Exam 3 Flashcards
demography
collecting, compiling and presenting info about human populations
Neolithic Revolution
development of agriculture
Industrial Revolution
birth of modern science and technology powered by fossil fuels
Medical Revolution
vaccines, immunizations, sanitation, antibiotics, nutrition
Green Revolution
increased crop yield
Newest Revolution
internet, computers, robotics, etc.
total fertility rate
average number of children each woman has over her lifetime
replacement-level fertility
replaces woman and partner, slightly higher than 2.0 (because of infant mortality and inability to reproduce)
population momentum
effect of current age structures on future populations
crude birth rate
number of births per thousand of the population
crude death rate
number of deaths per thousand of the population
demographic transition
gradual shift in birth and death rates from the primitive to the modern condition in the industrialized societies; causal link between modernization and decline in birth and death rates
population profile
census data for a population in a bar graph depicting the number or proportion of people at each age
age structure
number of people in each age group at any given time
Environmental Revolution
efficient technologies, better urban/regional planning, policy and industrial changes, personal decisions
life expectancy
years a newborn can expect to live based on mortality rates in their country
IPAT
Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology formula for human factors that contribute to deterioration and depletion of resources
ImPACT
Impact = Population x Affluence x T(consumption per unite of GDP and negative consumption)
human population ecology similar to other organisms
population growth until limiting factor reached
human population ecology different from other organisms
we figure out how to remove limiting factors we have and want more choices
Phases of Demographic transition
Phase 1 - high birth rate, fluctuation death rate Phase 2 - declining birth and death rates Phase 3 - birth rate approaching replacement Phase 4 - low- very low birth and death rates
global gag rule
U.S. policy that denies aid to any agency that provides abortion or abortion counseling
dependency ration
in human population, ratio of nonworking age population (under 15 and over 65) to working age population
World Bank
branch of the UN that acts as a conduit for handling loans to developing countries
Millennium Project
UN pan to coordinate various agencies to achieve Millennium Development Goals
microlending examples
- Grameen Bank
- Kiva
- Heifer International
2 basic approaches to demographic transition
- speed up economic development
- concentrate on population policies and family planning
poverty cycle
-> poverty -> overusing resources for survival -> environmental degradation -> more hands needed/lack of contraceptives -> high fertility -> more people = fewer resources -> poverty
Cairo conference
* reproductive health care * improve maternal health * universal access
Kerala
- southern Indian state
- low birth/death rate
- equal education and health care
- stable population through targeted development, not just economic growth
6 factors that influence family size in developing countries
- helping hands
- cultural preference for boys
- care in old age
- status of women
- lack of contraceptives
- infant/childhood mortality
Debt crisis
caused when short term fixes to repay loans create more problems and interest rates accumulate
negative environmental impacts from the debt crisis
- World Bank funding environmentally disasterous projects (ex: clearing rain forests, bulding coal power plants, privatizing water)
- unsustainable cash crops grown, indigenous land taken
- exploiting natural resources
- austerity measures creating more poverty (cycle)
how humans adversely impoact water purity and cycling
- changing the surface of the earth (ex: impermiable surfaces, dams)
- introducing pollutants (ex: run-off)
- removing water (ex: draining wetlands)
mix of salt and fresh water
brakish
water molecules in gaseous state
water vapor
humidity
amount of water vapor in the air
relative humidity
the measurement of humidity; the amount of water vapor as a percentage of what the air can hold at a particular temperature
condensation
when water molecules rejoin by hydrogen bonding to form liquid water (ex: fog, clouds, dew)
aerosols
microscopic liquid or solid particles originating from land and water surfaces
purification in water
when water is separated from the solutes and particles it contains
Hadley Cell
two halves of the convection currents of the Earth; rising air over the warm equator goes up, cools, dries, is pushed aside from more warm air, falls to the ground and dries the desert
rain shadow
dry region downwwind of a mountain range
watershed
all the land area that contributes water to a particular stream or river
surface waters
ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, etc
combination of evaporation and transpiration
evapotranspiration
percolation
gravitational water trickling down through pores or cracks to the impervious layer of rock or clay
two paths of infiltration
- held in soil (capillary water)
- percolation (gravitational water)
water table
upper surface of groundwater
aquifer
layers of porous material through which groundwater moves
recharge area
area where water enters an aquifer
nonconsumptive water
can be used again (ex: flushing water)
consumptive water
can’t be used again (ex: irrigation)
land subsidence
gradual sinking of land because of dropping water table
hydrologic loops
- evapotranspiration
- surface runoff
- groundwater
4 physical processes of hydrologic cycle
- evaporation
- condensation
- precipitation
- gravitational flow
hydrologic cycle’s flux
exchange of water among the land, atmosphere, and oceans
sinks
hold water
cleaning services provided by hydrologic cycle
- clean water: evaporation, infiltration
- clean air: precipitation
postivie impacts of dams
- regulate floods
- clean power
- save water during drought (debatable)
negative impacts of dams
- increase earthquakes
- interfere with fish breeding
- saltwater intrusion
- accumulate pollutants
- relocate people
- destroy habitats
- can lead to more evaporation
factors that influence soil characteristics
- water/nutrient holding capacity
- aeration
- workability
- salinity
- pH
processes that remove plants from soil
- overcultivation
- overgrazing
- deforestation
- salinization
soil
geological/biological material that is changed by chemical, biological and physical processes giving it the ability to support plant growth
parent material
minerals in the soil that came from the area’s rock
sand
particles from 2.0-.063 millimetters in diameter
silt
particles from 0.063-0.004
clay
particles finer than 0.004 milimeters
soil texture
proportions of particles of sand, silt and clay
loam
roughly 40% sand, 40% silt, 20% clay
workability
ease which a soil can be cultivated
horizons
layers of earth
soil profile
verticle slice through the horizons
O horizon
- detritus, organic content, humus
- primary source of energy for soil community
- O = organic
humus
material near the bottom of the O horizon, decomposing detritus and organic matter
A horizon
- mixture of mineral soil from below and humus from above
- topsoil
- roots
- A =
E horizon
E = eluviation (process of leaching minerals)
B horizon
- deposit of leached minerals
- subsoil
- B =
C horizon
- parent material
- C = crusty
soil fertility
ability to support plant growth
nutrient-holding capacity
soil’s ability to bind and hold nutrient ions until they are absorbed by roots
organic fertilizer
plant or animal waste; manure, compost, alfalfa, clover, lentils, peas, etc
inorganic fertilizer
chemical formulation of nutrients w/out organic components
evaporative water loss
evaporation that depletes the soil’s water w/out serving the plants
soil aeration
poreous soil that allows diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the spaces between
soil structure
arrangement of soil particles (loose is better)
splash erosion
caused by raindrops that dislodge particles and wash them into spaces, clogging pores and decreasing infiltration and aeration. Leads to run-off.
sheet erosion
when decreased infiltration leads to run-off, sheet erosion carries away fine particles from the surface
gully erosion
runoff coming together into streams, rivers, etc. with enough power to erode banks
desert pavement
a thin layer of stones and gravel left when the wind carries away the fine particles on the top of the ground
no-till agriculture
- field sprayed with herbicide to kill weeds
- planter cuts furrow through dead weeds, drops seeds, fertilizes, closes furrow
- repeated at harvest
low-till agriculture
one pass over field to plant and fertilize, instead of 6-12
contour plowing
fields plowed and cultivated at right angles to slop, slowing downhill run-off
shelter belts
- rows of trees, periennials and/or shrubs planted beside fields to protect crops and livestock from wind and blowing snow
- growing grass along waterways to filter runoff
U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service
- (NRCS)
- established after Dust Bowl
- provides info re: soil and water conservation practices to farmers and others
- tests and analyzes soil samples
- inventories erosion losses
Conservation Stewardship Program
- NRCS program
- provides info and support to ranchers about burning unwanted plants, reseeding, managing cattle before overgrazing
sediments
eroding soil
why soil is so important for all life
- growth of plants
- filters water
- key role in nutrient cycle
- home to 1/4 of world’s species
5 soil conditions that affect plants
- salinity
- water-holding capacity
- aeration
- mineral holding capacity
- pH
SWAMP
human practices that cause erosion
- overcultivation
- overgrazing
- deforestation
CAFO
- concentrated animal feeding operations
- negatives
- pollution / fish die-off- no sewage treatment
- disease
- inhumane
- high antibiotic use
GM
- genetically modified
- transgenic
- can use traits from different species
benefits of modern food production
- feeds the world
- held back deforestation
- reduced poverty
costs of modern agriculture
- many need extra water and/or fertilizer
- monoculture (possible disaster w/ pests and disease)
- loss of genetic diversity
GMO benefits
- more successful crops for developing nations
- pest and disease resistence
- increase tolerance to harsh conditions
- improve nutritional value
GMO problems
- health risks (allergies, unexpected effects)
- resistant pests
- superweeds
- nontarget effects
- loss of biodiversity
- increase in chemicals
- access in the developing world (Big Seed co.)
pros and cons of subsistence farming
- pros
- highly diverse ecosystem
- sustainable at low populations
- cons
- live close to the edge
- limited
- usually too poor to pay for insurance, markets, technologies
negative consequences of food aid
undercuts the local market
takes time to arrive
