Pre-lesson questions:
- What do you already know about types of environments and how they function?
- What local environments?
- What environments have you visited on your holidays?
Are all types of environmental change negative?
- What do you already know about types of environments and how they function?
- What local environments?
- What environments have you visited on your holidays?
Are all types of environmental change negative?
Environments
What is an environment?
The Environment includes all of the external factors affecting an organism. These factors may be other living organisms (biotic factors) or nonliving variables (abiotic factors), such as water, soil, climate, light, and oxygen. All interacting biotic and abiotic factors together make up an ecosystem. Organisms and their environment constantly interact, and both are changed by this interaction.
Human changes to the environmentLike all other living beings, humans have clearly changed their environment, but they have done so generally on a grander scale than have other species. Some of these changes—such as the destruction of the world's tropical rain forests to create grazing land for cattle or the drying up of almost three-quarters of the Aral Sea, once the world's fourth-largest freshwater lake, for irrigation purposes—have led to altered climate patterns, which in turn have changed the distribution of species of animals and plants.
Scientists are working to understand the long-term consequences that human actions have on ecosystems, while environmentalists—professionals in various fields, as well as concerned citizens in the United States and other countries—are struggling to lessen the impact of human activity on the natural world.
Examples of environments include:
- coral reefs
- coasts
- deserts
- grasslands
- mountains
- polar lands
- rainforests
- rivers
- tundra
- wetlands
Activity:
Brainstorm as many changes to environments that you can think of (at least 10)
Brainstorm features of the environment and processes that relate to the four spheres (lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere).
What is an environment?
The Environment includes all of the external factors affecting an organism. These factors may be other living organisms (biotic factors) or nonliving variables (abiotic factors), such as water, soil, climate, light, and oxygen. All interacting biotic and abiotic factors together make up an ecosystem. Organisms and their environment constantly interact, and both are changed by this interaction.
Human changes to the environmentLike all other living beings, humans have clearly changed their environment, but they have done so generally on a grander scale than have other species. Some of these changes—such as the destruction of the world's tropical rain forests to create grazing land for cattle or the drying up of almost three-quarters of the Aral Sea, once the world's fourth-largest freshwater lake, for irrigation purposes—have led to altered climate patterns, which in turn have changed the distribution of species of animals and plants.
Scientists are working to understand the long-term consequences that human actions have on ecosystems, while environmentalists—professionals in various fields, as well as concerned citizens in the United States and other countries—are struggling to lessen the impact of human activity on the natural world.
Examples of environments include:
- coral reefs
- coasts
- deserts
- grasslands
- mountains
- polar lands
- rainforests
- rivers
- tundra
- wetlands
Activity:
Brainstorm as many changes to environments that you can think of (at least 10)
Brainstorm features of the environment and processes that relate to the four spheres (lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere).
| environmental_change_and_management.doc |
| environmental_change_overview.docx |
| coral_reefs_-_environmental_change_part_1.pdf |
Syllabus:
Environments
Students:
• investigate the role and importance of natural environments, for example:
- identification of the function of natural environments in supporting life eg maintaining biodiversity
Environments
Students:
• investigate the role and importance of natural environments, for example:
- identification of the function of natural environments in supporting life eg maintaining biodiversity