8th Chapter Vocab

Question 1

Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)

Answer 1

British economist who maintained that increasing human population would eventually deplete the available food supply until starvation, war, or disease arose and reduced the population

Question 2

IPAT model

Answer 2

A formula that represents how humans’ total impact (I) on the environment results from the interaction among three factors: population (P), affluence (A), and technology (T)

Question 3

demography

Answer 3

a social science that applies the principles of population ecology to the study of statistical change in human populations

Question 4

demographer

Answer 4

a social scientist who studies the population size, density, distribution, age structure, sex ratio, and rates of birth, death, immigration, and emigration of human populations

Question 5

total fertility rate (TFR)

Answer 5

the average number of children born per female member of a population during her life time

Question 6

replacement fertility

Answer 6

the total fertility rate (TFR) that maintains a stable population size

Question 7

rate of natural increase (natural rate of population change)

Answer 7

the rate of change in a populations’s size resulting from birth and death alone, excluding, excluding migration.

Question 8

demographic transition

Answer 8

a theoretical model of economic and cultural change that explains the declining death rates and birth rates that occurred in western nations as they became industrialized. the model holds that industrialization caused these rates to fall naturally by decreasing mortality and by lessening the need for larger large families. parents would thereafter choose to invest in quality of life rather that quantity of children

Question 9

life expectancy

Answer 9

the average number of years that individuals in particular age groups are likely to continue to live

Question 10

pre-industrial stage

Answer 10

the first stage of the demographic transition model, characterized by conditions that defined most human history. in pre-industrial societies, both death rates and birth rates are high

Question 11

industrial stage

Answer 11

the third stage of the demographic transition model, characterized by falling birth rates that close the gap with falling death rates and reduce the rate of population growth

Question 12

post-industrial stage

Answer 12

the fourth and final stage of the demographic transition model, in which both birth and death rates have fallen to a low level and remain stable there, and populations may even decline slightly

Question 13

family planning

Answer 13

the effort to plan the number and spacing of one’s children so as to offer children and parents the best quality of life possible

Question 14

contraception

Answer 14

the deliberate attempt to prevent pregnancy despite sexual intercourse

Question 15

birth control

Answer 15

the effort to control the number of children on bears, particularly by reducing the frequency of pregnancy

Question 16

reproductive window

Answer 16

the portion of a woman’s life between sexual maturity and menopause during which she may become pregnant

Question 17

transitional stage

Answer 17

the second stage of the demographic transition model, which occurs during the transition from the pre-industrial stage to the industrial stage. it is characterized by declining death rates but continued high birth rates

Question 18

demographic fatigue

Answer 18

an inability on the part of governments to address overwhelming challenges to population growth

Question 19

no-till

Answer 19

agriculture that does not involve tilling (plowing, digging, harrowing, or chiseling) the soil. the most intense form of conservation fatique

Question 20

cover crops

Answer 20

a crop that covers and anchors the soil during times between main crops, intended to reduce erosion

Question 21

agriculture

Answer 21

the practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock for human use and consumption

Question 22

cropland

Answer 22

land that people use for raising plants for food and fiber

Question 23

rangland

Answer 23

land used for grazing livestock

Question 24

sustainable agriculture

Answer 24

agriculture that can be practiced in the same way and in the same place far into the future. sustainable agriculture does not deplete soils nor reduce the clean water and genetic diversity essential to long-term crop and livestock production

Question 25

substance agriculture

Answer 25

the oldest form of traditional agriculture in which farming families produce only enough food for themselves

Question 26

industrial agriculture

Answer 26

a form of agriculture that uses large-scale mechanization and fossil fuel combustion, enabling farmers to replace horses and oxen with more powerful means of cultivating, harvesting, transporting, and processing crops. other aspects include irrigation and the use of inorganic fertilizers, the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides reduce competition from weeds and herbivory by insects

Question 27

traditional agriculture

Answer 27

biologically powered agriculture in which human and animal muscle power, along side with hand tools and simple machines, perform the work of cultivating, harvesting, storing, and distributing crops

Question 28

monocultures

Answer 28

the uniform planting of a single crop over a large area

Question 29

polyculture

Answer 29

the planting of multiple crops in a mixed arrangement or in close proximity. an example is some traditional native american farming that mixed maize, beans, squash, and peppers

Question 30

parent material

Answer 30

the base geological material in a particular area

Question 31

bedrock

Answer 31

the continuous mass of solid rock that makes up earth's crust

Question 32

weathering

Answer 32

the process by which rocks are broken down, turning large particles into smaller particles. weathering may proceed by physical, chemical, or biological means

Question 33

humus

Answer 33

a dark, spongy, crumbly mass of material made up of complex organic compounds, resulting from the partial decomposition of organic matter

Question 34

horizon

Answer 34

a distinct layer of soil

Question 35

soil profile

Answer 35

the cross-section of a soil as a whole, from the surface to the bedrock

Question 36

leaching

Answer 36

the process by which solid materials such as minerals are dissolved in a liquid (usually water) and transported to another location

Question 37

irrigation

Answer 37

the artificial provision of water to support agriculture

Question 38

waterlogging

Answer 38

the saturation of soil by water, in which water table is raised to the point that water bathes plant roots. Waterlogging deprives roots of access to gases, essentially suffocating them and eventually damaging or killing the plants

Question 39

salinization

Answer 39

the buildup of salts in surface soil layers

Question 40

fertilizer

Answer 40

a substance that promotes plant growth by supplying essential nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorus

Question 41

organic fertilizer

Answer 41

a fertilizer made up of natural materials (largely the remains or wastes of organisms), including animal manure; crop residues, fresh vegetation, and compost

Question 42

compost

Answer 42

a mixture produced when decomposers break down organic matter, such as food and crop waste, in a controlled environment

Question 43

conservation reserve program

Answer 43

U.S. policy in farm bills since 1985 that pays farmers to stop cultivating highly erodible cropland and instead place it in conservation reserves planted with grasses and trees

Question 44

soil degradation

Answer 44

a deterioration of soil productivity, resulting primarily from forest removal, cropland agriculture, and overgrazing of livestock

Question 45

land degradation

Answer 45

a general deterioration of land that diminishes its productivity and biodiversity, impairs the functioning of its ecosystems, and reduces the ecosystem services the land can offer us

Question 46

dust bowl

Answer 46

an area that loses huge amounts of topsoil to wind erosion as a result of drought and/or human impact. first used to name the region in the North American great plains severely affected by drought and topsoil loss in the 1930's. the term is now used to describe that historical event and others like it

Question 47

conservation districts

Answer 47

a county-based entity created by the soil conservation service (now the natural resources conservation service) to promote practices to conserve soil

Question 48

natural resources conservation service (NCRS)

Answer 48

u.s. agency that promotes soil conservation, as well as water quality protection and pollution control. prior to 1994, known as the soil conservation service

Question 49

overgrazing

Answer 49

the consumption by too many animals of plant cover, impending plant regrowth and the replacement of biomass. overgrazing can exacerbate damage to soils, natural communities, and the land productivity for further grazing

Question 50

contour farming

Answer 50

the practice of flowing furrows sideways across a hillside, perpendicular to its slope, to help prevent the formation of rills and gullies, the technique is names so because the furrows follow the natural contours of the land

Question 51

terracing

Answer 51

the cutting of level platforms, sometimes with raised edges, into steep hillsides to contain water from irrigation and precipitation, terracing transforms slopes into series of step like staircases, enabling farmers to cultivate hilly land while minimizing their loss of soil to water erosion

Question 52

intercropping

Answer 52

planting different types of crops in alternating bonds or other spatially mixed arrangements

Question 53

shelterbelts (windbreaks)

Answer 53

a row of trees or other tall plants that are planted along the edges of farm fields to break the wind and thereby minimize wind erosion

Question 54

conservation tillage

Answer 54

agriculture that limits the amount of tillage (planting, digging, harrowing, or chiseling) the soil

Question 55

crop rotation

Answer 55

the practice of alternating the kind of crop grown in a particular field from one season or year to the next

Question 56

genetically modified food

Answer 56

food derived from a genetically modified organism

Question 57

genetically modified organism (GMO)

Answer 57

an organism that has been genetically engineered using recombinant DNA technology

Question 58

genetic engineering

Answer 58

any process scientists use to manipulate an organism's genetic material in the lab by adding, deleting, or changing segments of its DNA

Question 59

landrace

Answer 59

a locally adapted domesticated variety of agricultural crop native to a particular area

Question 60

transgenic

Answer 60

term describing an organism that contains DNA from another species

Question 61

transgene

Answer 61

a gene that has been extracted from the DNA of one organism and transferred into the DNA of an organism of another species

Question 62

undernutrition

Answer 62

s condition of insufficient nutrition in which people receive less than 90% of the daily caloric needs

Question 63

food security

Answer 63

an adequate, reliable, and available food supply to all people at all times

Question 64

malnutrition

Answer 64

the condition of lacking nutrients the body needs, including a complete complement of vitamins and minerals

Question 65

green revolution

Answer 65

an intensification of the industrialization of agriculture in the developing world in the second half of the 20th century that has dramatically increased crop yields produced per unit area of farmland. practices include devoting large areas to monocultures of crops specially bred for high yields and rapid growth; heavy use of fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation water; and sowing and harvesting on the same piece of land more than once per year or per season

Question 66

Norman Borlaug (1914-2009)

Answer 66

american agricultural scientist who introduced specially bred crops to developing nations in the 20th century, helping to spur the green revolution

Question 67

monoculture

Answer 67

the uniform planting of a single crop over a large area. characterizes industrial agriculture

Question 68

biofuel

Answer 68

fuel produced from biomass energy sources and used primarily to power automobiles. examples include ethanol and biodiesel

Question 69

ethanol

Answer 69

the alcohol in beer, wine, and liquor, produced as a biofuel by fermenting biomass, generally from carbohydrate-rich crops such as corn

Question 70

sustainable agriculture

Answer 70

agriculture that can be practiced in the same way and in the same place for into the future

Question 71

feedlot

Answer 71

a huge barn or outdoor pen designed to deliver energy-rich food to animals living at extremely high densities. also called a factory farm or concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO)

Question 72

seed bank

Answer 72

a storehouse for samples of the world's crop diversity

Question 73

pollination

Answer 73

a plant-animal interaction in which one organism (for example, a bee or a hummingbird) transfers pollen (containing male sex cells) from flower to flower, fertilizing ovaries (containing female sex cells) that grow into fruits with seeds

Question 74

pest

Answer 74

a pejorative term for any organism that damages crops that are valuable to us. the term is subjective and is defined by our own economic interests and is not biologically meaningful

Question 75

pesticide

Answer 75

an artificial chemical used to kill insects, plants, or fungi

Question 76

weed

Answer 76

a pejorative term for any plant that competes with our crops. the term is subjective and is defined by our own economic interests and is not biologically meaningful

Question 77

bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)

Answer 77

a naturally occuring soil bacterium that produces a protein that kills many pests, including caterpillars and the larvae of some flies and beetles

Question 78

biological control (biocontrol)

Answer 78

control of pests and weeds with organisms that prey on or parasitize them, rather than with pesticides

Question 79

integrated pest management (IPM)

Answer 79

the use of multiple techniques in combination to achieve long-term suppression of pests, including biocontrol, use of pesticides, close monitoring of populations, habitat alteration, crop rotation, transgenic crops, alternative tillage methods, and mechanical pest removal

Question 80

organic agriculture

Answer 80

agriculture that does not use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides but instead relies in biological approaches such as composting and biocontrol.

Question 81

aquaculture

Answer 81

the cultivation of aquatic organisms for food in controlled environments