ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

REPORT
A PRESENTATION BY GROUP 11

REPORTERS:
DEMAFILES CAMANSI

RAVELO PISENABLE
BIODIVERSITY AND LANDSCAPE
FORESTS

FORESTS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE; INDEED, FORESTS AND

CIVILIZATION HAVE ALWAYS BEEN CLOSELY LINKED. SINCE THE EARLIEST
CIVILIZATIONS—IN FACT, SINCE SOME OF THE EARLIEST HUMAN CULTURES—
WOOD HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MAJOR BUILDING MATERIALS AND THE MOST
READILY AVAILABLE AND WIDELY USED FUEL. FORESTS ARE WIDELY
DISTRIBUTED, BUT THE MOST SIGNIFICANT REMAINING AREAS ARE IN THE HUMID
EQUATORIAL REGIONS AND THE COLD BOREAL FORESTS OF HIGH LATITUDES.
 FORESTS

• SAVANNAS
- TREES COVER LESS THAN 20 PERCENT OF THE GROUND
 FORESTS

• CLOSED-CANOPY FORESTS
- TREE CROWNS OVERLAP TO COVER MOST OF THE GROUND.
FOUR WAYS THAT A FORESTS (OR A VEGETATED
AREA) CAN AFFECT THE ATMOSPHERE

1. Some solar 2. Evaporation and 3. Photosynthesis by 4. Near-surface wind

radiation is absorbed transpiration from trees releases oxygen is reduced because
by vegetation, and plants, together called into the atmosphere the vegetation —
some is reflected, evapotranspiration, and removes carbon especially trees—
changing the local transfers water to the dioxide, a greenhouse produces roughness
energy budget, atmosphere gas, cooling the near the ground that
compared to a non- temperature of the slows the wind.
forest environment. atmosphere
PARKS AND PRESERVES

MOST FORESTS AND GRASSLANDS SERVE UTILITARIAN PURPOSES, MANY

NATIONS HAVE SET ASIDE SOME NATURAL AREAS FOR ECOLOGICAL, CULTURAL,
OR RECREATIONAL PURPOSES. SOME OF THESE PRESERVES HAVE EXISTED FOR
THOUSANDS OF YEARS. DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PROTECTION ARE FOUND IN
NATURE PRESERVES. A PARK IS AN AREA SET ASIDE FOR USE BY PEOPLE.
ALTHOUGH PEOPLE MAY USE IT, A NATURE PRESERVE HAS AS ITS PRIMARY
PURPOSE THE CONSERVATION OF SOME RESOURCE, TYPICALLY A BIOLOGICAL ONE.
EVERY PARK OR PRESERVE IS AN ECOLOGICAL ISLAND OF ONE KIND OF
LANDSCAPE SURROUNDED BY A DIFFERENT KIND OF LANDSCAPE, OR SEVERAL
DIFFERENT KINDS.
PARKS AND PRESERVES

• ECOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL ISLANDS

- HAVE SPECIAL ECOLOGICAL QUALITIES, AND ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY
CONCEPTS ARE USED IN THE DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT OF PARKS.
PARKS AND PRESERVES

• CORE HABITAT
- AREAS DEEP IN THE INTERIOR OF A HABITAT AREA, AND THAT CORE
HABITAT HAS
BETTER CONDITIONS FOR SPECIALIZED SPECIES THAN DO EDGES.
PARKS AND PRESERVES

• EDGE EFFECTS
- IS A TERM GENERALLY USED TO DESCRIBE HABITAT EDGES.

FOR EXAMPLE, A FOREST EDGE IS USUALLY MORE OPEN, BRIGHT, AND WINDY THAN A
FOREST INTERIOR, AND TEMPERATURES AND HUMIDITY ARE MORE VARIED.
PARKS AND PRESERVES

• LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY
- A SCIENCE THAT EXAMINES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THESE SPATIAL
PATTERNS AND
ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES, SUCH AS SPECIES MOVEMENT OR SURVIVAL.
GEOLOGY AND EARTH RESOURCES
• IS THE COLD, LIGHTWEIGHT, BRITTLE ROCK
CRUST.
• MUCH LESS DENSE THAN THE CENTER.

• IS COMPOSED OF A DENSE, SOLID IN THE

CENTER BUT MORE FLUID IN THE OUTER
CORE, THIS IMMENSE MASS GENERATES THE
MAGNETIC FIELD THAT ENVELOPS THE
EARTH
 FOUR EARTH RESOURCES

TECTONICS WEATHERING

ROCKS AND GEOLOGICAL

MINERALS HAZARD
TECTONICS
• THE HUGE CONVECTION CURRENTS IN THE MANTLE ARE THOUGHT TO BREAK
THE OVERLYING CRUST INTO A MOSAIC OF HUGE BLOCKS CALLED TECTONIC
PLATES.

THESE PLATES SLIDE SLOWLY ACROSS THE EARTH'S

SURFACE LIKE WIND-DRIVEN ICE SHEETS ON WATER,
BREAKING UP INTO SMALLER PIECES, IN OTHER
PLACES CRASHING PONDEROUSLY INTO EACH OTHER
TO CREATE NEW, MORE SIGNIFICANT LANDMASSES.
Convergent Divergent
WHAT MAKES THE
TECTONIC PLATES MOVES?

Transform
CONVERGENT
DIVERGENT
TRANSFORM
 ROCKS AND
MINERALS
• MINERALS
-NATURALLY OCCURRING
-INORGANIC
-SUBSTANTIAL ELEMENT/COMPOUNDS WITH DEFINITE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND A
REGULAR INTERNAL CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
 ROCKS AND
MINERALS
TWO FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A MINERAL

1. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
EXAMPLE:
QUARTZ-COMBINATION OF OXYGEN AND SILICON

2. CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
 ROCKS AND
MINERALS
• ROCKS
-SOLID, COHESIVE AGGREGATE OF ONE OR MORE MINERALS
-WITHIN THE ROCK, INDIVIDUAL MINERAL CRYSTALS (OR GRAINS) ARE MIXED AND
HELD FIRMLY IN A SOLID MASS.
-HAS THREE CLASSIFICATION 
 ROCKS AND
MINERALS
• 3 MAJOR ROCK CLASSIFICATIONS
1. IGNEOUS-SOLIDIFIED FROM MAGMA
2. SEDIMENTARY-ACCUMULATION OR DEPOSITION OF SMALL PARTICLES AND
SUBSEQUENT CEMENTATION OF MINERAL OR ORGANIC PARTICLES ON THE FLOOR
OF OCEANS OR OTHER BODIES OF WATER AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE.
3. METAMORPHIC-MODIFIED BY HEAT, PRESSURE, AND CHEMICAL AGENTS 
WEATHERING

1. MECHANICAL WEATHERING - IT IS THE PHYSICAL BREAKUP OF ROCKS INTO

SMALLER PARTICLES WITHOUT A CHANGE IN THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
THE CONSTITUENT MINERALS.
2. CHEMICAL WEATHERING - IS THE SELECTIVE REMOVAL OR ALTERATION OF
SPECIFIC COMPONENTS THAT LEADS TO WEAKENING AND DISINTEGRATION OF
ROCK. 
 GEOLOGICAL
HAZARDS
• IS AN ADVERSE GEOLOGIC CONDITION CAPABLE OF CAUSING WIDESPREAD
DAMAGE OR LOSS OF PROPERTY AND LIFE. THESE HAZARDS ARE GEOLOGICAL
AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AND INVOLVE LONG-TERM OR SHORT-TERM
GEOLOGICAL PROCESS.
GEOLOGICAL HAZARDS

• EARTHQUAKES
- A SUDDEN MOVEMENTS IN THE EARTH'S CRUST THAT OCCUR ALONG THE FAULT (PLANES OF
WEAKNESS) WHERE ONE ROCK MASS SLIDES PAST ANOTHER ONE.
- WHEN MOVEMENT ALONG FAULTS OCCURS GRADUALLY AND RELATIVELY SMOOTHLY, IT IS CALLED
CREEP OR SEISMIC SLIP AND MAY BE UNDETECTABLE TO THE CASUAL OBSERVER.
- THE POINT ON A FAULT AT WHICH THE FIRST MOVEMENT OCCURS DURING AN EARTHQUAKE IS CALLED
THE EPICENTER.
- EARTHQUAKES ARE ALMOST ALWAYS FOLLOWED BY A SERIES OF AFTERSHOCKS THAT CAN CONTINUE
LONG AFTER THE INITIAL SHOCK.
- THE RING OF SEISMIC ACTIVITY AND ACTIVE
- E VOLCANOES (OFTEN CALLED THE “RING OF FIRE”) AROUND THE EDGE OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN
MAKES IT THE MOST LIKELY PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR TSUNAMI FORMATION.
 GEOLOGICAL
HAZARDS

• VOLCANOES
- VOLCANOES AND UNDERSEA MAGMA VENTS PRODUCE MUCH OF THE EARTH'S
CRUST.
- OVER HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS, GASEOUS EMISSIONS FROM THESE
SOURCES FORMED THE EARTH'S EARLIEST OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERE
 GEOLOGICAL
HAZARDS
• LANDSLIDES
- GRAVITY CONTINUALLY PULLS DOWNWARD ON EVERY MATERIAL EVERYWHERE ON EARTH,
CAUSING A VARIETY OF PHENOMENA COLLECTIVELY TERMED MASS WASTING OR MASS
MOVEMENT, IN WHICH GEOLOGIC MATERIALS ARE MOVED DOWNSLOPE FROM ONE PLACE TO
ANOTHER.
- THE RESULTING MOTION IS OFTEN SLOW AND SUBTLE, BUT SOME SLOPE PROCESSES SUCH AS
ROCKSLIDES, AVALANCHES, AND LAND SLUMPING CAN BE SWIFT, DANGEROUS, AND OBVIOUS.
- LANDSLIDE IS A GENERAL TERM FOR THE RAPID DOWNSLOPE MOVEMENT OF SOIL OR ROCK.