renewable resource

Examples of renewable resource in the following topics:

• Genomics and Biofuels

  • Although plants are renewable resources, there is still a need to find more alternative renewable sources of energy to meet our population's energy demands.
  • The microbial world is one of the largest resources for genes that encode new enzymes and produce new organic compounds, and it remains largely untapped.

• The Carbon Cycle

  • Fossil fuels are considered a non-renewable resource because their use far exceeds their rate of formation.
  • A non-renewable resource is either regenerated very slowly or not at all.

• The Importance of Seedless Vascular Plants

  • Dried peat moss, Sphagnum, is commonly used as fuel in some parts of Europe and is considered a renewable resource .

• Nitrogen Fixation: Root and Bacteria Interactions

  • Therefore, using rhizobia is a natural and environmentally-friendly way to fertilize plants as opposed to chemical fertilization that uses a non-renewable resource, such as natural gas.

• Overharvesting

  • Overharvesting, also called overexploitation, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns.
  • All living organisms require resources to survive.
  • Overharvesting these resources for extended periods of time can deplete natural resources to the point where they are unable to recover within a short time frame.
  • Overharvesting not only threatens the resource being harvested, but can directly impact humans as well - for example by decreasing the biodiversity necessary for medicinal resources.
  • The natural outcome of harvesting common resources is their overexploitation.

• Gene Expression in Stem Cells

  • To ensure self-renewal, stem cells undergo two types of cell division: symmetric and asymmetric.
  • Asymmetric division, on the other hand, produces only one stem cell and a progenitor cell with limited self-renewal potential.
  • Asymmetric divisions of these embryonic cells gives rise to one cell of the same potency (self-renewal), and another that may be of the same potency or stimulated to further differentiate into specialized cell types such as neurons.

• Logistic Population Growth

  • Exponential growth may occur in environments where there are few individuals and plentiful resources, but when the number of individuals becomes large enough, resources will be depleted, slowing the growth rate.
  • Then, as resources begin to become limited, the growth rate decreases.
  • For plants, the amount of water, sunlight, nutrients, and the space to grow are the important resources, whereas in animals, important resources include food, water, shelter, nesting space, and mates.
  • Intraspecific competition for resources may not affect populations that are well below their carrying capacity as resources are plentiful and all individuals can obtain what they need.
  • When resources are limited, populations exhibit logistic growth.

• Meristems

  • Plant meristems are centers of mitotic cell division, and are composed of a group of undifferentiated self-renewing stem cells from which most plant structures arise.

• Bone Remodeling and Repair

  • Bone renewal continues after birth into adulthood.

• Exponential Population Growth

  • Malthus published a book in 1798 stating that populations with unlimited natural resources grow very rapidly, after which population growth decreases as resources become depleted.
  • The bacteria example is not representative of the real world where resources are limited.
  • When resources are unlimited, populations exhibit exponential growth, resulting in a J-shaped curve.
  • When resources are limited, populations exhibit logistic growth.
  • In logistic growth, population expansion decreases as resources become scarce.