Agriculture Flashcards
Why is the origins of agriculture important to today’s society?
- originated 9,000-11,000 years ago when plants and animals first domesticated
- technological advancements permitted more reliable food supplies & allowed population growth
- not everyone needed to grow food, so other jobs/advancements occurred (increased transportation methods for trade)
What are the three kinds of agricultural land?
- arable land
- permanent cropland
- permanent pastures
What is arable land?
It is land that can be plowed and occupied by crops b/c it is fertile land
What is permanent cropland?
Land where crops, like coffee, tea & fruit, do not require annual replanting
What is permanent pastures?
It is used primarily for grazing livestock
How do climate change and agricultural suitability correlate?
- 1/3 of the earth’s land is made up of agricultural land & most is pasture land
- further cropland expansion limited for good production (running out of arable land)
- climate change will change agricultural suitability (ex. equator countries will lose arable land)
- intensification production (obtain more out of land) is a key development strategy to combat, many approaches to increase land productivity
What is the Green Revolution?
It is the development in plant genetics (hybridization) in the late 50’s & early 60’s resulting in high yield varieties producing 3-5 times more grain than previous plants, but requiring intensive irrigation & fertilizer use
What is hybridization?
it is the crossbreeding of two similar species of plants used to optimize crop production
What is a benefit of the green revolution?
- this development meant that less people would be starving globally
What are the negatives of the green revolution?
- causes long term productivity losses
- hybrid seeds only grew better with sufficient frequencies and quantities of pesticides and fertilizers applied
- encouraged the narrowing of the genetic base, meaning crops are more vulnerable to disease & pests
- it exhausts supplies of micronutrients that cannot be replaced by fertilizers and in turn, reduces the yield
Why does world hunger occur?
- climate change changes precipitation patterns and increases temperature, so more floods/droughts contribute to food insecurity
- many regions face difficulties meeting growing demands & warmer temps mean longer growing seasons, so more pests, more CO2 damaging plants in pollination stage, etc.
- governments subsidize farmers, but most money goes to large farmers in richest countries
- less food is available in places with more natural disasters, warfare & disease, so food prices are higher & not everyone can afford food
Why is the current subsidy system an issue?
The richest farmers get the most money, so chemical dependencies are promoted which inhibits positive change and discriminates against less developed countries.
What do models suggest to maintain ecosystems while feeding the population?
- halt farmland expansion, especially in tropical rainforests through incentives like ecotourism
- close yield gaps to maximize productivity through genetics, crop varieties & management
- use resources (water, nutrients, etc.) more effectively
- shift diets to reduce meat consumption (more direct)
- reduce food waste (1/3 of all food is discarded)
How does agriculture relate to increasing GHGs?
- increases CO2 from forest clearing for agriculture
- wet rice farming increases methane
- much of the soil organic carbon lost to tillage, biomass burning & removal of crop residues
- under & overgrazed grass stores less CO2
- fertilizers negative impact (nitrogen leaching, runoff & evaporation)
- livestock negative impact (increased methane and nitrous oxide)
- 66% of N2O & 25% of CH4 produced in Canada, overall makes up 10% of all GHGs released
What are genetically modified organisms (GMOs)?
They are created by humans through genetic manipulation that combines genes from different & unrelated species to create the most economically productive organisms with higher resistance to pathogens.`
