Chapter 3: The Big Picture - Systems of Change
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17 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 average residence time | a measure of time it takes for a given part of the total pool or reservoir of a particular material in a system to be cycled |
| biosphere | all the parts of the planet that are inhabited by living things; sum of all Earth's ecosystems |
| biota | all the organisms of all species living in an area or region up to and including the biosphere |
| closed system | a system that allows the exchange of energy, but not matter, between the system and its surroundings |
| doubling time | the time required for a population to double in size |
| ecosystem | a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment |
| environmental unity | a principle of environment sciences that states that everything affects everything else, meaning that particular course of action leads to an entire potential string of events |
| exponential growth | population growth pattern where a population grows faster as it increases in size |
| feedback | a kind of system response that occurs when output of the system also serves as input leading to changes in the system (positive and negative) |
| Gaia hypothesis | states that the environment on a global level has been changed for the better by life over the history of life on earth |
| lag time | the time between a stimulus and the response of a system |
| negative feedback | a type of feedback that occurs when the system's response is in the opposite direction of the output; negative feedback is self-regulating |
| open system | a system that can exchange both matter and energy with its surroundings |
| overshoot and collapse | this occurs when growth in one part of a system over time exceeds carrying capacity, resulting in sudden decline in one or both parts of the system |
| positive feedback | a type of feedback that occurs when an increase in output leads to a further increase in output |
| steady state | when input equals output in a system, there is no net change and the system is said to be in equilibrium |
| system | a set of components that are linked and interact to produce a whole |
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