Ecology laws

INTRODUCTION

Ecology and safety is scientific and practical course that studies aspects of safety and ecology in interactions between organisms and their natural environment.

Purpose of the course: providing students with appropriate to modern life knowledge of hazards, emergencies, their characteristics and possible biological effects, practical risk management and protection of environment.

Objectives of the course: studying sources of environment contamination and its health effect; learning practical environmental protection and safety in emergency situations.

Subject: safety and ecology in interactions between people and their natural environment.

At completion of the reading students will have knowledge of:

- ecology and safety terms;

- characteristics of environment and its contamination;

- procedure of risk management;

- emergency management;

- provision of a first aid service;

- properties of protective equipment.

At the end of this course students will be able to:

- assess contamination of environment;

- identify potential hazards, their type, intensity, source and location;

- assess the risk of an accident, its likelihood, consequences and rating;

- apply the risk controls to improve level of industrial safety and ecology;

- use personal protective equipment and equipment to protect personnel and people from technical accidents and natural disasters.

Chapter 1 - THEORY OF ECOLOGY

ECOLOGY TERMS

Ecosystem (biogeocenosis): a system involving the interactions between a community and its non-living environment.

Biogeocenosis includes biotope and biocenosis.

Biotope: a small area that supports its own distinctive community.

Biocenosis: a diverse community inhabiting a single biotope.

Ecological factors: any environmental condition able to produce direct or indirect effect on community and its interaction.

They are:

- abiotic – influence of non-living environment;

- biotic – action of living organisms;

- anthropogenic – man’s impact;

- technogenic – industrial impact.

ECOLOGY LAWS

Ecology axioms of Commoner:

- everything is interconnected;

- everything should get somewhere;

- nothing comes for free;

- nature knows better.

Multitude law: many occasional factors produce result, which is not assumed occasional.

Correlation law: all parts of one organism are interconnected, that’s why changes in one part cause changes in the others.

Le-Shatelie – Braun principle: if system is exposed to external factor, that takes it to imbalance, balance tends to condition reducing effect of external factor.

Law of minimum (the first law in history of ecology): living potential is limited by that environmental factor which is in minimum.

Tolerance law: adds law of minimum and asserts that both minimum and maximum of environmental factors could be limiting.

Diapason between minimum and maximum defines zone of optimum.