Natural World & Ecology Flashcards

Which Envision credit category directly addresses the protection of wetlands and riparian buffers during infrastructure construction?

Answer: Natural World

The Natural World credit category in Envision includes credits focused on protecting wetlands, floodplains, and riparian areas from disturbance.

What is the primary ecological function of a riparian buffer zone adjacent to a stream?

Answer: Filtering runoff pollutants and stabilizing stream banks

Riparian buffers intercept sediment and nutrient runoff from uplands and their root systems physically stabilize streambanks.

Under the Envision framework, a project that restores previously degraded habitat beyond its original footprint would likely earn credit under which performance level?

Answer: Restorative

The Restorative performance level in Envision is achieved when a project restores ecological function or habitat beyond pre-project conditions.

Keystone species are important to ecosystem management because they:

Answer: Have a disproportionately large effect on ecosystem structure relative to their abundance

Keystone species exert outsized influence on ecosystem structure and function relative to their biomass, so their loss can trigger dramatic community shifts.

Which ecological concept describes the process by which a disturbed ecosystem gradually returns to its climax community over time?

Answer: Ecological succession

Ecological succession is the sequential replacement of species communities in a habitat following a disturbance until a stable climax community is reached.

When an infrastructure project is sited in a floodplain, the Envision framework primarily encourages designers to:

Answer: Avoid the floodplain or restore natural floodplain function

Envision's Natural World credits favor avoiding sensitive areas like floodplains and, when unavoidable, restoring natural hydrological and ecological function.

A project team uses a habitat equivalency analysis (HEA) to determine mitigation requirements. What does HEA quantify?

Answer: The area and time of ecological service losses and gains to achieve no net loss

Habitat Equivalency Analysis calculates the debit of ecological services lost and the credit of compensatory mitigation needed over time to achieve no net loss.