Environmental Initiatives I Flashcards
What is the challenging relationship that exists between agriculture and the environment?
ITs exists because agriculture co exists with the environment and depends on limited natural resources like soil water and wildlife to produce food
What can using resources do to the environment?
Degrade quality and result in environmental issues
What are environmental initiatives?
To improves their practices and reduce negative impacts on the environment
Who can adopt environmental initiates and why?
Individual or business
-they do thrive because they are stewards of the land and they manage the land and directly depend on its health for their livelihood
What are some things that can degrade resources?
Human activities like:
-urbanization
-Industry
0Agriculture
What is soil health a reflection of?
The ability of the soil to support living members of the e ecosystem by providing resources and services
Why is soil a non-renewable resource?
Soil building processes are slow
-degraded soil can’t be replenished within the time period of a human lifespan
How does erosion occur?
Because water does not infiltrate the dense soil and instead flows ver the soil surface
Why is erosion bad?
Reduces seed germination and plant cover because the soil crust is difficult to penetrate
What is erosion?
A natural process that breaks down landforms and removes oil nutrients and damages its structures
What are the 3 types of erosion that can occur?
Water
Wind
Tillage
How does water erosion occur?
When the force of water suspends soil nd carries it away
How does wind erosion occur?
When high speed wind disturbs loose soil, commonly on unprotected dry land
How does tillage erosion occur?
Whe tollage loosens the soil on hills and gravity causes the soil to roll down the slopw
What environmental problems can erosion lead to?
Water quality is degraded when soil and nutrients are carried into aquatic environments
Soils are less health because the loss of nutrients and soil structure degrades the life supporting properties of soil
What is organic matter?
Is the top layer of soil that includes decomposing plant and animal matter
What is the purpose of organic matter?
Enhances soil properties like structure, ability to hold nutrients and support of soil organisms that can suppress insects and disease
What environmental problems can occur when you have a lack of organic matter?
Poor soil Structure develops because organic matter is no longer gluing soil particles together to form stable clumps that allow air and water exchange
Loose soil is prone to rearranging densely to form a thick crust that limits water penetration
What is soil compaction?
Pressess soil particles together and reduces the size of the spaces between soil particles.
Why are large spaces necessary for soil?
To allow water to infiltrate and for air exchange
When is soil compaction more likely to occur?
When there is traffic over a field, high soil moisture and heavy equipment
What is the best management strategy for soil?
Rebuilding soil is a slow process so the best management strategy is to protect it
-adopting practices that will enhance and protect soil quality on their farm
What are the 4 main best practice initiatives to manage soil use?
Cover crop and leave plant residue
Growth living windbreaks
Spread Manure
Establish permanent traffic patterns
What is a cover crop and plant residue?
Plants that are grown to cover the soil when the land is not already in use
Residues can shelter soil from erosion and the plant material adds organic matter to the soil
What are living windbreaks?
Row of trees with foliage that creates a barrier reducing the wind speed and protection exposed oil from wind erosion
What is the purpose of spreading manure?
Puts nutrients back in the soils
What are permanent traffic patterns?
Dictate where the tractor can derive not he farm field so compaction is limited to specific areas
What are the 4 advantages in using soil management initiatives?
- Support water infiltration as a result of good soil structure
- Maintain capacity to hold water as a result of maintaining organic matter that is absorptive
- Maintain food production because there is adequate water and air in the soil to support the growth of health plant roots
- Resistance to drought stress because of healthy root growth has better chances of causes during limited water availability, compared with poor root growth
How does most water used in ag return to the earth?
Returns through the water cycle to groundwater or surface water for public use
What are the 4 main water issues that can arise in agriculture?
Wastewater from water use
Wastewater form livestock watering
Nutrient Excess
Irrigation Excess
What is wastewater used for?
To wash and process fruit and veggies
Create food products
What can using water inefficiently lead to?
Higher volumes of waste water
-more likely to contaminate surface and ground water
Scarcity of water supply
-inefficient use
When using waste water from livestock inefficiently can lead to what 2 environmental problems?
Wet and muddy yards
-created by leaks
Higher volumes of wastewater
-potentially contaminated wastewater are created by water that accumulates form leaky water equipment
What happens when ntureitnes (fertilizer and manure) are used in excess?
it increases the risk that nutrients could be carried away in water runoff and contaminate water sources.
What problems does irrigation create?
Surface water contamination due to water pooling and being prone to runoff that carries water and contaminants off the farm
Water pooling due to a higher rate of application than the rate fo infiltration into the soil
What are the 4 initiatives to manage water?
Match industry standards
Reclaim water
Nutrient stewardship
Embrace efficiency
What is reclaimed water?
Waste water that has been purified and use again
-removes pathogens and chemicals
Whats nutrient stewardship?
Farmers avoid using nutrients in excess because it is expensive and increases the risk that nutrients could be carried away in water runoff
What are the benefits of using water management initiatives?
Ability to withstand water shortages
Less water is converted to waste water
Reduces cost of water
Why doe sag value wildlife?
Pollinate crops
Break down organic matter
Control pest populations
Why do wildlife rely on habitat?
For shelter
Breeding
Resources for food to survive
How does habitat loss occur?
Learning of land to lower competition between wild plats and crop
Replacing woodlands with monocultures
What environmental problems does harming habitat lead to?
Less shelter, food and breeding sites
Lower diversity of food sources
When do species have and at risk status?
When they might become extinct
What can reducing wildlife habitat lead to?
Extinction of species
Fewer ecosystem services
Loss of the rich diversity of species
What problems can invasive species lead t?
Extinction of species
Loss of rich biodiversity of species
Less food production
Greater need for pest control products of techniques
What are the 3 initiatives to support wildlife in ag?
Enhance wildlife habitat
Regulation protects species at risk
Support native and discourage invasive species
What is enhancing wildlife habitat?
To increase the diversity of wildlife on these landscapes, farmers can encourage a variety of plant species at various ages, including dead trees
What protects animals form becoming extinct?
The species at risk act was created top protect wildlife species and help it recover
What does the government do to farmers who protect/recover endangered species?
Awards grants to make these projects affordable
How can farmers support pollinator health?
by allowing native wildflowers to provide nectar and pollen throughout the growing season
-It is feasible to allow wildflowers to grow along the edges of fields where weed control is not necessary.
What are the advantages off supporting wildlife initiatives in agriculture?
Maintain or improve species diversity
Maintain yields
Precent thee need for additional pest control
Prevent trade and transport restrictions?
What is the environmental farm plan?
program offers workbooks and workshops for farmers to assess their farm.
- They rate the effect of their land, buildings and products on the health of the ecosystem.
- The farmer creates a realistic action plan to solve their problems.
- The workshop leader verifies the completed action plan.
What do the best management practices books help with?
Understand an environmental issue on their farm
Learn solutions that work with their unique farm situation
Plan realistic and practical farm management solutions
Improve efficiencies of resource use in farm production
What do farmers get for completing the environmental farm plan?
Assistances form government to implement project for their plan
Why is cost a barrier to the environmental farm plan?
Even though farmers rely on what an ecosystem offers they also need to produce and sell food, fibre or fuel products to generate income
New technologies are expensive, so they are adopted slowly
Why is knowledge and management a barrier to environmental farm plans?
always challenges and trade-offs with new practices, so the farmer needs enough knowledge and expertise to be equipped to handle those challenges
farmer’s approach is influenced by incentives, rules, perceptions, personal values, and social norms
What are careers around environmental intuitive in ag?
Environmental policy makers
Environmental consultants
Farmers/producers
