5.2, Soil

Question 1

nitrates

Answer 1

nitrogen compounds used for growth by plants and algae

Question 2

herbicides

Answer 2

a chemical that kills plants, used to reduce weeds and competition for crops resulting in higher yields

Question 3

pastoral

farming

Answer 3

farming with grazing animals

Question 4

​arable

Answer 4

farming that involves cereal crops and other plant crops only

Question 5

​antibiotic

Answer 5

a chemical that treats bacterial diseases, often used in commercial livestock farming

Question 6

crop rotation

Answer 6

The practice of rotating crops around different fields each year, to avoid exhausting the soil.

Question 7

food distribution system

Answer 7

The process in which a general population is supplied with food.

Question 8

GMO

Answer 8

[genetically modified organism] is an organism that has acquired one or more genes by artificial means.

Question 9

fertilizer

Answer 9

a chemical or natural substance added to soil or land to increase its fertility

Question 10

​mixed farming

Answer 10

growing crops and rearing livestock (arable and pastoral)

Question 11

​harvest

Answer 11

when the crop / product is cut from the plant and taken off to market to sell or is eaten.

Question 12

shifting cultivation

Answer 12

A form of subsistence agriculture in which people shift activity from one field or area of land to another; each area is used for crops for a few years and left fallow for a relatively long period.

Question 13

organic farming

Answer 13

A method of farming that does not use artificial means such as synthetic pesticides and herbicides, antibiotics, and bioengineering.

Question 14

domesticate

Answer 14

to tame an animal and keep it on a farm.

Question 15

​slash and burn

Answer 15

farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden.

Question 16

monoculture

Answer 16

farming strategy in which large fields are planted with a single crop, year after year

Question 17

buffer zone

Answer 17

an area of land that serves as a barrier around a field

Question 18

​salinization in soil

Answer 18

the process by which a non-saline soil becomes more saline, e.g. through constant irrigation.

Question 19

​​soil erosion

Answer 19

The process by which weatherd pieces of rock and loose soil are moved from one place to another by water or wind.

Question 20

Overgrazing

Answer 20

grazing so heavily that the vegetation is damaged and the soil erodes

Question 21

Smallholder/homesteader

Answer 21

someone who has a small farm, usually for subsistence purposes

Question 22

Commercial farming

Answer 22

growing large quantities of crops or livestock in order to sell them for a profit

Question 23

Externalities

Answer 23

A side effect of an economic activity that affects a third party other than the buyer or seller, e.g. soil erosion, or pollution.