Carrying Capacity Flashcards
1
Q
What is carrying capacity?
A
- the max. pop. that resources of a given envi. can support w/o the envi. being severely degraded
2
Q
Why is carrying capacity not a fixed concept?
A
- advances in tech can sig. inc. carrying capacity
3
Q
What were the ideas of Thomas Malthus?
A
- that CC is a fixed concept + pop. inc. faster than supporting food resources
- believed pop. resource balance is maintained by a series of checks (famine, disease, war, moral restraint) + inc. food supply was achieved by bringing more land into arable production
4
Q
How is Somalia having a Neo-Malthusian crisis? (Evidence to support TM)
A
- climate crisis, ongoing conflict, political instability + soaring food prices
- due to war in Ukraine, bringing hunger + food insecurity to critical levels as Somalia relies on grain imports from Ukraine: affected by inc. food + fuel prices
- climate crisis of 5 consecutive yrs of drought + flash floods in central Somalia: continued food crisis
- water washed away homes, crops + livestock + disrupted local schooling + health care services
- > 500,000 children <5 are severely malnourished
5
Q
What were the ideas of Esther Boserup + what examples can support this?
A
- that CC is not a fixed concept
- argued as pop inc., more pressure placed on existing agri. system, stimulating invention
- e.g. green revolution dev. tech which made new crop strains + inc. yields in many LICs
- tech innovations in Kenya made Maziwa+ dec. spilling + spoiling of milk, inc. yields
6
Q
What are the examples of innovation + tech that support Boserup’s theory + disprove Malthus theory?
A
- dev. of artificial fertilisers + pesticides
- irrigation techniques
- HYVs of crops
- cross breading of cattle
- greenhouse farming
- hydroponics
7
Q
What are the limitations of Boserup’s theory?
A
- nearly all of world’s productive land is alr exploited
- some resources are fixed: e.g. thin/stony soils, mountainous landscapes or lack of land area
