Human Impact on Environment

Question 1

overfishing

Answer 1

there is a maximum sustainable yield (quantity that can be caught + replaced in a year) but almost impossible to predict

Question 2

what to know for msy

Answer 2

population numbers - mark + recapture
birth rate
death rate
age at maturity
age structure
growth rates

Question 3

prevent overfishing

Answer 3

quotas or catching days
exclusion days
fishing seasons
mesh sizes (make holes bigger)

Question 4

fish farming

Answer 4

profitable
however density dependent factors like disease mean food must have antibiotics which can lead to antibiotic resistance and wasted food to eutrophication
if net breaks, genetically different to wild population and can weaken line

Question 5

coppicing

Answer 5

cut down above ground - trees like willow can still grow so used as a biomass (fuel source)

Question 6

CITES

Answer 6

can’t trade animals/animal parts of endangered species

Question 7

SSSIs

Answer 7

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Question 8

Seed banks

Answer 8

if plant foes extinct, samples stored can be used

Question 9

rare breeds

Answer 9

farms

Question 10

zoos

Answer 10

captive breeding programmes

move males zoo to zoo to prevent interbreeding and maintain biodiversity

Question 11

breeding disease resistance

Answer 11

e.g. potatoes naturally resistant, cross breed, prevent another potato famine

Question 12

medicine

Answer 12

chemicals in plants/animals used to treat disease

Question 13

how to stop soil going anaerobic

Answer 13

ploughing

drainage ditch

Question 14

9 planetary boundaries

Answer 14

climate change
biosphere integrity
land system change
biogeochemical flows
stratospheric ozone
ocean acidification
fresh water use
aerosols
introduction of novel entities

Question 15

climate change boundary

Answer 15

greenhouse gases control earths temp
high atmospheric CO2 = high average global temp (affects winds, ocean currents)
positive feedback (polar ice melts, sea levels rise)

Question 16

biosphere integrity boundary

Answer 16

need or lose possible cures to diseases

Question 17

land system change boundary

Answer 17

limit ice free land for crop growth + human habitation
grow efficient crops
eat less meat

Question 18

biogeochemical flows

Answer 18

disrupted e.g. Haber process

consequences e.g. eutrophication, acidification

Question 19

stratospheric ozone boundary

Answer 19

ozone absorbs ultraviolet light
CFCs destroy ozone
avoid by deliberate action, ozone repairs itself (becomes thicker)

Question 20

ocean acidification boundary

Answer 20

CO2 dissolves in water decreasing pH, affects fish, corals, enzymes

Question 21

fresh water use boundary

Answer 21

only 2.5% of worlds water is fresh
not always available and not uniformly distributed around world
agriculture wastes water
climate change affects rainfall
increased pop with long life span
consequences - desertification, fisheries destroyed, Rivera may fail to reach seas

Question 22

atmospheric aerosol loading boundary

Answer 22

some natural (volcano ash)
soot absorbs heat adding to global warming
particles from diesel engines inhaled
consequences - ‘Asian Brown Cloud’ pollution blocks sunlight

Question 23

introduction of novel entities boundary

Answer 23

synthetic organic pollutants
radioactive material
GM organism
nano materials
micro plastics

Question 24

ecotourism

Answer 24

money from tourists by setting up accommodation in rainforests, locals dont need to cut down then

Question 25

air quality monitoring

Answer 25

concentrations of air pollutants measured

Question 26

soil monitoring

Answer 26

soil structure + density

Question 27

water quality monitoring

Answer 27

chemical, biological + microbiological aspects