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The Ecology of Food Production and the Farmed Landscape > Lecture 1&2 > Flashcards

Lecture 1&2 Flashcards

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1
Q

Details of the last glacial age

A

22,000 years ago
Lowest sea level, formation of land bridges
Followed by rapid changes in climates and rainfall across Africa and the Middle East
Caused changes in animal migration routes, forcing humans you change their diet and lifestyle

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2
Q

Transition in human lifestyles

A
  1. Hunter-gatherer: low impact, travel light, few remains, highly mobile
  2. Nomadic: possess livestock, annual/seasonal routes, return to sites predictably
  3. Farmer-forager
    Transition happened in less than 1000 generations
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3
Q

When did the nomadic lifestyle develop?

A

15,000 years ago

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4
Q

When did the farmer-forager lifestyle develop?

A

12,000-8,000 years ago

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5
Q

Where was the fertile crescent?

A

Modern day Iraq, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel

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6
Q

Direct archaeological evidence for farming

A

Charred seed
Seed deposits
Stones from fruit
Dried deposits in arid locations

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7
Q

Indirect archaeological evidence for farming

A

Impressions left in pottery

Images in hieroglyphs, mention in texts, language

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8
Q

Problems with some crops and archaeology

A

Soft fruit - only seeds/stones remain, and wild and cultivated versions have similar remains
Roots/tubers - often don’t store well so few deposits
Veg and herbs - disintegrate quickly, tee obvious remains, leaves difficult to classify, pollen difficult to identify

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9
Q

Ideal initial crop traits for farming

A
  • Edible (not poisonous)
  • Energy-rich seed (starch/protein/oil)
  • Large enough seed to harvest
  • Easy to store (dry seed)
  • Annual crop (easy to relocate or move)
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10
Q

Current selected traits in agriculture

A
  • Non-toxic
  • No seed release
  • Clean-threshing (easy to process)
  • Self-pollinating so sets seed easily
  • Bigger seed
  • No extended dormancy (so all seeds germinate and grow)
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11
Q

When was rice first cultivated?

A

6-7 thousand years ago

Possibly taken into cultivation several times from wild relatives

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12
Q

When did rice reach Europe?

A

3000 years ago

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13
Q

What crops were first domesticated in Central/South America?

A 
Potato - 8 kya
Squash and beans - 8 kya
Maize - 7 kya
Cassava - 6 kya
Quinoa - 6 kya
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14
Q

Why is a mixture of cereal, nuts and legumes needed for a healthy diet?

A

Nuts/seeds low in lysine
Cereals low in lysine
Maize low in lysine and tryptophan
Legumes low in methionine

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15
Q

What tree crops were domesticated early in the Mediterranean?

A 
Digs
Olives
Dates
Almonds
Carob
Grape
8-5 kya
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16
Q

Second phase of tree crop domestication

A 
In China
Apples
Pears
Cherries
Plums
Pomegranates
Peaches
Nectarines
Citrus
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17
Q

What features does a farmland habitat create eg for a bird?

A

More open spaces
Often ploughed in spring - stubble/crop residues
Missed seed is a good resource
Management of natural predators

18
Q

What features do annual crop weeds have?

A

Usually annuals, grow tall so they can compete
Prolific seed release, often with good dormancy
Difficult to eradicate
May co-harvest and co-thresh the seed
Some weeds become crops e.g. poppy, oats

19
Q

1st-7th century UK

A
  • Subsistence farming
  • Small surplus for trade/taxes
  • Diverse crops: oats, beans, barley, roots
  • Productivity limites by labour
  • Closed system (no soil nutrients lost)
20
Q

10th-14th century UK

A

Middle Ages

  • “Open field system”
  • Manors, tenants
  • Organised, semi-communal
21
Q

What is an Open Field System?

A

Traditional Medieval farming system in which land was divided into strips and managed by an individual only during the growing season, but is available to the community for grazing animals during the rest of the year

22
Q

Developments between 1st-7th century and 10th-14th century

A
  • Oxen/heavy horse and metal ploughs so bigger acreage
  • Ditches for drainage
  • Limited bought-in labour
23
Q

Benefits of Medieval farming system

A
  • Varied habitat
  • Few if any inputs (fuel or chemical)
  • Sense of belonging
  • Connection with land/food
  • Little wasted
  • Fully sustainable
24
Q

Problems with Medieval farming system

A
  • Hard work
  • Only supported 2-6 million people
  • Landlords variable
  • Rents unmanaged
  • Limited markets for surplus
  • Limited opportunities for advancement
  • Limited alternatives if crops failed
25
Q

Purpose of fallow land

A
  • Nitrogen management
  • Wheat requires high nitrogen
  • After growing a crop, leave the field unplanted for a year or two to recover nutrition
  • Plants such as legumes, then oats/barley, then peas/beans fix nitrogen into the soil
  • Add manures to grow wheat
26
Q

Features of the early industrial revolution

A
  • New opportunities for employment - rural depopulation
  • Machinery in farming - more productivity but needs less labour
  • Towns become major market for surplus
  • More centralised taxation
  • Better infrastructure
27
Q

What is rough ploughing?

A
  • Breaks up surface for sowing seed
  • Uses oxen (so no fuel needed)
  • Simple plough - small metal blade so barely any mechanical inputs
28
Q

What changed when horses were used for ploughing?

A
  • Better plough technology
  • All metal, still one blade
  • Turns soil more uniformly
  • Furrows and drills allow weed management
29
Q

Ploughing once steam power became available

A
  • Dual engine
  • Winched systems
  • Suits bigger fields so hedgerows removed
  • Uniform and complete - big impact on weeds
  • Little soil compaction
30
Q

Modern tractor for ploughing

A
  • Highly mechanised - little labour
  • High input (fuel, machinery, etc)
  • Enormous fields
31
Q

Transport from mid 1800s onwards

A
  • Fast (due to trains)so can get fresh produce to markets faster
  • Bulk transport (across oceans)
  • Imports become viable for bulk dry goods
  • Specialist plantations worldwide
  • Grain produces cheaper in other countries causing competition with local farmers
  • Population no longer constrained by local food production
32
Q

Bulk dry goods

A 
Tobacco
Cotton
Tea
Sugar
Coffee
33
Q

The problem with easy transport?

A

Cheap imports -> collapse of local farming industry with land left unmanaged and skills lost -> complete reliance on imports -> vulnerable to crises

34
Q

Corn Laws overview

A
  • Government control of imports, exports and pricing
  • Protecting the UK farming sector by stabilising food supply and prices
  • Allowing the UK to maintain a degree of self-sufficiency
  • However, gives the government a lot of control over the agricultural industry
  • No import unless price exceeded threshold, to protect the local market and prevent excessive profiteering
35
Q

When was the Corn Laws act passed?

A

1773

although control to some extent from mid-1600s

36
Q

Repeal of Corn Laws

A 
1846
After the Irish potato famine
Removed to prevent unrest
However, cheap imports meant reduced farm incomes
UK wheat prices halved from 1825 to 1885
28% reduction in land used
37
Q

Government policy resulted in…

A
  • Big alterations in land use
  • Shift away from commodity crops
  • Focus towards high value rather than extensive crops: fruit, veg
  • “Market gardens” around major cities
38
Q

Wheat Act

A

1932

Some government intervention via payments to farmers to keep local wheat production viable

39
Q

WWII impacts on British agriculture

A
  • Not self-sufficient
  • Urgent need for staple crops
  • Ploughing of meadows
  • Enforced drainage
  • Promoted use of machinery
  • Promoted use of pesticides (maximise yield)
  • Promoted use of recognised varieties (reduced local varieties, depleted gene pool)
  • Big impact on biodiversity
40
Q

After WWII…

A
  • Mindset of self-sufficiency continued

- Agriculture Act

41
Q

Agriculture Act

A

1947
Price guarantees or “deficiency payments”
On cattle, sheep, milk, eggs, barley, wheat, oats, rye, potatoes, sugar beet, wool

42
Q

Problem with GDP and farming

A

If income from GDP is so variable, how can there be:
-Government interest in fixing issues
-Outside investment
-Long-term planning
-Conservation-minded activity
Do we maximise outputs, or minimise inputs?

The Ecology of Food Production and the Farmed Landscape (1 decks)

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