Aidens Mind Map
changing and managing the environment
environmental change is any alteration to the environment that disturbs natural ecological processes
Earth is the only planet we know of supporting life
The Earth has changed greatly over time
There have been 5 major extinction events
Background extinction rates are 1,000x higher than normal. Species are going extinct before scientists can even find them
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Enviromental change
Soil degradation: loss of fertility in the land. It can be caused by over-farming, too much fertiliser, getting compacted by machines or animals, salinity
Soil erosion: when soil is worn away by nature such as wind or water. Clearing the land makes the soil vulnerable to wind erosion, sheet erosion, or gully erosion
Ecosystem decline: Ecosystems in an area can be lost for a variety of reasons. It might be loss of plants, invasive species, decline in water quality, etc. Desertification can result
An ecological footprint is a measure of how fast we consume resources and the land needed to deal with the waste created
Our diet has a large impact on land use and on the environment
Using a device, investigate how much of an ecological footprint you have.
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Land clearing for agriculture has negatively impacted Australia in a number of ways
An ecological footprint is a measure of how fast we consume resources and the land needed to deal with the waste created
Australia has one of the largest ecological footprints in the world
Australia has one of the largest ecological footprints in the world
Approximately 50 percent of the Sun’s energy is absorbed, and the other 50 percent reflected back.
Greenhouse gasses trap some of this escaping light energy which becomes heat.
With this effect, the Earth’s average temperature is 14 degrees Celsius. It would be -19 without it.
7 main consepts
Place refers to a part of the Earth’s surface given meaning by people. It refers to both natural and built/human environments.
Space refers to the way things are arranged on the Earth’s surface.
Environment means the living and non-living things in an area as a whole. For example, how humans change the environment, or how natural hazards impact us
Environment means the living and non-living things in an area as a whole. For example, how humans change the environment, or how natural hazards impact us.
Sustainability is the ongoing capacity of the Earth to support all life.
Change refers to the processes, both human and natural, that take place on a local and global level.
Scale refers to the spatial level at which we look at something – whether at the local level, regional level, national, international or global.
Mapping skills
Border – the edge of the map
Orientation – which direction is north?
Legend – What do the symbols mean?
Title – the name of the map which gives a description
Scale – the ratio between the distance on a map and on the ground
lattatude and longatude
Latitude is measured in degrees and minutes north or south of the equator (0o latitude)
Longitude is measured in degrees and minutes east or west of the Prime Meridian (0o longitude)
Australia is in the southern and eastern hemispheres. Therefore, any place in Australia must have a latitude that is south and a longitude that is east.
longitude that is east.
Within each degree of latitude and longitude there are 60 minutes.
The diagram shows how latitude and longitude are calculated.