Habitat fragmentation diminishes biodiversity directly

Biomagnification Phenomenon that causes chemicals to become more concentrated in the tissues of higher trophic level individuals