🟣Population And Environement - Farming And Soils Flashcards
Intensive farming
A high amount of inputs are put into these systems so that outputs are maximised.
LICS - Labour Intensive, where huge amounts of man power are put into the system to maximise output.
HICS - Capital Intensive, where huge amounts of money for resources and technology are put into the systems to maximise outputs.
Extensive farming
This farming uses large areas of land with low inputs and outputs per unit area of land.
Commercial farming
Produce is reared or grown for sale. Ranges from small family farms to huge TNC backed farming corporations.
Subsistence farming
Food is grown largely for the consumption by people growing it with little or no surplus for sale
Arable farming
The growth of crops (eg. barley, wheat, cotton, rice)
Pastoral farming
The rearing of animals for their milk, eggs, skins and meats
Mixed farming
Combination of growing crops and keeping animals
Farming physical inputs
Temperature
Soil type/fertility
Precipitation
Topography of the land
Seasonal variation
Farming human inputs
Workers / labour
Technology - irrigation systems
Any machinery
Expertise
Addition of pesticides
Farming processes
Adding fertiliser
Grazing
Harvesting
Milking
Ploughing
Farming outputs
Fruit
Cereal crops
Meat
Fish
Marker garden crops
Other animal products
Extensive farming
The amount of labour and capital are small in relation to the amount of land being farmed (extensive grain cultivation USA/AUS)
Intensive farming
The amount of labour is high even if the capital is low in relation to the area being farmed (eg. Wet rice cultivation)
Temperature effect on crop farming
10-36 degrees C = optimum
Extremes of temperature can kill the plant
The higher the temperature the more water is lost = plants can shrivel and die (transpiration)
Water supply effect on farming
Amount, reliability, frequency and intensity of rainfall
Photosynthesis
Translocation of nutrients and ions and sugars
Different amounts of water determin which species will thrive (eg. Rice = lots of water required)
Lots of water - fruits swell and split
Humid = increase fungal diseases
Irregular water supply - problems
Keeps structure of plant
Artificial ways to control water and temperature for crops
Fertilisers
Irrigation = drainage
Crop choice
Aeroponics
Hydroponics
Greenhouses - control temperatures / polytunnels / sprinkler systems
Polar farming locations
Northern and southern extremes
Populated areas - Alaska / Northern extremes of Asia / Iceland / Greenland / Canada / Norway / Sweden / Finland / Russia
Arctic and Antarctic circles (above 66.5 degrees N/S of the equator)
Polar farming climate characteristics
Extremely cold / 10 months below freezing / long and cold winter / short summer - just above freezing / low precipitation (snow) / frozen ground - permafrost
Polar regions main activities
Land based agriculture - herding reindeer (Arctic Europe / Norway / Sweden), hunting reindeer in North USA / Canada. Modifies arable framing - Tim Meyers
Adventure based tourism
Fishing
Mineral extraction - willow project oil
Polar farming - Low productivity due to albedo
The high albedo: In areas of continuous snow cover, much of the incoming solar radiation is reflected off the ice/snow surface. This reduces the amount that can actually contribute to the warming of the atmosphere.
Polar farming - Low productivity due to high pressure
The high pressure systems of polar regions means that frontal systems rarely penetrate these areas, giving low levels of precipitation.
Polar farming - Low productivity due to katabatic winds
Katabatic winds: In Antarctica, masses of cold dense air flow down the valleys and off upland areas. Such movements are known as katabatic and are strong in Antarctica where there is a real difference between the interior and coastal areas. With few obstacles to hinder air movement, such winds can exceed 200 km/hr.
Polar farming - Low productivity due to frozen ground
Cold temperatures - link to permafrost. Soil is covered in ice throughout the year. Plants (lichen / moss) survive the harsh conditions.
What is albedo?
The amount of energy that is reflected by a surface is determined by the reflectivity of
that surface, called the albedo. A high albedo means the surface reflects the majority
of the radiation that hits it and absorbs the rest.
Polar farming - nomadic pastoralism
Livestock are herded in order to seek for fresh pastures on which to graze, they follow irregular patterns of movement and seasonal changes.
Polar farming - seasonal changes to farming patterns
Reindeer herding and breeding, moving herd to the shelter of coniferous forests on lower slopes in winter forage for ground lichen under the snow and trees. Higher mountains for lichen grazing in the summer.
Polar farming case study nomadic pastoralism
Sami communities in Northen Scandinavia use nomadic pastoralism.
The Sami reindeer industry has specific seasons for calving, marking, counting, castrating and slaughtering.
Polar farming - nomadic pastoralism challenges
Disease - Reindeer herders become more vulnerable to diabetes, mental illness if they stop moving.
Habitat changes for reindeer - Lichen may be outcompeted, may not grow as much
Accidents - Thinning ice, falling and drowning in water
Reindeer important for mitigation - Reindeer grazing slows melting of snow
Sami culture threatened - Traditional way of life threatened due to GW and climate change
Polar farming arable case study
Tim Meyers, Alaska
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta on the west coat in the Alaska (US). Mostly Tundra.
25,000 residents. City of bethel = 6,219 population.
Bethel surrounded by 49 smaller villages with the largest village contains 1,000 people.
Very isolated area - travel is by bush plan, river boats, snow machines.
Arable fafrming - mostly root vegetables (spinach/cabbage/rhubarb/cauliflower)
Polar farming - arable climate limitations
Short growing season / permafrost / snow cover in winter / low temperature / blizzard / low precipitation.
Due to climate = short growing season / poor soil
Polar farming - arable farming methods
Arable farming - root vegetables
Composting / irrigation / field preparation / seeding
Polar farming - sustainability of arable farming
Seeding - underground in heated space or polytunnels.
Compost - organic fish slurry -now uses mainly chicken manure in winter - brings biological life to the soil.
Raised beds and tunnels mitigate cold temperatures and short growing season.
Underground root cellar extends lifespan of the harvest.
Fields are prepped over a 2 year period - Tundra is cleared allowing the soil to thaw and slurry/manure added and then planting can take place
How do monsoons / monsoon season impact human activities
Agriculture is massively impacted by the monsoon, rainfall levels make rice growth possible and the green revolution has added a second artificial monsoon to allow double cropping each year.
Rice production fluctuates year to year depending on the monsoon strength and frequency.
Diseases breed in bodes of water made my monsoons and rains - malaria and dengue cases increase.
A weak monsoon resulted in a large GDP loss in India - 1987, also effected Afghanistan and The Philippines, damaged livestock and crops due to less rainfall, winter crops were harvested in lower amounts causing malnutrition amongst many.
How do higher temperatures impact agriculture
Scientific research shows that the climate - that is, the average temperature of the planet’s surface - has risen by 0.89 °C from 1901 to 2012. Compared with climate change patterns throughout Earth’s history, the rate of temperature rise since the Industrial Revolution is extremely high.
How does changing rainfall impact agriculture
There have been observed changes in precipitation, but not all areas have data over long periods. Rainfall has increased in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere since the beginning of the 20th century. There are also changes between seasons in different regions. For example, the UK’s summer rainfall is decreasing on average, while winter rainfall is increasing. There is also evidence that heavy rainfall events have become more intensive, especially over North America.
How do changes in nature impact agriculture
Changes in the seasons (such as the UK spring starting earlier, autumn starting later) are bringing changes in the behaviour of species, for example, butterflies appearing earlier in the year and birds shifting their migration patterns.
How do rising sea levels impact agriculture
Since 1900, sea levels have risen by about 10 cm around the UK and about 19 cm globally, on average. The rate of sea-level rise has increased in recent decades.
How have retreating glaciers impacted agriculture
Glaciers all over the world - in the Alps, Rockies, Andes, Himalayas, Africa and Alaska - are melting and the rate of shrinkage has increased in recent decades.
How has sea ice and melting ice sheets impacted agriculture
Arctic sea-ice has been declining since the late 1970s, reducing by about 4%, or 0.6 million square kilometres (an area about the size of Madagascar) per decade. At the same time Antarctic sea-ice has increased, but at a slower rate of about 1.5% per decade.
The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, which between them store the majority of the world’s fresh water, are both shrinking at an accelerating rate.
Soil functions
Carbon sink
Outermost layer of the earths crust
Pedesphere
Acts as a separator between biosphere and lithophere
1/32 of the earths surface is available for soil and food production
Food security dependant on it
Foundation of plant life
Habitat of thousands of organisms
Important regulator of water
Vegetation and soil link
Determions the amount of nutrients getting recycled back into the soil as it provides the dead matter that decomposes are able to break down. High vegetation content means that more nutrients will be returned into the soil making it more fertile. The acids released by the roots of some plants act to breakdown the rock on which the soil is forming.
Climate and soil link
Increased rainfall can lead to flooding which can decrease productivity and can leach them out. Organic matter decomposes faster in warm, humid climates and slower in cool, dry climates
Organisms and soil link
Decomposers assist in breakdown of organic matter, dead organisms provide nutrients, mix nutrients within the soil.
Topography and soil link
Impacts how compact the soil will be and the steeper the slope the faster the run off and thinner the soil due to gravity.
