Population and the Environment Flashcards
When has exponential growth occurred since?
1950
What are the 2 key patterns of population change?
Population is growing in most countries in the world except from a couple in Eastern Europe
Population growth in Africa is significantly greater than elsewhere
How fast is population growth in Africa?
Over 2% a year
What is the rough growth of population globally?
Between 0.5%-1.5%
Which country is the poorest on the planet?
Niger
Which country has the highest fertility rate in the world, what is the value?
Niger- nearly 7 births per woman
What are the reasons for such a high birth rate in Niger?
Increasing droughts in the past 50 years ( 200mm a year)
Underdeveloped infrastructure
High dependence on subsistence farming
Cultural norms
How many people globally are undernourished? Where are they located?
1 in 9 people are chronically undernourished
2/3 of those are in Asia
Which continents have enough farmland to provide the food they need?
Europe, North America, Australasia
Which Millennium Development Goal links to food?
By 2015 they aimed to halve the proportion of people living in hunger. They nearly met it by 2015.
What proportion of global food is wasted?
1/3 of all food produced is wasted
What two reasons are the major causes of an increase in levels of obesity?
Increase in intake of energy-dense foods, with lots high in salt, fat and sugar
Increase in sedentary lifestyle due to work and lesuire activities changing
What 4 things are trying to be done to reduce levels of obesity in the UK?
Reduce the non-saturated fat, sugar and salt content of processed foods
Ensure that healthy and nutritious options are available to all
Restricting marketing of non-nutritional foods
Support regular physical activities in the workspace
How many people are employed in food production?
2 billion of the global population, directly or indirectly
What are the inputs of an agricultural system?
Climate Relief Soil fertility Drainage Labour Machinery Energy
What are the 2 major processes of an agricultural system?
Growing crops
Rearing livestock
What are the 3 major outputs of an agricultural system?
Crops
Livestock
Livestock products
Give 3 feedbacks in an agricultural system
Profit for reinvestment
Manure for fertiliser
Hay and silage for fodder
How does temperature impact agriculture?
Temperature dictates the length of the growing season, ie. temperate environments a growing season exceeding 3 months is required
How does precipitation impact agriculture?
Matters on a seasonal distribution level. Impacts growth rate of plants. Is the most vital factor.
How does wind impact agriculture?
High winds and increased storm frequency reduce cultivation of grain crops.
How does soil impact agriculture?
Soil influence crop supply by their supply or deficit of soil moisture and type/availability of nutrients.
What is arable farming?
The farming of cereal and root crops, on flatter land where soil quality is better
What is pastoral farming?
The farming of livestock, which can be subsistence or commercial based