ENV SP Natural World & Ecology 2

Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

Natural World

Answer

Quality of Life

Answer

Resource Allocation

Answer

Leadership

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

Filtering runoff pollutants and stabilizing stream banks

Answer

Increasing water temperature for aquatic species

Answer

Providing urban green space for recreation

Answer

Channeling stormwater to reduce flooding

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

Restorative

Answer

Improved

Answer

Enhanced

Answer

Superior

Question 4

Keystone species are important to ecosystem management because they:

Accepted Answer

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

Answer

Are the most numerous species in the community

Answer

Occupy the highest trophic level in the food web

Answer

Are exclusively native to a single geographic region

Question 5

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

Accepted Answer

Ecological succession

Answer

Ecological resilience

Answer

Trophic cascade

Answer

Competitive exclusion

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

Avoid the floodplain or restore natural floodplain function

Answer

Install larger culverts to convey floodwaters faster

Answer

Harden stream channels with riprap to prevent erosion

Answer

Increase impervious surface to redirect runoff

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

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

Answer

The economic value of lost ecosystem services

Answer

The number of species displaced by a project

Answer

The carbon sequestration potential of replacement plantings