ENVS 001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Systems Theory, The Blind, Dynamic Equilibrium

• School: University of Vermont
• Department: Environmental Studies
• Course: ENVS 001
• Professor: Amy L Seidl

Document Summary

Ecosystems- organization of biotic and abiotic life in the natural world. Weather systems: composed of cloud formations, wind temps, water, causes flooding, intense rain fall, winds. Change is a function of life: the better we understand change, the better we can look forward to them and react accordingly. Energy flows through ecosystems in food webs: systems are complicated, unintended consequences, ddt, urbanization, global movement of humans, channel island foxes. Includes human population: disturbance happens because the only constant is change, time and space matter and occur at different scales, puts boundaries on it, helps the understanding of it. System components: elements/parts, interconnections, function/purpose, digestive system, buffer capacity, delays, lag time, inputs and outputs, a system is always in a larger system. Eutrophication: input > output, problem in lake champlain, too much nitrogen going into the lake. Systems changes: steady state, dynamic equilibrium.