Population and the environment Flashcards
What are the 4 elements in the physical environment?
- climate
- soils
- water supply
- geology + other resource distributions
What does the environment have a clear relationship with?
Give an example of one of the chain of links
the environment has a clear relationship with population.
it is reciprocal, they affect each other
good climate - good food supply - higher pop - depletion of resources - desertification
what do the features of the physical environment affect?
- food production
- energy supplies
- settlement patterns
- human health
what does population size have an effect on in the natural physical environment?
- climate change
- pollution of water and land
- depletion of finite natural resources
the impact of climate on population (with example)
SAHARA DESERT (along the equator lead sot direct sunlight and av temp of 31º, sparse pop)
- different climates can drive the level and nature of diseases, malaria and ebola directly affect death rates and L.E
- needs adequate rainfall and temps suitable for growing crops (5º), sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis
the impact of soils on population (with example)
MOUNT KILAEUA, HAWAII (very rich volcanic soils, very fertile for planting)
- fertility of the soil is key (depends on acidity, texture)
- chemical fertilisers used in high pop densities but unsustainable outcomes (eutrophication, water pollution, GG emissions)
- rich volcanic soils are also prone to hazards which may negatively affect pop
the impact of water supply on population (with example)
RIVER NILE, EGYPT (95% of Egypt’s pop within 12 miles of the river)
- for human hydration and irrigation
- also affects sanitation and hygiene as well as in industries
the impact of geology on population (with example)
BYRRANGA MOUNTAINS, SIBERIA (mountains and majority siltstone so inhabitable)
- rocks which are able to be mined to produce energy
- fossil fuels and minerals attract pop
- sedimentary and easily erodible rocks lead to sparse pop as not necessarily safe to build on
- Concentrations of resources e.g. fossil fuels> industrialisation> densely populated area
explain the human context that affects population
- historical centres of population
- mineral and energy resource and trade factors
- migration
explain ‘historical centres of population’ on the population today
- the Middle East (oil), the yellow river, the ganges valley (fertile soils) all have continued to support increasing populations where conditions have remained conducive to thriving human communities
- the social, cultural and infrastructural capital of previous generations contributes wealth to subsequent ones
explain ‘mineral and energy resource and trade factors’ on the population today
- areas of dense pop occur through wealth generated from mineral and energy opportunities
- can be localised dense pops of mining communities or legacy settlements once a mineral has been exhausted (California’s 1849 goldrush)
explain ‘migration’ on the population today
- forced migration of millions from west Africa due to slavery has depopulated areas which now have a reduced population than they otherwise would
- transport of people through forced and voluntary migration to settlements on east coast of USA partially accounts for the dense pop on these seaboard locations
what are the 3 key population parameters?
distribution
density
numbers + change
explain the parameter: population distribution
- measured in people per km squared, where people are
- areas of the world with fewest people usually have harsh conditions such as hot and old deserts
- even with good climate doesn’t mean it is populated, other factors
explain the parameter: population density
- a measure of the intensity of human occupation of space
- goes fro extremely dense to extremely sparse at different scales
- even with extremely dense pops like Hong Kong there are sparse pop areas within, 8 hectares of HK park
- likely to change more rapidly than pop distribution, on a daily scale (commuters), seasonal period (resorts) and annual basis (migration)
explain the parameter: population numbers and change
- total number of people may stay the same but its proportional share of total pop may change.
- total numbers may stay the same, but the demography of a place may change. migration affecting age, skill, affluence
- London’s total pop hasn’t really changed but it has dropped from the world’s largest city, speed of growth of the overtaking urban areas
what is environmental determinism?
means that the environment shaped the nature of nations’ economy.
dismissed by most geographers as economic, political and social structures are seen to have an equal, if not greater influence.
what is the key role of development processes?
- industrial revolution in 18th and 19th century in Europe led to technological developments, areas can support a higher population
- rapid population growth and the process of development have had a largely negative impact on the environment itself.
How has the rate of population change changed?
- used to take hundreds of years to add a billion
- very big jump on the speed of pop growth after ww2, 33 years to add a billion
- from 2025 it is predicted to slow down to take 13-18 years to add a billion
- currently takes around 13 years to add a billion
explain the world’s population distribution
- very much along coastlines
- Europe has large pop for its size
- highest along tropic of cancer
- across cities
explain the world’s population density
- highest in Europe and East Asia (China, India, Indonesia) with roughly 200-300 people/km squared)
- polar regions have very low density
- majority of South America is low density
- highest density by far along coastlines
what is food security?
when all people at all times have have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life
What countries consume the most food?
USA and France have a daily calorie intake per capita of more than 3480 calories
What countries consume the least amount of food?
Central africa, e.g. democratic republic of Congo and chad.
The calorie intake varies within Africa with the highest intake generally in the north other than the anomalie of South Africa
- Undernourishment has decreased across the world since 1990, in all regions except for Africa, where it has steadily increased
what does food production depend on?
Both environmental and human variables.
- climate (water stress)
- technology
- pesticides
- soil
explain the reliance of climate (water stress) on food production
- tropical storms can destroy crops
- summer of extreme temps leads to crops failing
- having a lack of rainfall means that its difficult for plants to grow
- investing in a small scale irrigation system will improve water supply for crops
- having very heavy rainfall leads to flooding, floods the plants, dies
explain the reliance of technology on food production
- increased investment in biofuels means less land is used to produce crops for food
- having lots of machinery supports the development of agribusiness so can produce a lot of food
- TNC’s investing in tech to improve food processing and production
explain the reliance of pesticides on food production
- being able to buy pesticides means you can kill new pests, increasing food supply
- with climate change more and more weeds and pests migrating north into our country from the equator. we will suffer more and so need to buy more pesticides.
explain the reliance of soil on food production
- thin nutrient soils will lead to lower food production
- if there are high-nutrient soils it means it’ll be easier to produce crops and so will lead to higher production
- soils that suffer from soil erosion are less likely to support crops
which areas have the highest and lowest food security risk?
highest: central africa, Chad, DR Congo
lowest: North America, central europe
Generally the northern hemisphere have the lowest food security risk.
what is link between for production and food security?
Areas with a high food production tend to have a lower security risk. Anomalie of Eastern Africa which has a high food production but still having food security risk. Perhaps it is because large TNC’s invest and produce a lot of food but then sell it to foreign markets.
how much of the world is employed directly or indirectly in food production?
28% of the world’s population
2 billion people
what do countries eat more as they get richer?
they eat more meat. the amount of grains consumed are falling. these foods are more resource-intensive to produce compared to plant-based diets
why is meat so resource-intensive?
- animals consume a lot of water for the amount of meat they produce, one pound of beef demands 1799 gallons of water
- the larger the animal’s body mass, the more is inedible material like bone, skin and tissue
what type of system is agriculture?
an open system.
inputs include physical, human and economic factors that determine the type of farming in an area, eg. precipitation, knowledge and farm size
processes are the activities carried out to tun inputs to outputs
outputs are the products from the farm, e.g the compost you produce
explain the physical, cultural, economic inputs in a farm
physical- temperature, precipitation, soil type
cultural- rent, farm size
economic- fertilisers/pesticides, market
what are the processes on a farm?
- ploughing
- weeding
- milking
what are the losses on a farm?
- soil erosion and leaching of soil nutrients
- hazards such as drought, crop disease
- change in demand
give three outputs that can return into inputs
- seeds
- compost
- profits
what is fodder?
a type of animal feed, is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats and sheep
what is silage?
grass or other green fodder compacted and stored in airtight conditions, typically in a silo without first being dried, and used as animal feed in the winter
what are the 5 environmental factors influencing agriculture?
1) temperature
- in the UK growing season is 3 months, mean temp of 6º required
2) precipitation
- determines water supply
- extended drought in Africa leads to famine
3) wind
- restricts cultivation of grain crops
4) soil quality
- factors such as depth, pH and mineral content and vulnerability to leaching
- influence crop production by their supply or deficit of soil moisture, in the UK potatoes fail if soil acidity falls to less than pH 4
5) relief
- altitude, angle of slope and aspect
- in the UK, the upper limit for hay and potatoes is 300m and more than 11 degrees becomes impractical for safe ploughing
what are the 7 types of farming?
commercial subsistence arable pastoral mixed intensive extensive
what is commercial farming?
the growing of crops/rearing of livestock to make a profit. common in most countries.
money invested back into farm
what is subsistence farming?
where there is just sufficient food produced to provide for the farmer’s own family
what is arable farming?
involves the growing of crops
what is pastoral farming?
involves the rearing of livestock
what is mixed farming?
involves a combination of arable and pastoral farming
- most common form in the Uk as it takes advantage of our easily worked soil
- mos productieve as high prices can be received from both crops and animal produce
- temperature can’t be extreme, must be able to sustain both crops and animals
what is intensive farming?
where the farm size is small in comparison with the large amount of labour, inputs of capital, fertilisers, etc. which are required
can either be capital intensive: more machinery so less people employed, output high per hectare and per worker
or
labour intensive: many people, output high per hectare but low per worker
what is extensive farming?
where the size of a farm is very large in comparison to the inputs of money, labour etc. needed
- hill sheep farming in the UK
- low inputs of labour, machinery and capital
what is agribusiness?
involves the large corporate organisation of farming- often farms are run for profit maximisation and economy of scale
what is an example for the use of subsistence farming?
tribes in the Guiana highlands of Venezuela clear a small area of rainforest by burning dried vegetation in order to produce fertile ash and then cultivate the plot for 3-5 years
what is GAFSP?
the global agriculture and food security program is a demand-led multilateral mechanism dedicated to fighting hunger, malnutrition and poverty in developing nations. it supports sustainable agriculture.
why does Africa have the highest food security risk?
- don’t have the money to invest in sustainable ways of production
- tough climate
- corrupt government
how can global food security be improved?
- using science and technology, help produce more food
- distributing food better, not distributed well due to turning corn into ethanol, wastage, all food divided by the population equally would be more than enough
- support local food systems, critical to help due to global food markets, keep farmers and farms around the cities, sell at farmers markets
- regulation and government policy in order to promote more sustainable farming
what are the two key strategies for ensuring food security (explained)
1) increase food production- Singapore have introduced rooftop farms, Comcrop’s 600-square-metre farm on the roof of one of its malls uses vertical racks and grows herbs like basil and peppermint to sell to local restaurants, bars and stores, not enough room to plant otherwise
2) improving post-harvest practises- the UNDP developed seed storage facility in Myanmar to help this. 14 metallic silos so seeds don’t decay and infested from birds/rodents. Post-harvest losses here are at 20%.
what was the green revolution?
began in the mid 20th century where we saw a great increase in agriculture production which allowed many countries to develop new, high-yielding varieties. the earliest dramatic successes were in Mexico and the Indian subcontinent. the new varieties required a lot of fertilisers to produce their high yields which caused economic and environmental concern
what is the gene revolution?
a phase following the green revolution where agricultural biotechnology was heavily implemented. introduced the development of GM crops across the world. some say this is the only way forward for our growing population, climate change and drought. it is a way for poorer nations to stay afloat in the highly competitive global economy. with jus tone new strain of wheat, crop production levels were able to triple in two decades. more predictable production than in the 1940s.
what are 5 factors that affect climate?
- altitude
- prevailing winds
- ocean currents
- latitude
- tilt of the earth
how is agricultural productivity measured?
this is the measure of the economic performance of agriculture.
typical measured in terms of yield:
- how many kilograms of grain per hectare
- kilograms of meat per animal
- litres of milk per cow
Measure of productivity is total factor productivity (TFP)
what is the difference in situation in tropical monsoon climates and polar tundra climates?
Tropical monsoon
- mainly situated along equator due to warm and humid conditions
- over half of the world’s pop live in over 21 asian countries affected by seasonal monsoon winds.
Polar tundra
- northern hemisphere, around the poles
- regions with polar climate cover more than 20% of the climate
what is the difference in the importance of tropical monsoon climates and polar tundra climates?
tropical monsoon
- if importance were to be measured by the number of people affected, then the tropical monsoon climate would be the most important in the world
polar tundra
- not as big importance due to much lower population
- tundra and ice cap regions of polar climates cover more than 20% of the earth
what are the effects of climate change on agriculture?
- wildfires, destruction of crops
- droughts, death of crops, affect those on subsistence farming
- storms, increased frequency and strength, drown crops
- extreme temperatures, causing deaths
- the ability to grow crops we would’ve otherwise had to import
how has climate change threatened India’s monsoons?
one of their leading meteorologist says the “days of long duration rains are almost gone”
- failure of the monsoon has already reduced food output by 20%
- ministers reduced the country’s growth projection this year just under 2% as drought hits crops throughout the country
- in Maharashtra crop yields fell by more than 40%
what is CSA?
Climate smart agriculture is an integrative approach to address the interlinked challenges related to food security and climate change through:
1) Economic means by sustainably increasing agricultural productivity, to support increases in farm incomes, food scurry and development
2) Social change by adapting the resilience of agriculture land food security systems to climate change
3) environmental means by reducing GG emissions from agriculture
why is the Asia-pacific region at particular risk from climate change?
- forest adaptation in their region for their large ecosystems
- economy, industry of agriculture and forestry
- struggling to cope with current climate variability like tropical cyclones
