1. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 Chapter 4: Ecological Perspectives on Natural Resources Earth’s Resource Environments Energy Transfers and Material Flows The Scope of Human Impact Ecological Concepts in Resource Management

2. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 Earth’s Resource Environments Bioregions Human Use of the Land

3. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 Biomes Figure 4.2: Major biomes, each of which represents a similar adaptation to similar abiotic conditions.

4. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 Land Use Figure 4.5: Land area by continent and land use by type.

5. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 An Urban Ecosystem Figure 4.1: Simplified model of Los Angeles urban ecosystem, showing some of the physical, social, and economic inputs and outputs.

6. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 Energy Transfers and Material Flows Carbon Cycle Nitrogen and Phosphorus Hydrologic Cycle Food Chains Carrying Capacity

7. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 Carbon Cycle Figure 4.6: Carbon is found in a variety of forms as it cycles through plants, the atmosphere, fossil fuels, and other sinks.

8. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 Nitrogen Cycle Figure 4.7: Nitrogen is abundant in the atmosphere, but far less common in a form useful to plants.

9. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 Phosphorous Cycle Figure 4.8: Phosphorous enters the environment through rock weathering and through the use of fertilizers and detergents.

10. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 Hydrologic Cycle Figure 4.9: Net flows of water to and from the oceans and the atmosphere balance on an annual basis. The sizes of storage sinks in this diagram are not shown to scale. The ocean, for example contains 100,000 times more water than does the atmosphere.

11. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 Food Chains Figure 4.11: Only producers (plants) can synthesize energy from the sun; consumers (animals) use their mobility to obtain energy, with losses to respiration of about 80 to 95 percent at each trophic level. Decomposers return nutrients to soil for future use by producers.

12. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 Carrying Capacity Figure 4.12: Carrying capacity is the population that can be supported on a specific resource base on a permanent basis.

13. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 The Scope of Human Impact The Extent of Environmental Pollution –Toxic Substances –Pollutant Decay –Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification –Pollutant Transport –Uncertainty in Toxic Substances Management Human Impact on Biogeochemical Cycles –Hydrologic Cycle –Food Chain

14. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 Ecological Concepts in Resource Management Any Given Environment Has a Finite Carrying Capacity Be Aware of Limiting Factors Minimize Description by Mimicking Nature Close the Loops

15. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 Conclusion

16. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation 4e Cutter and Renwick 2003 ISSUE 4.1 What Happens When the Geography Changes? Silent Spring versus Our Stolen Future