13.4 Use of natural and artificial fertiliser

Question 1

What does intensive food production mean

Answer 1

That food production is concentrated on specific areas of land that are use repeatedly to achieve maximum yield from the crops and animals grown on them

Question 2

What does intensive food production cause

Answer 2

Large demands on the soil because mineral ions are continually taken up by the crops being grown on it and not replaced.

Question 3

How are minerals in natural ecosystems returned to the soil

Answer 3

When the plant is decomposed by microorganisms on its death

Question 4

What are the two types of fertilisers

Answer 4

1. Natural (Organic) fertilisers

2. Artificial (Inorganic) fertilisers

Question 5

What are natural fertilisers

Answer 5

Fertilisers consisting of the dead and decaying remains of plants and animals

Question 6

What are artificial fertilisers

Answer 6

Fertilisers which the minerals are mined from rocks and converted into different forms

Question 7

How do nitrogen containing fertilisers increase productivity

Answer 7

Nitrogen is an essential compound of amino acids, ATP and nucleotides in DNA. Both are needed for plant growth

Where nitrate ions are available, plants are likely to grow taller and have a greater leaf area - this increases the rate of photosynthesis and improves crop productivity