lunes, 23 de agosto de 2010

EcoGuru: Measuring ecological footprint.

This is a really ROLLING idea.
EcoGuru application provided by the WWF that estimates how many planets will be needed if all of the world's population live as you do.
If you click on the tab "Green your life style" some tips for reducing you print will be shown, check them out. Here is just a teaser:
  • Don't cool empty rooms
  • Share newspapers
  • Walk or bike
If you want to try it click here.

The WWF webpage: http://www.wwf.org/

The measuring Roll


The measurements information is used to value the state of things (good or wrong) and then act towards control the variables.

The methods for measuring biomass vary between ecosystems, biomes and type of organism.

It is important in the vegetation measurement, representing an indicator of productivity and of ecological and management processes in the vegetation.

Vegetation biomass measuring tell us what plant dominates a land by controlling the nutrients and water resources. Estimates of biomass and residual biomass also strongly influence the hydrologic properties of the site including infiltration, runoff, and erosion. Biomass of both grasses and woody plants constitute potential fuels that can be measured to assess the risk of wildfire.
Biomass can be directly measured with little training, although, it is time consuming.

The above MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) map above shows the density of plant growth over the entire globe. Very low values of EVI (white and brown areas) correspond to barren areas of rock, sand, or snow. Moderate values (light greens) represent shrub and grassland, while high values indicate temperate and tropical rainforests (dark greens). The MODIS EVI gives scientists a new tool for monitoring major fluctuations in vegetation and understanding how they affect, and are affected by, regional climate trends.

The biomass of a trophic level is likely to be proportional to the number of organisms and the energy found in each level. This could be graphically shown by the use of the ecological pyramid, which are graphical representations of the trophic structure of ecosystems:

martes, 17 de agosto de 2010

Biodiversity...A ROLLIN' .ppt

Just found the coolest ppt that talks about biodiversity, it's importance, the tools for measure it and all of the issue related to the biological diversity. Give it a roll and let me know what do u think.


Yeah, I know it is a .pdf, but it is in a ppt layout.

The Biodiversity Roll.

" Biodiversity is the variety of life
and its processes; and it includes the variety
of living organisms, the genetic differences
among them, and the communities and
ecosystems in which they occur.”

Biodiversity is the amount of the different species, plants and animals, that can be found within an ecosystem, biome or the entire Earth.

The biodiversity index help us to determine the amount of species in a given area. A very simple index goes as the following example:


the number of species in the area (numerator)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
the total number of individuals in the area (denominator )
= biodiversity index

The previous example is very basic. It might be used when little information is available and the experience of the analyst is limited. In order to carry out a better measurement of biodiversity is important to don't include only the number of species, but also the abundance of each specie.
In simple terms the main two aspects are the richness and the evenness.

Richness of species affect more directly the amount of biodiversity than the evenness.

The Simpsons Diversity index covers those two. It can actually refer to any one of 3 closely related indices:
D=1-\frac{\sum_{i=1}^S n_i(n_i-1)}{N(N-1)},

where S is the number of species, N is the total percentage cover or total number of organisms and n is the percentage cover of a species or number of organisms of a species. In this form, D ranges from 1 to 0, with 1 representing infinite diversity and 0 representing no diversity.

Another widely used index is the Shannon index of diversity. It turns out to be poorer than other indices on most criteria:

pi = the proportion of individuals of species i in the sample, pi = ni/N.

IShannon = H = - Σ pi ln(pi)

The importance of these indices lies on:
  • Understanding community structure.
  • Outline odd behaviors
  • Identify the rarity and commonness of an specie within a community
References.

"How to Calculate a Biodiversity Index." American Museum of Natural Art, n.d. Web. 17 Aug 2010. .




viernes, 13 de agosto de 2010

What's a key?

In the environmental studies, a key refers to a guide for the classification of organisms based on its specific and unique characteristics.

Keys might be dichotomus or polichotomus depending of how many variables do each one use for each branch of the classification.

The use keys make easier to place each new organism in a certain area and to understand the specifications of each species and how they differ form other. It might also make reference to evolution processes that species have underwent.

miércoles, 11 de agosto de 2010

Matter keeps rolling...

Inside the ECOSYSTEMS we find some cool features. Now we'll work with each of the elements that form them.

Living organisms are presented in every ecosystem. They have seven main characteristics:

1. They have/are cells
2. They reproduce
3. Grow and develop (die)
4. Absorb and use energy and materials
5. Maintain homeostasis
6. Respond stimuli
7. They're organized

There are thousands and thousands of organisms around the world. They're classified with different schemes or keys.

Organisms within an ecosystem can be recognized as producers, consumers, and decomposers by the way they obtain matter and energy. This division brings on the trophic levels.

Energy and matter flows through these trophic levels. As it had been told, energy is not completely transfered between levels 'cause some of it is used by each organisms.

Each organism found within an ecosystem is called an individual. Individuals that share similar characteristics and can reproduce between them form can be identify as a specie. A group of organisms of the same specie form and population. When populations are found together in a given area and interact between them they form a community.

martes, 10 de agosto de 2010

Rollin' to the "ecosystems"

Now, let's talk about the ecosystem. We already know what's a system so let's analyze the word.

ECOSYSTEM

First think that comes to mind, at least for me, is nature, animals, trees, bushes, sunny skies, dry lands or rainy days. Actually with this simple idea the definition of ecosystem can be got.
An ecosystem is the relation between biotic (living components) and abiotic (non-living components) factors in an environment.

Some examples of ecosystems
- A grassland
- A forest
- A pond
- The PrepaTec Cumbres and its surroundings.

In ecosystems matter and energy goes in and out, constantly.

Energy "goes through the system" while matter "circulates around" it.





WELCOME

HEY...
Did you ever think about the environment as something irrelevant or pointless?
Did you think that the social scheme around the world isn't related to the natural aspect?

The real deal is way too different to that conception. All the actions that we, the humans, do affect directly the environment. Do you wonder why? It is because we are all part of the same SYSTEM.

A system is defined as "a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole". In most of the systems, there exists inputs, a series of processes, which transfer and transform inputs, and outputs. In these systems the only thing that remains constant is that CHANGE IS ALWAYS present. The actions of the different elements that form a system produce a reaction to all of the other elements. The same is presented with all of the extern elements that get inside a specific system.

This blog will be updated regularly with the objective of explaining the always changing environmental systems and how does society interacts with them.

And that's the way BioRolls.