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BIO220 > BIO220 Lecture 20 > Flashcards

BIO220 Lecture 20 Flashcards

Ecology of ancient and modern food production

1
Q

Right now, we are in the ___ period

A

quaternary

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2
Q

Quanternary period

A
  • last 2.68 million years

- ice age with alternating glacial & interglacial periods

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3
Q

Humans emerged ___ years ago

A

2 million

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4
Q

Agriculture is a ____ phenomenon, which appeared in the last ___ years. This means that it appeared in a ___ period.

A

post-glacial (Holocene epoch);
10 000;
inter-glacial

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5
Q

we are currently living in the ___ epoch of the quaternary period

A

Holocene

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6
Q

early humans evolved & migrated as…

A

hunter/gatherers

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7
Q

One theory of ____ states that __ and homo sapiens are very similar

A

hominid evolution and dispersal;

Neanderthals

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8
Q

What was the last area to be colonized by homo sapiens?

A

Americas

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9
Q

Why are fruits good foods?

A

They are supposed to be eaten (by animals for dispersal)

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10
Q

Why are seeds & tubers good food?

A

energy-storing organs (complex carbs & sugars)

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11
Q

Humans are not adapted for eating plant foods. The foods that we eat has to be…

A
  • high nutritional quality

- less defended

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12
Q

___ selection was used to make plants more edible

A

artificial

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13
Q

agriculture evolved ___

A

independently in different areas

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14
Q

cultural component of agriculture

A

societies have to learn (from older generation) how to store seeds, weed, plant…

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15
Q

lentils have symbiotic relationship with ___ to get ___

A

bacteria;

nitrogen

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16
Q

legumes are good sources of…

A

plant protein

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17
Q

which kind of seeds are best for humans? for plants?

A

humans: seeds that don’t shatter because they are easier to collect
plants: seeds that shatter so it disperses genetic material

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18
Q

grasses that we eat

A
  • wheat
  • rice
  • maize
  • barley
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19
Q

legumes that we eat

A
  • beans
  • lentils
  • chick peas
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20
Q

fruits that we eat

A
  • tomatoes

- squash

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21
Q

What are key evolution innovations for grass agriculture?

A
  • non-shattering seed heads

- amylase evolution

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22
Q

ancient agriculture innovations

A
  • fish net
  • irrigation channels
  • domestication (-> evolution of lactose tolerance)
  • plows
  • crop rotation, draft animals (Middle Age)
  • exchange of crops, animals, technology (1492)
  • no more nomadism
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23
Q

sedentary culture lead to the development of…

A
  • cities

- agriculture

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24
Q

Limits of primitive agriculture

A
  • limited area for growth (temperature > water > NPK)
  • edaphic (soil) factors: moisture, fertility
  • planting same things in same area -> insects, disease, bad yield
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25
Q

Janzen-Connell hypothesis

A

seeds that fall too close to adult tree will die due to established predators in that area
- keeps too many of the same species growing in the same area

26
Q

The first population boom lead to…

A

famines

27
Q

who made artificial fertilizers?

A

John Bennet Lawes of Rothamsted (different concentrations of N, P, K, Mg)

28
Q

How was edaphic factors solved by agricultural sciences?

A

add things to soil to replenish lost nutrients

  • fertilizer (chemicals)
  • animal poop add N (organic)
29
Q

Where do organic fertilizers & chemical fertilizers differ?

A

organic matters will also affect soil texture & water retaining qualities, but chemical ones won’t

30
Q

which chemical fertilizers had the best effect?

A
  • nitrates

- ammonia

31
Q

N fertilizers come from…

A

high nitrate minerals

  • saltpeter
  • KNO3
  • NaNO3
32
Q

Haber-Bosche process

A

chemical creation of ammonia

natural gas + atm nitrogen + catalyst + pressure -> ammonia

33
Q

HB process produces ___ ammonia per year, and uses ___% of the world’s natural gas supply

A

500 million tons;

3-5

34
Q

consequences of HB process

A
  • mining towns abandoned
  • wars, explosives
  • 1/2 of N in our bodies is from HB
  • meat production
  • 1/2 of world is being fed with N from HB
35
Q

How has new technology overcome previous agriculture limitations?

A
  • irrigation brings water to dry areas
  • fertilizer supplies soil with nutrients
  • industrial chemistry makes fertilizer
36
Q

Life history theory of plants: how has this been affected by new agricultural technologies?

A

plant allocations can all go towards seed production because humans prevent competition, insect attacks, need for nutrients

37
Q

life history of plants

A

plants allocate resources to:

  • growth (tall = more light, better seed dispersal)
  • competition
  • defense
  • reproduction
  • dispersal
  • root system: more water & nutrients
38
Q

plant-breeding techniques

A
  • artificial selection

- hybridization

39
Q

the Green Revolution

A
  • used plant breeding techniques to evolve high-yielding dwarf crop varieties (HYV)
  • high-intensity cultivating techniques
40
Q

HYV

A

high yielding dwarf varieties

41
Q

IR8

A

a semi-dwarf rice variety that could produce more grains of rice per plant when grown with certain fertilizers and irrigation

42
Q

who founded the Green Revolution?

A

Borlaug

43
Q

HYV are unable to…

A

detect neighbours

- when plants detect neighbours, they grow tall and skinny

44
Q

Green Revolution techniques lead to a…

A

exponential rise in yield, but began leveling in mid-1990s

- Green Revolution techniques can’t keep up with human growth anymore

45
Q

Now that yields have began to level, how to we support a still-increasing population?

A

GMO?

46
Q

Consequence of babying plants

A
  • labour intensive
  • use exhaustible natural resources w/ limited supplies
  • pollution to surrounding areas (groundwater, poison non-target organsims)
  • biocides develop superbugs, addictive
47
Q

what is the preferred antibiotic nowadays? Why?

A

Z-pak;

penicillin is so resistant that it can’t be used anymore

48
Q

why don’t plants need to worry about competition anymore?

A
  • herbicides

- mechanized cultivation

49
Q

why don’t plants need extensive roots anymore?

A
  • irrigation

- fertilizers

50
Q

why don’t plants need defense anymore?

A
  • insecticides

- fungicides

51
Q

cultivation & irrigation leads to long-term…

A

degradation of soils (build-up of salt)

52
Q

which is better: annual wheat vs. perennial wheat

A

annual wheat: good for people

perennial wheat: good for plant

53
Q

annual wheat

A

Only lives for 1 year

  • Shallow root system
  • More yield
  • Susceptible to disturbances
54
Q

Perennial wheat

A

Lives for long time

  • Extensive root that can provide soil structure
  • More resilient to disturbances
  • But less yield
55
Q

2 types of maize production

A
  1. slash & burn

2. mechanized

56
Q

slash & burn vs. mechanized costs & yield

A

cost: mechanized so much more labour and material intensive
yield: mechanized 4x more

…but is it worth it?

57
Q

modern agriculture depends on..

A

energy subsidies

58
Q

cost of food is tied to…

A

cost of petroleum & electricity

59
Q

why is cost of food going up?

A

we are adding so much stuff in our food to improve yield

60
Q

with current technology, increasing food supply requires…

A

burning more fuel & clearing more land

61
Q

N, P, K: what is limited?

A

P & K

P is mined, and very scarce

BIO220 (24 decks)

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