b6.1/2 monitoring and maintaining the environment and food security Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

examples of environmental change

A

seasonal change
- average temp increase/decrease
- rainy/ hot seasons
geographic change
- land bridges sink(rising sea levels)
- habitat change
human causes change
- global warming
- intensive farming - causes deserts

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

deforestation

A

removing trees
for growing crops
decreases biodiversity
growing rice increases methane levels
trees aren’t being planted as fast as the rate of deforestation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

trees cleared by burning

A

releases more CO2

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

peat bogs

A

areas of west land and pest is used as fuel or compost
burning peat increase CO2 levels (as peat is a carbon sink)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

peat bogs carbon sink

A

decomposition cannot fully happen (acidic and not much O2)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

advantages of monocultures

A
  • cheap labour (machines used)
  • high crop yield
  • easy to take care of
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

disadvantages of monocultures

A
  • easily affected by one disease
  • soil is leached
  • need fertilisers and pesticides
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

bioaccumulation

A

build up of absorbed chemicals in an organism over time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

biomagnification

A

the increase in conc of these chemicals in each organism up the food chain
(organisms can’t breakdown / excrete chemicals as quick as they are absorbed)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

eutrophication

A

the process by which a body of water becomes enriched in dissolved minerals that stimulate the growth of aquatic plant life (algae)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

how eutrophication occurs

A
  • sewage release / minerals from fertiliser leached into water
  • algae in water have more nutrients for growth / reproduction eg nitrates
  • algal bloom covers water surface
  • less light in water plants cant photosynthesise and die
  • algae run out of nutrients and also die
  • bacteria decompose the plant / algae and respire the products using up O2 in water
  • the water may become
    anoxic and all animal life dies
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

global warming

A

gases trapped in Earths atmosphere eg CO2/ CH4

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

CO2 levels increases due to

A

industrialisation
- more cars / factories / combustion of fossil fuels

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

fluctuations of CO2 in UK because

A
  • trees lose leaves - less photosynthesis - less CO2 taken in
  • colder - enzymes aren’t at optimum - less photosynthesis
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

implications of global warming

A
  • increase sea levels
  • native animals can’t survive in habitat (extinct)
  • drought
  • food decreases
  • increases competition for land/resources
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

white lemuroid possum

A

became almost extinct
cannot maintain body temp
so vulnerable to increases in temp

17
Q

little terns

A
  • vulnerable to high tides / storms (increase due to global warming)
  • migrate to UK and nest above high tide
  • affected by flooding due to stormy seas
18
Q

coastal mangrove forests

A
  • vulnerable to increase no. storms / typhoons
  • these undermine the fine sediment they grow in
  • seedlings can’t root
  • nutrients are washed away
19
Q

biodiversity

A

the variety of all life on earth

20
Q

food security

A

when all people have access to consistent supplies of safe/ nutritious food to meet their needs for an active healthy life

21
Q

biodiversity + food security

A

biodiversity must be protected to ensure food security due to variation preventing all food being wiped out by a certain disease

22
Q

intensive farming

A

farming using machines/ chemicals to produce large yields quickly eg using fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides

23
Q

what do fertilisers/ herbicides do

A

increase mineral content of soil
removed competition

24
Q

hydroponics

A

plants grown without soil
+ production costs lower
+ minerals can be recycled
+ crops grown in areas where they normally wouldn’t
- high initial set up costs

25
Q

ethics of intensive farming

A
  • close confinement ^ rise of disease spreading
  • lack of movement
  • nature of pens /cages
  • poor transportation/ slaughtering techniques
26
Q

advantages of fish farming

A
  • tank water quality can be monitored
  • temp/oxygenation of water can be controlled
  • the diet of fish is controlled by quality / quantity of feeding
  • protected against predators (adults/young separated and separate from predators)
  • pesticide are used to kill parasites
  • selective breeding can improve quality
27
Q

disadvantages of fish farming

A
  • spread of disease more likely as are close together
  • antibiotics used to treat disease might not break down and may be eaten by humans
  • waste water contains high levels of organic material which causes eutrophication
  • pesticides to kill parasites can be toxic to other species nearby
28
Q

biological control

A
  • controls pests without pesticides using natural predators
  • most successful in controlled environments
  • cause long term environmental problems