Population and the Environment Flashcards
What are the physical factors that affect the environment?
Climate (affects agriculture)
Soils (determine agricultural productivity)
Resources (clean water supply)
Global Population Patterns
Pop. rapidly increasing since 1960’s, expected to reach 9 billion by 2050
Stayed below 1 billion people until 1804
What percentage of the Population currently live in Urban areas
55%
What percentage of the population lives in the northern hemisphere?
90%
What is the population expected to be in 2050?
9 Billion
Rate of Population Change
In mid-1900’s the majority of the population growth was concentrated in HIC’s. But now, they have the lowest growth rates, some are even in decline
LIC/NEE’s have the highet growth
Developments in food production
Green Revolution - Process of developing technologies in the 50’s and 60’s in order to maximise farming yields usually from the advancements made to staple crops .
Green revolution helps to feed approx 1 billion people
Food Production
Tripled globally in the last 50 years (Green Revolution) due to improvements to farming production and machinery
Crop Yields are especially hish in eastern Asia, North America and Europe
Some areas have poor production due to climate conditions e.g Russia
Production is unevenly distributed
Food Consumption
Globally increased over time, higher population consuing more food
On average, 1750 kcals per day
Lower income countries consume less than high income countries
Approx what percentage of Africa’s population is affected by food insecurity?
27%
Agricultural Systems - Inupts
Climate
Soil
Location
Pollination
Farming
Labour
Seeds
Agricultural System - Processes
Planting Seeds
Harvesting
Breeding
Tending to Livestock
Agricultural Systems - Outputs
Crops
Animal Products
Losses in Natural Disasters
Agricultural Productivity
Amout of useful outputs in proportion to the inputs
High Productivity means high yields with relatively low inputs
Types of agricultural systems
Extensive - lower labor in relation to land, low outputs
Intensive - high inputs produce highest possible outputs usually use machinery
Commercial - Provide yields which can be produced commercially
Subsistence - Self - Sufficient farming
Factors affecting an Agricultural Systems Productivity
Climate (Precipitation, temperature, humidity, winds)
Soils
How Climate Change affects Agriculture
Most of climate change is detrimental to agriculture, some areas experience benefits however
- More natural disaster events decrease productivity
-Desertification leads to decreased land fertility
-Soil Erosion is expected to increase
- Sea level rises causes flooding
-Plant diseases are expected to increase
Soil Problems (SD,WE,SD)
Soil Degredation (due to water)
Wind Erosion - loss of top layer due to lack of soil structure or high winds, prevalent in dry climates, ploughing and tilling can weaken soil
Structural Deterioration - can be caused due to heavy machinery, pressure on soil decrease pore space which means oxygen and water can’t enter, may occur due to cattle
Soil Problems p2
Waterlogging - Oversaturation of the soils, no more oxygen present, can occur due to irrigation
Salinisation - Water table rises meaning salt brought to soil surface, after water evaportaes the salt is left,
Desertification - Soils become arid usually due to climate change
Management of Soil Problems
Crop rotations
Wind Breaks via afforestation
Drip irrigation to reduce waterlogging
Food Security
Available, accessible and affordible food supplies
Strategies to ensure food security
Increasing access - Trade Blocs (e.g NAFTA), aid or relief after a disaster
Increasing Amount - Green Revolution (60’s), teaching farming techniques e.g Uganda, for HIC gentically modified crops
Increasing farm efficiency
Health, Mortality and Morbidity
Can be measured by the mortality rate (Amount of deaths over time ususally by 1000) and disease prevaluence
Global patterns of Health
Usually better in High Income countries, HIC’s also usually spend more money on health which often correlates to the higher life expectancy.
Global patterns of Morbidity
In regards to disease, Non-Communicable are usually more common in HIC’s while Communicable diseases are more common in LIC’s
Diseases of lifestyle are more common in HIC’s for example lung cancer via smoking or Coronary Heart Disease
Epidemiological Transition
How death or disease changes over time as a society becomes more developed
- Pestilence and Famine = infectious disease, pandemics, high mortality
- Receding Pandemics = tech advances, advances in medicine, better hygiene, less infectious disease
- Degenerative and man-made disease = diseases of affluence, infectious diseases are low