Transcript ENVI 1P90: Introduction to Sustainability

TREN 2P94:
Human Dominated Ecosystems
Exam overview
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
Examination details:
• Monday 11 November 2013
• 12:00 – 15:00
• Welch Hall 324
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
Examination details:
You should be familiar with:
• PowerPoint notes from class lectures
• assigned readings
• your field experiences (not individual
presentations, but overall experiences)
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
Tips:
• Focus on key points and concepts
in notes and readings
• Understand concepts and terms
• Be able to relate the concepts to your own
local landscape and to our field program
• Consider the real-world implications of the
concepts
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
Time provided: 3 hours (for a 2 hour exam)
Mixture of questions:
• Definitions
• Short Answer
• Concise essay questions
• Point form answers
• Read questions carefully
• Answer questions on exam sheets provided
Worth 25% of total course grade
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
Key concepts
Hough (Chapter 1): Urban Ecology - A Basis for Shaping Cities
(pp.1-25)
• ‘urban ecology’
• Contradiction of values: ‘formal’ versus ‘natural’ / ‘pedigreed’
versus ‘vernacular’ landscapes
• Origins of landscapes in cities
• Misguided notions:
– Parks as places for recreation
– City and country as mutually exclusive places
– Abundance of cheap energy
• Design principles:
– Process
– Economy of means
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
Key concepts
Hough (Chapter 1): Urban Ecology - A Basis for Shaping Cities
(pp.1-25) – cont’d.
• Design principles:
– Understanding ecosystem process (dynamic forces in the
landscape)
– Economy of means (principle of least effort)
– Diversity
– Connectedness
– Environmental education begins at home
– Making the most of opportunities: how can human development
processes contribute to the environments they change?
– Making visible the processes that sustain life
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
Key concepts
Farina (Chapter 1): Introduction to landscape ecology (pp.1-42)
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Landscape ecology is a relatively new field (1930s)
Inherently interdisciplinary: contributions from many fields
Many definitions of landscape are possible; the landscape can (and
must) be described and defined by the observer
Epistomological (knowledge-based) perspective:
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The nature of landscape (material components; conceptual aspects)
The role of landscape (domain, system, unit)
The description of landscape (ecological; cognitive)
Multiple relationship between organisms and their landscapes
Visual landscapes (topographic features, visual attributes)
Information landscapes (e.g., foraging areas, nesting areas)
Soundscapes
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
Key concepts
Hough (Chapter 3): Plants and plant communities (pp. 86-129)
• Plants and natural processes: plants are basis for life on earth
• Succession
• Structure in plant communities (e.g., forest canopy, middle
strata, understory)
• Plants in cities: cultivated / native / naturalized
• Human perceptions of plants and cultural values
• Alternatives to energy-intensive cultivated landscapes:
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Restoration
Naturalization
The urban forest / woodland parks / integrated mangement
Changing our love affair with the lawn
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
Key concepts
Hough (Chapter 3): Plants and plant communities (pp. 86-129) –
cont’d
• Changing roles of city spaces: making better use of…
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Streets and community space
Vacant lands
Linear corridors / communications links
Rooftops
Industrial lands
Cemeteries
• Native and fortuitous natural habitats:
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Wetlands
Woodlands
Meadows
Ravines and valley lands
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
Key concepts
Hough (Chapter 4): Wildlife (pp.130-159):
• Wildlife and natural processes
• Urbanization and wildlife
• Wildlife and the cultivated landscape
• Remnant native habitat in cities
• Problems and conflicts:
– Safety concerns of wildlife
– Nuisance concerns of wildlife
– Aesthetic concerns of wildlife
• Alternative perspectives on human / wildlife interactions in cities
• Creation and management of urban wildlife habitat:
– Private property / city parks / active industrial sites / brownfield sites
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
Key concepts
Alberti (Chapter 5): Hydrological Processes (pp. 133-161)
• Urban hydrological cycle:
– Processes: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, etc.
– Functions: providing and storing water; preventing soil loss and erosion;
sequestering and storing nutrients; removing toxins and sediments;
supporting riparian and floodplain function; provide habitat for wildlife
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Human induced changes in urban watersheds:
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Consumption
Land cover change (vegetation removal; impervious surfaces; runoff, etc.)
Flow regime changes (flooding, sediment loading)
Urban effluents and wastewater
Urban impacts on stream integrity and ecological dynamics
Impacts of roads on hydrological process
Landscape fragmentation
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
Key concepts
Hough (Chapter 6): Climate (pp.189-218)
• Basic climate elements: Solar radiation, wind, precipitation,
temperature, humidity
• Urban influences on climate:
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Surface materials (permeability, reflectance, energy absorption)
Surface roughness (cities are more turbulent)
Waste heat in urban areas (urban heat island effect)
Problems resulting from precipitaiton (flooding, poor evaporative cooling)
Air quality issues: particulates, aerosols, toxic substances
• Mechanical climate control and its impacts
• Alternatives to mechanical climate control:
– Plant cover and landscaping; green rooftops; creative use of urban water
features; wind control; air pollution control; vegetaion as ‘green lungs’
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
Key concepts
Alberti (Chapter 4): Landscape Signatures (Sections 4.1-4.3, pp.
93-112)
• Urban landscapes as complex systems: open, nonlinear, highly
unpredictable; heterogeneous; spatially nested; hierarchically
structured
• Hybrid environments: ‘natural’ and human processes interact
• Gradients (e.g., temperature; sediment; pollutants)
• Patches (e.g., shrubs, conifers, grasses, buildings)
• Networks (e.g., buildings -> roads; rainfall ->streams -> lakes)
• Hierarchies (multiple scales) (e.g., size; height; organization;
households / buildings / neighbourhoods / districts / cities)
• Landscape patterns: form; density; heterogeneity; connectivity
TREN 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems
GOOD
LUCK!