Farming Flashcards
Explain intensive farming
Farmers are challenged with the challenge of increasing higher yields of food at lower costs
Intensive farming practices produce as much food possible from available land,plants and animals
Pesticides, insecticides and herbicides are used in this process
What are ethical issues with intensive farming
Intensive farming is efficient and carefully controlled however some people are concerned the animals have poor quality of life as they are often kept in enclosed spaces for maximum yield to space
What are pesticides used for and why is special care taken with them
Pesticides are used to kill pests that could damage crops/animals
They can harm other organisms and accumulate in food chains, harming animals at the top levels
How could pesticides cause issues between trophic levels if they flow into rivers
Pesticides flowing into rivers can be absorbed by algae which is eaten by small aquatic animals which in turn are eaten by larger organisms
Pesticide is passed on to next trophic level and increases in concentration as organisms cant excrete it. This is called persistence
Insecticides
Kills insect pests
Fungicides
Kills fungi
Persistence
Organisms cannot excrete pesticides passed on to them so the same concentration is passed on to next trophic level
The concentration increases and larger organisms could be killed
Name ways organic farmers maintain quality of food and welfare of animals with low environmental impact
Using animal manure or compost instead of chemical fertilisers
Growing nitrogen fixing crops such as peas or clover to trap nitrogen in soil
Rotating crops to maintain soil fertility
Avoiding chemical pesticides by weeding and using biological controls
Varying seed planting times to discourage pests
Advantages of organic farming
Food crops and environment are not contaminated with artificial fertilisers or pesricides
Soil fertility maintained through organic fertilisers, limited soil erosion
Promoted biodiversity in local environment as hedgerows and other habitats are conserved
Livestock have space to roam
Disadvantages of organic farming
Organic fertiliser takes time to rot and does not supply a specific balance of minerals
Weeds have to be removed by hand
Less efficient as some crops and their energy is lost to pests/diseases
Free roaming livestock use more energy and lose more body heat so require more food to increase body mass
Hydroponics
Growing plants without soil
They are grown in a solution with minerals added
Useful in areas with thin or barren soil
When plants are grown hydroponically in greenhouses, how is temperature,light intensity and carbon dioxide concentration be controlled
Temperature can be controlled with heaters
Light intensity can be controlled using lamps
Carbon dioxide concentration can be controlled using chemicals or as a by product or fossil fuel heaters
Advantages of hydroponics
Mineral levels added to solution can be controlled carefully and adjusted to type of plant
Reduced risk of plants becoming diseased
Disadvantages of hydroponics
Plants have to be supported because they have no anchorage for their roots
Expensive fertilisers needed to supply minerals to plant
What is a biological control
Instead of using pesticides, some farmers prefer to use a predator to reduce number of pests
