Nes 119-2

Environmental Engineering
NES 119
Engr. Jessica Laine M. Tumbaga

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Hawksbill Sea Turtle
GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

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More About Ecosystems

1. Energy Flow
Living organisms require two things from the environment: energy to

provide power and nutrients to provide substance. Energy Flow, also
called the calorific flow, refers to the flow of energy through a food chain.
The sun is responsible for virtually all of the Earth’s energy, which
constantly gives the planet energy in the form of light while it is
eventually used and lost in the form of heat throughout the trophic levels
of the food web.
The trophic (derived Greek word meaning food) level of an organism is

the position it occupies in a food chain.

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Organisms are classified as

a. Producers (autotrophs)
b. Consumers (heterotrophs)
-Herbivores, Carnivores and Omnivores
c. Decomposers (detritivores)
There are five trophic levels.

Level 1: Plants and algae are primary producers
Level 2: Herbivores are primary consumers
Level 3: Carnivores are secondary consumers if they eat herbivores
Level 4: Carnivores are tertiary consumers if they eat carnivores
Level 5: Apex predators are at the top of the food chain if they have no
predators

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ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

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2. Nutrient Cycle
It is the movement and exchange of organic and inorganic matter back into
the production of living matter. It is part of larger biogeochemical cycles
involving macro nutrients (such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus
and Sulphur etc.) and micro nutrients (iron, copper, sodium etc.) – the
important chemicals used as nutrients in ecosystems by living organisms.

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Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen Fixation
In which nitrogen gas is converted into inorganic nitrogen compounds, is
mostly (90 percent) accomplished by certain bacteria and blue-green algae
(see nitrogen fixation). A much smaller amount of free nitrogen is fixed by
abiotic means (e.g., lightning, ultraviolet radiation, electrical equipment)
and by conversion to ammonia through the Haber-Bosch process. This
method of directly synthesizing ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen
with the use a catalyst and high-pressure.
Nitrification
a process carried out by nitrifying bacteria, transforms soil ammonia into
nitrates, which plants can incorporate into their own tissues.

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Nitrogen Cycle
Assimilation
Plants absorb ammonia or nitrate through their roots and convert the
nitrogen into plant compounds such as protein. Animals assimilate
nitrogen when they consume plants or other animals and convert proteins
into animal proteins.
Ammonification
The remains of all living things—and their waste products—are
decomposed by microorganisms in the process of ammonification, which
yields ammonia. (Under anaerobic, or oxygen-free, conditions foul-
smelling putrefactive products may appear, but they too are converted to
ammonia in time.) Ammonia can leave the soil or be converted into other
nitrogen compounds, depending in part on soil conditions.

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Nitrogen Cycle
Denitrification
Nitrates also are metabolized by denitrifying bacteria (q.v.), which are
especially active in water-logged, anaerobic soils. The action of these
bacteria tends to deplete soil nitrates, forming free atmospheric nitrogen.

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Sulfur Cycle
It is similar to the nitrogen cycle in that microbial processes control which

form of Sulphur appears in the natural environment. The most oxidized
form of Sulphur is sulphate which is the form most readily assimilated by
plants to be reduced into organic Sulphur. Sulphur is the key component in
proteins, amino acids and B vitamins of plants and animals. Once plants
and animals die, bacteria turn organic Sulphur into reduced sulphide (H2S)
and then into sulphate to complete cycle.

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Phosphorus Cycle
Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plants and animals in the form of
ions and is a limiting nutrient for aquatic organisms.
The phosphorus cycle describes the movement of phosphorus through

lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Unlike many other
biogeochemical cycles, the atmosphere does not play a significant role in
the movement of phosphorus, because phosphorus does not enter the
atmosphere and remains mostly as solid salts on land (in rock and soil
minerals). Weathering of rocks carries these phosphates to terrestrial
habitats. Plant absorb phosphates from the soil and then consumed by
herbivores that in turn may be consumed by carnivores. After death, the
animal or plant decays to return phosphates in the soil.

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3. Eutrophication
Eutrophication (Greek: eutrophia – adequate nutrition) is the ecosystem
response to excess nutrients that stimulate excessive plant growth and
ultimately decay which favors simple algae and plankton over other more
complicated plants to cause a severe reduction in water quality.
It is the gradual increase in the concentration of phosphorus, nitrogen, and

other plant nutrients in an aging aquatic ecosystem such as a lake. The
productivity or fertility of such an ecosystem increases as the amount of
organic material that can be broken down into nutrients increases. This
material enters the ecosystem primarily by runoff from land that carries
debris and products of the reproduction and death of terrestrial organisms.

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4. Biodiversity
It is the degree of variation of life forms at all level of biological systems
(i.e. molecular organism, population, species and ecosystem) and is used to
measure the health of ecosystems.
5. Ecosystem Services
These are the benefits to human society from a multitude of resources (e.g.
food and water) and processes (e.g. decomposition of wastes) supplied by
natural ecosystems.

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These are divided into four categories:
1. Provisioning services: food, water, timber, minerals, pharmaceuticals,

biochemical, industrial products, energy (hydropower, biomass fuels)
2. Regulating services: control of climate by carbon sequestration,
waste decomposition and detoxification, purification of water and air,
pest and disease control, erosion prevention
3. Supporting services: nutrient dispersal and cycling, seed dispersal,
crop pollination, primary production
4. Cultural services: cultural, intellectual and spiritual inspiration,
recreation, scientific discovery.

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Many efforts to inform decision makers of current versus future costs and
benefits involve organizing and translating scientific knowledge to
economics, which articulate the consequences of different choices in
comparable units of impacts on human well-being. The six major methods
for valuing ecosystem services in monetary terms are:
1. Avoided cost – services allow society to avoid costs that would have
been incurred in the absence of those services (e.g. wastewater
treatment by wetland)
2. Replacement costs – services could be replaced with man-made
systems (e.g. restoration of a catchment costs less than the
construction of a water purification plant
3. Factor income – services provide for the enhancement of incomes
(e.g. improved water quality increases the commercial take of a fishery
and improves the income of fishers)

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Atchafalaya River Pantanal Region of Brazil
Everglades National Park,

Southern Florida, US
Wetlands

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4. Travel cost – service demand may require travel, whose costs can
reflect the implied value of the service (e.g. value of ecotourism
experience is at least what a visitor is willing to pay to get there)
5. Hedonic pricing – service demand may be reflected in the prices
people will pay for associated goods (e.g. coastal housing prices exceed
that of inland homes)
6. Contingent valuation – service demand may be elicited by posing
hypothetical scenarios involving some valuation of alternatives (e.g.
visitors willing to pay for increased accessed to national parks)

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Environmental science: How does the natural world

work?
Environment  impacts  Humans
• It has an applied goal: developing

solutions to environmental problems
• An interdisciplinary field
▫Natural sciences: information
about the world
▫Social sciences: values and human
behavior, politics, economy, etc.

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What is an “environmental
problem”?
▫ The perception of what constitutes a
problem varies between individuals and
societies
▫ Ex.: DDT, a pesticide
 In developing countries: welcome
because it kills malaria-carrying
mosquitoes
 In developed countries: not welcome,
due to health risks

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What are the challenges we face?

• What are the environmental issues we are facing today?
• Come up with at least 10!

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We face challenges in agriculture

• Expanded food production led to increased
population and consumption
• It’s one of humanity’s greatest achievements, but

at an enormous environmental cost
• Nearly half of the planet’s land surface is used for

agriculture
 Chemical fertilizers
 Pesticides
 Erosion
 Changed natural systems

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We face challenges in pollution

• Waste products and artificial chemicals used in farms, industries, and
households
• Each year, millions of people die from pollution

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We face challenges in climate

• Scientists have firmly concluded that humans are
changing the composition of the atmosphere
• The Earth’s surface is warming
• Melting glaciers
• Rising sea levels
• Impacted wildlife and crops
• Increasingly destructive weather
Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric carbon

dioxide concentrations have risen by 37%, to the
highest level in 650,000 years

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We face challenges in biodiversity

• Human actions have driven many species extinct, and biodiversity is
declining dramatically
Biodiversity loss may be our biggest environmental problem; once a species is

extinct, it is gone forever

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Are things getting better or worse?
• Many people think environmental conditions are better (Human

ingenuity will solve any problem)
• Some think things are much worse in the world (predict doom and
disaster)
• How can you decide who is correct?

• Are the impacts limited to humans, or are other organisms or
systems involved?
• Are the proponents thinking in the long or short term?
• Are they considering all costs and benefits?

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Sustainability: a goal for the future

• How can humans live within the planet’s means?
• Sustainability
▫ Leaves future generations with a rich and full
Earth
▫ Conserves the Earth’s natural resources
▫ Maintains fully functioning ecological
systems
• Sustainable development: the use of resources

to satisfy current needs without compromising
future availability of resources

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Will we develop in a sustainable way?
• The triple bottom line: sustainable

solutions that meet
▫ Environmental goals
▫ Economic goals
▫ Social goals
• Requires that humans apply

knowledge from the sciences to
▫ Limit environmental impacts
▫ Maintain functioning ecological
systems

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Sustainability measurement is the metrics used as the quantitative basis

for the informed management of sustainability. Measurement of
sustainability is very diverse and still evolving, including resource use like
life cycle assessment, consumption like the ecological footprint and quality of
environmental governance like the Environmental Performance Index.
Life Cycle Assessment (a.k.a. life cycle analysis) is a technique to assess

environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a products life from
cradle-to-grave (i.e. from raw material extraction through materials
processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair, maintenance, and
disposal or recycling).
Ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth’s

ecosystem. Ecological footprint analysis compares human demand on the
nature with the biosphere’s ability to regenerate resources and provide
services. It can be a useful tool to educate people with the aim of altering
personal behavior.

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The “ecological footprint”

• The environmental impact of a
person or population
▫ Amount of biologically
productive land + water for raw
materials and to dispose/recycle
waste
• Overshoot: humans have surpassed
the Earth’s capacity
We are using 30% more of the planet’s resources than are available on a
sustainable basis!

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Ecological footprints are not all

equal
• The ecological footprints of
countries vary greatly
▫ The U.S. footprint is almost 5
times greater than the world’s
average
▫ Developing countries have much
smaller footprints than developed
countries

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Environmental Performance Index (EPI) is a method of quantifying and

numerically benchmarking the environmental performance of a country’s
policies. This index was developed from the Pilot Environmental Performance
Index, first published in 2002, and designed to supplement the
environmental targets set for the in the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.
It considers water, air, productive natural resources, forestry, fisheries,
agriculture, biodiversity, habitat and climate change.

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Issues relevant to sustainability

1. Population Growth
The population growth is one of the grand challenges for sustainable
development since an increasing population places additional strain on
natural resources. Currently, most population growth occurs in the
developing world and population is more or less stagnant in the
industrialized world. The economic development is linked with the quality
of life.
- Population growth is inversely proportional with economic

development.
- Population growth stabilization lies in the improvement of quality of
life.
- Improvement of quality of life + economic development = enhanced
consumption + associated depletion + environmental degradation

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• Human population growth

exacerbates all environmental
problems
▫ The growth rate has slowed…but we still
add more than 200,000 people to the planet
each day We depend completely on the
environment for survival
▫ Life has become more pleasant for us so
far (Increased wealth, health, mobility,
leisure time)
▫ But…natural systems have been degraded
and environmental changes threaten long-
term health and survival

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Global human population growth
• More than 6.7 billion humans

• Why so many humans?
▫ Agricultural revolution
 Stable food supplies
▫ Industrial revolution
 Urbanized society powered by
fossil fuels
 Sanitation and medicines
 More food

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2. Urbanization
Urbanization is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of rural
migration. Currently there are more people living in urban areas than in
rural areas. Early humans migrated due to many factors such as changing
climate, landscape and inadequate food supply.
Village culture in rural areas are characterized by common bloodlines,

intimate relationships and communal behavior whereas urban behavior is
characterized by distant bloodlines, unfamiliar relations and competitive
behavior.

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3. Water
Water resources are useful or potentially useful sources of water. Uses of
water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and
environmental activities. Virtually all human uses or require fresh water.
97% of the water on the earth is salt water and only 3% is fresh water.
Slightly over two-thirds of fresh water is frozen in glaciers and polar ice
caps. The remaining unfrozen fresh water is found mainly as groundwater,
with only a small fraction present above ground or in the air.
Water footprint is often used to refer to the amount of water used by an

individual, community, business, or nation. It is defined as the total volume
of freshwater used to produce the goods and services consumed by the
individual or community or produced by the business.
It is also a geographically explicit indicator, not only showing volumes of

water use and pollution, but also locations. It consists of 3 components:
blue,
GBT, JLT green, and grey. Thursday, January 18, 2018
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Blue water footprint – volume of fresh water that evaporated from the
global blue water resources (surface water and groundwater) to produce
the goods and services consumed by the individual or community.
Green water footprint – volume of water evaporated from the global

green water resources (rainwater stored in the soil as soil moisture).
Grey water footprint – volume of polluted water that associates with the
production of all goods and services for the individual or community.
However, the water footprint does not provide information on how the
embedded water negatively or positively affects local water resources,
ecosystems and livelihoods. Virtual water (a.k.a. embedded, embodied or
hidden water) refers to the water used in the production of a good and
service.
Water scarcity is a situation where there is insufficient water to satisfy

normal human requirements, which are defined by WHO as a water source
with 20L/person/day within 1km distance.
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4. Energy
The word energy is used as a synonym of energy resources, and most often
refers to substances like fuels, petroleum products and electricity in
general. The use of energy has been a key in the development of the human
society by helping it to control and adapt to the environment. Yet, the
increasing use of energy since the Industrial revolution has also brought
with it a number of serious problems.
Primary energy is an energy form found in nature that has not been
subjected to any conversion or transformation process. It is the energy
contained in raw fuels and other forms of energy received as input to a
system. It can be non-renewable or renewable. These are transformed in
energy conversion processes to more convenient forms of energy such as
electrical energy, refine fuels or synthetic fuels (such as hydrogen fuel).
These forms are called energy carriers or secondary energies.

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Our energy choices will affect our future

• The lives we live today are due to fossil fuels
 Machines
 Chemicals
 Transportation
 Products
• Fossil fuels are a one-time bonanza; supplies will

certainly decline.
We have used up ½ of the world’s oil supplies; how

will we handle this imminent fossil fuel shortage?

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Natural resources: vital to human survival

Natural resources = substances and energy sources needed for survival
• Renewable resources:
▫ Perpetually available: sunlight, wind, wave energy
▫ Renew themselves over short periods: timber, water, soil
 These can be destroyed
• Nonrenewable resources: can be depleted
GBT, JLT ▫ Oil, coal, minerals Thursday, January 18, 2018
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Sustainability Activities
1. Green Engineering
Green engineering is to design, discover and implement engineering
solutions with the awareness of potential benefits and problems in terms
of environment , economy and society throughout the design lifetime.
2. Renewable Energy
Climate change concerns, coupled with high oil prices, peak oil, and
increasing government support, are driving increasing renewable energy
legislation, incentives and commercialization.
3. Resources Management
Environmental resources management aims to ensure that ecosystem
services are protected and maintained for equitable use by future human
generations, and ecosystem integrity should be maintained as an end in
itself by considering ethical, economic and ecological variables.

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4. Pollution Control
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment
with adverse changes. Pollution control means the control of emissions and
effluents in the air, water and soil.
5. Sustainable Agriculture
It is an integrated system of plant and animal production practices that will
last over the long term. it is based on the study of relationships between
organisms and their environment using principles of ecology.
6. Population Control
In ancient times, people considered population as a source of political,
economic and military strength. However, it was gradually realized that the
population should be controlled.

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7. Sustainable City (Eco-City)
A sustainable city (or eco-city) is a city designed with minimum
environmental impact. A sustainable city should be able to feed itself with
the food produced on the surrounding countryside, minimize the imported
food from further afield, power itself with renewable sources of energy,
create the smallest possible ecological footprint, produce the lowest
quantity of pollution possible, use land efficiently, compost used materials,
recycle waste or convert waste –to-energy.
8. Sustainable Drainage System
Conventional drainage systems are designed to collect and convey storm
water quickly which tend to cause downstream flooding and
environmental pollution. Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) are
designed to reduce the potential impact of new and existing developments
with respect to surface water discharges.

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Sustainable solutions exist

• We must develop solutions that protect both our quality of life and the
environment
• Organic agriculture
• Technology
▫ Reduces pollution
• Biodiversity
▫ Protect species
• Waste disposal
▫ Recycling
• Alternative fuels

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William Ward
~The End~

Nes 119-2

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Environmental Engineering

Engr. Jessica Laine M. Tumbaga

Hawksbill Sea Turtle

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

More About Ecosystems

Living organisms require two things from the environment: energy to

The trophic (derived Greek word meaning food) level of an organism is

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

Organisms are classified as

There are five trophic levels.

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

More About Ecosystems

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

It is similar to the nitrogen cycle in that microbial processes control which

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

The phosphorus cycle describes the movement of phosphorus through

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

More About Ecosystems

It is the gradual increase in the concentration of phosphorus, nitrogen, and

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

More About Ecosystems

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

These are divided into four categories:

1. Provisioning services: food, water, timber, minerals, pharmaceuticals,

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

Everglades National Park,

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

Environmental science: How does the natural world

Environment  impacts  Humans

• It has an applied goal: developing

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

What are the challenges we face?

• Come up with at least 10!

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

We face challenges in agriculture

• It’s one of humanity’s greatest achievements, but

• Nearly half of the planet’s land surface is used for

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

We face challenges in pollution

• Each year, millions of people die from pollution

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

We face challenges in climate

Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric carbon

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

We face challenges in biodiversity

Biodiversity loss may be our biggest environmental problem; once a species is

GBT, JLT Thursday, January 18, 2018

Are things getting better or worse?

• Many people think environmental conditions are better (Human