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Chapter 3: The Big Picture - Systems of Change

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194641779average residence timea measure of time it takes for a given part of the total pool or reservoir of a particular material in a system to be cycled
194641780biosphereall the parts of the planet that are inhabited by living things; sum of all Earth's ecosystems
194641781biotaall the organisms of all species living in an area or region up to and including the biosphere
194641782closed systema system that allows the exchange of energy, but not matter, between the system and its surroundings
194641783doubling timethe time required for a population to double in size
194641784ecosystema system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment
194641785environmental unitya principle of environment sciences that states that everything affects everything else, meaning that particular course of action leads to an entire potential string of events
194641786exponential growthpopulation growth pattern where a population grows faster as it increases in size
194641787feedbacka kind of system response that occurs when output of the system also serves as input leading to changes in the system (positive and negative)
194641788Gaia hypothesisstates that the environment on a global level has been changed for the better by life over the history of life on earth
194641789lag timethe time between a stimulus and the response of a system
194641790negative feedbacka type of feedback that occurs when the system's response is in the opposite direction of the output; negative feedback is self-regulating
194641791open systema system that can exchange both matter and energy with its surroundings
194641792overshoot and collapsethis occurs when growth in one part of a system over time exceeds carrying capacity, resulting in sudden decline in one or both parts of the system
194641793positive feedbacka type of feedback that occurs when an increase in output leads to a further increase in output
194641794steady statewhen input equals output in a system, there is no net change and the system is said to be in equilibrium
194641795systema set of components that are linked and interact to produce a whole

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