SG 10

Question 1

Define agriculture. Distinguish between croplands and rangelands. How long have humans practiced agriculture?

Answer 1

Practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock.

Cropland- Crops mixed with other land uses.

Rangelands- Grazing lands, minimal crops and forests.

Origins >10,000 years ago

Question 2

Describe the composition of soil and the importance of soil as an ecosystem. Recognize that soil is a renewable
resource if not depleted faster than it is formed.

Answer 2

Color
Black or dark high in organic matter

Texture - measure of the workability
Determined by size of particle

Structure - measure of the porosity

Larger spaces - water moves too fast

Smaller spaces - harder for water and
air to pass

pH - neutral with moderate variations

Loam

Meets the definition of an ecosystem Disintegrated rock (>1/2)
Pore space
Organic matter
Living and nonliving
Water
Gases
Nutrients
Provides habitat

Question 3

What are considered the three key causes of soil degradation?

Answer 3

Water erosion
Wind erosion
Chemical degradation

Question 4

Define erosion. How does it occur? What are common causes of erosion? How do the rates of erosion due to
human activities compare to the natural background rate?

Answer 4

Breakdown and removal of material from one place and its transport to another.

Overcultivating or excessive tilling
Overgrazing
Removing plant cover
Clearing forests on steep slopes or large clear-cuts

Human activities much higher

Question 5

What is desertification? Where does it take generally take place and what are some of its causes?

Answer 5

…is land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry
subhumid areas resulting from various factors,
including climatic variations and human activities.”

Question 6

Describe the Dust Bowl and the resulting early soil conservation efforts.

Answer 6

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Question 7

How does overgrazing take place? Describe the positive feedback loops that overgrazing sets in motion leading

to further degradation of soils and grasslands.

Answer 7

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Question 8

Recognize that overgrazing has been considered the leading cause of desertification and that more than 1/2 of the

world’s rangelands are considered moderately or severely degraded. How can better livestock management (e.g.,

holistic herd management) lead to restoration of these lands and why?

Answer 8

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Question 9

Describe how each of the following cropping strategies help to maintain soil health: crop rotation, contour

farming, inter or multicropping, cover crops, terracing, shelterbelts, no or low till farming.

Answer 9

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Question 10

Define irrigation. What percentage of freshwater does this practice consume globally? What are the positive and

negative impacts of irrigation?

Answer 10

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Question 11

How efficient are current methods of irrigation? Describe how water productivity can be increased?

Answer 11

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Question 12

Describe waterlogging and salinization. Be able to distinguish between them and how they take place? What

sustainable practices can be adopted to avoid waterlogging and salinization?

Answer 12

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Question 13

Distinguish between organic and inorganic fertilizers? Discuss the positive and negative impacts of their use.

Answer 13

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Question 14

Define pest and pesticide. Describe the problems that have arisen with their use.

Answer 14

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Question 15

Describe how pests evolve resistance to pesticides.

Answer 15

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Question 16

Define integrated pest management (IPM) and be able to briefly describe its approaches. Recognize that chemical

pesticides are essentially considered a last resort.

Answer 16

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Question 17

Describe the importance of pollinators to agriculture. How have their populations been affected by conventional

agriculture practices? How can farmers and the public encourage the growth in populations of pollinators?

Answer 17

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Question 18

How are genetic engineering and traditional breeding of crops similar? How are they different?

Answer 18

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Question 19

What types of genes have been transferred into food crops (e.g., what traits have been transferred)?

Answer 19

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Question 20

Where are GE crops most prevalent? What are the leading GE crops in the US?

Answer 20

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Question 21

What are some of the concerns regarding GE crops? Understand how and why the debate regarding their use

involves more than science.

Answer 21

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Question 22

Why is preserving crop diversity important? How does conventional agriculture affect crop biodiversity? Where

and what steps have been taken to protect crop biodiversity?

Answer 22

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Question 23

What are concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)? Discuss the environmental and public health

impacts of CAFOs.

Answer 23

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Question 24

Describe the impact of the livestock sector on global warming and climate change. Recognize how the various

greenhouse gases are produced (e.g., carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane) and their significance.

Answer 24

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Question 25

Describe feeding and husbandry practices on CAFOs or factory farms. Know the importance of the overuse of

antibiotics and its impact on public health and environment.

Answer 25

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Question 26

Describe how our food choices are also our energy choices. Which products produce the least impact on the use

of water, land, GHG and nutrient pollution? What product produces the greatest impact?

Answer 26

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Question 27

What is aquaculture?

Answer 27

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Question 28

Describe the benefits of aquaculture and how it can be practiced sustainably.

Answer 28

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Question 29

Describe the negative impacts of aquaculture. What types of farmed fish have the greatest negative

environmental impacts and why?

Answer 29

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Question 30

Compare and contrast sustainable versus industrial or conventional agriculture. Use examples to support your

answers and demonstrate your understanding of key terms used.

Answer 30

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Question 31

Recognize the USDA criteria for certification of organic crops and livestock.

Answer 31

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Question 32

Describe how organic or sustainable agriculture has been growing and compare its yields to that of conventional

agriculture. Discuss why is it important to consider other factors (e.g., soil biodiversity, nutrient and moisture

content; multi-cropping; antibiotic resistance, pesticides and other toxicity issues) in addition to yields when

making a comparison between conventional with sustainable/organic agriculture?

Answer 32

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Question 33

How might climate change affect crop yields and livestock? What agricultural approaches can help mitigate

climate change? What role can healthy soils play?

Answer 33

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