Environmental risks China Flashcards
enviromental risks
water pollution
air quality
desertification
human activities
water pollution
- 80% of groundwater reserves is unfit for human use
- most surface water is badly polluted.
- Thousands of rivers have been over extracted & no longer flow.
- Cancer village
- Eutrophication
eutrophication
high levels of phosphates in water lead to rapid growth of phytoplankton or algae blooms. Plants starve the water from light and oxygen and so reduces the biodiversity below the surface.
air quality
- has improved 35% from 2013.
- In 2013, Beijing experienced a prolonged period of smog “airpocalypse”; the concentration of hazardous particles was 40 times the level deemed safe
consequences of poor air quality
across China since 2000 more than 30 million have died from poor air quality
desertification
- impacts 1/4 of China
- Impacts around 400 million people.
main causes of desertification
- Climate change
- human activity
- heavy machinery
how climate change causes desertification
China’s north has experienced a rising temperature and falling precipitation.
what human activities causes desertification
- intensification of agriculture
- deforestation
- overgrazing
- destruction of vegetation
- misuse of water resources
- lack of environmental protection
how heavy machinery causes desertification
- Large tractors compact soil and limit water infiltration and organic processes
- Process exposes soil to wind and water erosion
- The World bank suggests that over 1,500 km2 of land is vulnerable to wind erosion and 1,700km2 is exposed to water erosion
strategies to reduce desertification
- planting more trees
- improving quality of the soil - by decreasing number of grazing animal and grow crops instead
- water management
how planting more trees reduces desertification
the roots of trees hold the soil together and help to reduce soil erosion from wind and rain.
how improving quality of soil reduces desertification
Growing by using manure to fertilise the crops can improve the quality of the soil as it is held together by the roots of plants and protected from erosion. This type of farming is moresustainable.
how water management reduces desertification
water can be stored inearth damsin the wet season and used to irrigate crops during the dry season
causes of desertification (in general not only case study)
- population growth
- desertification
- overgrazing
- soil erosion
- climate change
