Environmental Impacts Of Agriculture Flashcards
What sort of areas have to be cleared to produce farmland?
Natural biomes of grassland and forest
Where the climate is favourable and soil fertile
Will the land use change to farmland destroy the habitat?
Might not destroy the habitat but might change it so indigenous species cannot survive
What are some ways farmland can change an area?
Drainage
Nutrient enrichment
Reduced biodiversity
Why is farmland drained?
To produce more aerobic soils
What is an example of drainage?
Drainage of water logged grassland to increase grass growth
What might happen to the indigenous species when wetlands are drained?
Plant species and animals the they support may not be able to survive the changes
How can nutrient be enriched in an area?
Addition of fertilisers
Why are fertilisers added to fields?
Increase nutrient availability
Increase plant growth
How can nutrient enrichment of farmland change the area?
Species that respond by growing taller such as grasses may out-compete smaller plants such as wild flower species
what do natural ecosystems often have?
small scale local variations in abiotic factors producing differences in the composition of the community of species found there
what do agroecosystems do to natural ecosystems?
often replace diverse communities of indigenous species with a community of species that has fewer species many of which might not be indigenous
why might indigenous species not be able to survive an agroecosystem?
not be able to survive the new conditions or may be removed due to new predators or competitors
does agriculture just destroy habitats?
can also create new habitats which may be gradually colonised by wildlife species
what happens to some areas that have been farmed for a longtime?
have become plagioclimax habitats that are valuable to wildlife
what are some examples of habitats created by farming that support important wildlife communities?
hedgerows
hay meadows
grazed moorland or heathland
chalk grassland
