5.2 Terrestrial Food Production Systems Flashcards
Food Security
The availability, accessibility, and affordability of food to ensure a population’s dietary needs are met.
Malnutrition
A condition resulting from an imbalanced diet, lacking essential nutrients, leading to health issues.
Cultural Shift (Food Choices)
A significant change in dietary habits and food practices within a society, influenced by factors like globalization and technology.
Some have an environmental motive, such as the shift towards vegetarianism.
Resting/Spelling (a paddock)
A land management practice where a paddock is left unused for a period to allow vegetation recovery and soil health improvement.
Paddock
Unit of organization on a farm
A small, enclosed field or area of land used for grazing animals or for dividing a larger agricultural area into sections for rotational use.
Usually fenced.
Stocking Limit
A number assigned by the government based on land condition (can be on a property scale or a paddock scale)
The maximum number of livestock that can be grazed without causing environmental degradation or negatively impacting the long-term productivity of the land.
Till/tillage
The agricultural practice of preparing soil for planting by mechanical agitation, such as plowing, turning, or breaking the soil.
Zero till farming
An agricultural practice where crops are planted without disturbing the soil through tillage, preserving soil structure and moisture.
Fallow
Leaving a field unplanted for a period to restore its fertility and prevent soil degradation.
Crop rotation
Growing different types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons to maintain soil health and reduce pests.
Crop diversification (and benefit of)
Growing a variety of crops to reduce risk.
Improves soil health, and enhance food security.
Furrow
A narrow trench made in the ground by a plow, especially for planting seeds or for irrigation.
Arable
Land suitable for growing crops.
Agrarian
Relating to cultivated land or the cultivation of land
Agronomist
A specialist in the science of soil management and crop production.
Agriculture
The practice of cultivating soil, growing crops, and raising animals for food, fiber, and other products.
Horticulture
The art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental plants.
Silviculture
The practice of managing and cultivating forests for timber and other resources.
Organic Farming
Method of farming that avoids synthetic chemicals, focusing on natural processes and biodiversity.
Plantation
large-scale farm that typically specializes in the production of a single crop for commercial sale.
Monoculture
practice of growing a single crop species over a large area, often leading to reduced biodiversity.
Cash crop
crop grown primarily for sale and profit rather than for personal consumption or sustenance.
Subsistence vs Subsidence vs Sustenance (three very different words)
Subsistence is the means by which someone supports themselves or meets basic survival needs.
Subsidence is the gradual sinking or settling of the ground’s surface, often due to natural causes like the removal of underground resources or soil erosion.
Sustenance is food and other resources that provide nourishment and support for survival.
Mixed farming (benefit of)
Combining crop cultivation and livestock farming to diversify income, enhance sustainability, and improve resource use efficiency.
Commercial farming
Agriculture aimed at producing crops and livestock for sale in markets, typically involving large-scale operations.
Factory farming
Intensive animal farming characterized by high stocking densities and large-scale production aimed at maximizing output.
Subsistence farming
Farming in which crops and livestock are produced primarily for the farmer’s own consumption, with little surplus for sale.
Slash and burn
A farming method involving the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create fields for agriculture.
Feedlot
A type of animal feeding operation used for fattening livestock before slaughter, typically involving high-density confinement and supplementary feeding.
Energy subsidy (agriculture)
The additional energy input required to produce food, often greater than the energy content of the food itself.
Examples are petrol, fertilizer, pesticides, electricity etc.
Energy to yield ratio
The comparison of energy input to the energy output in agricultural production, used to assess efficiency.
Example of high energy to yield ratio
Industrial livestock farming, such as feedlots, requires significant energy inputs (feed, water, fuel, and antibiotics) compared to the relatively low amount of meat produced, making it energy-intensive.
Example of low energy to yield ratio
Traditional rice paddies use minimal external inputs like machinery or chemicals, relying on natural processes, resulting in high yields with relatively low energy expenditure.
Features of intensive agriculture
High input of labor, capital, and resources to maximize output per unit area, often involving monoculture and heavy use of chemicals.
Eg market gardens
Features of extensive agriculture
Low input farming with large land areas and lower yields per unit area, typically less reliant on chemical inputs and mechanization.
Eg pastoralism
Terrace
A leveled (flattened) section of a hilly area, used in agriculture to reduce soil erosion and water runoff.
Rice paddies are often on terraces
Contour ploughing
Plowing/Ploughing (both acceptable spellings) along the contours (as opposed to against the contours) of the land to minimize soil erosion and conserve water with repeated bank/trough formations caused by the tines.
Bund
An embankment or raised barrier constructed to control water flow and prevent erosion.
Riplines (noun)/Ripping (verb)
Deep, narrow tillage lines made (by a plough) in the soil to improve water infiltration and reduce soil compaction.
Rills and gullies
Small channels (rills) and larger, deep channels (gullies) formed by water erosion on the soil surface.
Scalding (erosion)
The removal of the fertile topsoil layer (usually by wind after stock of overgrazed anchoring vegetation and disturbed the soil surface integrity through hoof-action), exposing bare subsoil that is often less fertile and harder to manage (and physically harder).
Pedestal/Pedestalling (erosion)
The process where soil around plants is eroded, leaving the roots exposed and the plants on small, elevated “pedestals.”
Overgrazing
The excessive grazing of livestock on land, leading to the degradation of vegetation, soil erosion, and reduced land productivity over time.
Hoof action
The impact of livestock hooves on soil and vegetation, which can help aerate the soil in moderation but may cause soil compaction and erosion when overgrazing occurs.
Piosphere (yes, with a “p”!)
A zone of decreasing vegetation and soil quality radiating outward from a water source or point where animals frequently gather, often due to overgrazing and trampling.
Green Revolution
A period of agricultural innovation in the mid-20th century that introduced high-yield crop varieties and modern farming techniques.
Benefits of the Green Revolution
Increased food production, improved food security, and reduced hunger in many developing countries.
Criticisms of the Green Revolution
Environmental degradation (over use of water), loss of biodiversity, increased inequality, and reliance on chemical inputs.
Selective breeding of crops (as opposed to GM)
The process of choosing plants with desirable traits to reproduce, enhancing those traits over generations without genetic modification.
Rangelands
Vast natural landscapes used for grazing livestock and wildlife, often characterized by grasses, shrubs, and open spaces.
Pastoralism
A form of agriculture focused on raising and herding livestock, often practiced in rangelands.
Pasture
Land covered with grasses or other vegetation that is used for grazing livestock
Closed system farming
An agricultural system where waste and resources are recycled within the farm, minimizing external inputs and environmental impact.
Greenhouse farming
Growing plants in a controlled environment, often using glass or plastic structures to optimize growing conditions.
GMO
Genetically Modified Organism; a plant or animal whose genetic material has been altered to have more favourable characteristics using genetic engineering techniques.
Different from “selective breeding”
Why is meat unsustainable?
- requires large amounts of land (deforestation) and water (over abstraction),
- greenhouse gas emissions
- land degradation
Benefits of farming insects
- High protein content,
- Low space requirement
- Low environmental impact (inc. water consumption)
- Efficient feed-to-protein conversion rate
Benefits of vertical farming
- Efficient land use,
- Reduced water consumption
- Controlled environment, and
- Proximity to urban areas reduce transportation costs.
Limitations of vertical farming
- High energy costs,
- Limited crop variety, and
- Technological challenges in scaling and maintaining systems.
Hydroponics vs aeroponics vs aquaponics
Hydroponics
A method of growing plants without soil, using nutrient-rich water to deliver essential nutrients directly to the plant roots.
Aeroponics
Plants are grown in an air or mist.
Aquaponics
A combination of aquaculture and hydroponics where fish waste provides nutrients for plants, and plants help filter the water for the fish.
Lab-grown meat
Meat produced by culturing animal cells in a lab, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional meat production.
Benefits of harvesting wild kangaroo
- Herbivore control/management
- No fences of other infrastructure required
- More ethical (no transport to feedlots/abattoirs)
- Environmentally sustainable (less impactful on ecosystems than sheep or cows)
- Healthy lean
Why are bee populations in decline?
- habitat loss,
- pesticide use,
- disease and parasites (varroa mite),
- climate change.
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)
A phenomenon where the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear, leaving behind the queen and young bees, leading to colony failure.
Varroa mite
A parasitic mite that attacks honeybees, weakening colonies and spreading diseases, contributing to bee population declines.
Biosecurity
Measures taken to protect against the introduction and spread of harmful organisms, diseases, or invasive species in agriculture and the environment.
Regenerative Agriculture
A holistic farming approach focused on restoring soil health, enhancing biodiversity, and improving ecosystem services for long-term sustainability.
Natural sequence farming
A land management practice that restores natural water cycles and soil fertility by mimicking natural landscape patterns.
Agroecology
An ecological approach to agriculture that considers the interactions between plants, animals, humans, and the environment for sustainable food production.
Part of it involves integrating traditional knowledge with scientific advancements.
Goyder’s Line
A boundary in South Australia marking the division between land suitable for reliable crop farming (south) and land more suited for grazing due to low rainfall (north).
Permaculture
An approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking
