Test 2 Flashcards
10/21
How has the US tried dealing with food and hunger?
Machinery, modified seeds, irrigation systems, chemicals
Strong emphasis on yield and productivity
How has Burkina Faso tried dealing with food and hunger?
Efficient use of natural resources in farming: water capture, small scale agriculture, little reliance on chemicals
Green Revolution
Occurred in the 50’s and 60’s
Focus by Westerners to help developing countries address hunger and food insecurity
Successfully increased crop yields
Norman Borlaug
Helped develop new varieties of agricultural products in the Green Revolution
What are some critiques of the Green Revolution?
Forced poor farmers to rely on chemicals
Drove farmers off their land that couldn’t afford the new tech
Concerns about water availability to support crops
Chronic Undernutrition
When people can’t grow or buy enough food to support their basic energy needs, negatively impacting their ability to live a healthy, productive life
Malnourishment
Nutritional Imbalance
Caused by lack of specific dietary components or inability to absorb nutrients
Macronutrients vs Micronutrients
Carbs, proteins, fats VS vitamins and minerals
Vitamin A
Helps with eyesight
Too little = blindness
Iron
Helps transport oxygen through blood
Too little = anemia
Iodine
Helps regulate metabolism and development
Too little = stunted growth and thyroid problems
Food Security
The ability to obtain plentiful and nutritious food on a daily basis
Food Deserts
Areas that lack access to nutritious foods like fresh produce
Food Swamps
Areas that have an overabundance of processed foods via convenience stores and fast food
What are some organizations in the Binghamton area trying to address food insecurity?
Chow, Food Pantry, vines, Bing Food Rescue, Food Bank of the Southern Tier
What are the 3 key food sources?
Wheat, rice, and corn
What trends can we see with meat production?
Global consumption of meat has doubled since the 60’s
US is the second largest producer of meat products (first is China, mainly for pork)
What are CAFOs? What are the concerns associated with them?
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
Zoonotic disease, antibiotic resistance, waste runoff, fecal contamination, greenhouse gasses
What trends can be seen with seafood production?
Shift from fisheries to aquaculture
Fishery
Commercial harvesting of wild aquatic species
What are the three types of fishing techniques?
Trawling: large net across seafloor
Purse-seine Fishing: encircling fish with a net
Long-Lining: lines with baited hooks used to catch tuna, halibut, cod, etc.
What are some problems associated with capture fisheries?
Bi-catch: unwanted fish being collected by nets and dying
Destruction of ocean floor habitats by trawling
Overfishing: not giving populations enough time to recover before fishing again
What is aquaculture? What are some concerns associated with it? What are some innovations to address those concerns?
Farming fish
Waste, relying on wild fish to feed farmed fish, disease spread
Used tide to disperse waste, using less wild fish in the food for farmed fish, using cameras to track food dispersal
What are farm subsidies? What are some concerns with them?
Government support for farmers, often through money
Funding tends to go to bigger farms with larger yields, which have bigger environmental impacts
What is a soil conservation program?
When the government pays farmers to take some of their land out of agriculture to prevent soil erosion and allow nutrient build up
What is soil?
A complex mixture of rocks, minerals/nutrients, decaying organic matter, water, air, and living organisms
Supports plant/animal life
What are the 3 different particle sizes in soil?
Sand, silt, and clay
What is soil texture determined by?
The percentage, usually by weight, of each type of soil particle present
What type of soil is best for plant growth? Why?
Loam: 40 sand, 40 silt, 20 clay
Allows water to pass through at an ideal rate
What is a soil profile? What are the layers in order from youngest to oldest?
The sequence of horizontal layers of soil, with the youngest at the top
Organic, topsoil, subsoil, parent material, bedrock
Organic Layer
Decomposed plant/animal material
Lots of carbon
Topsoil
Mineral soil from the plant material
Some organic matter
Subsoil
Mostly inorganic, broken down rock
Lots of clay
Parent material
Weathered rock on which soil is built
Sand, silt, bedrock, etc.
How does the carbon cycle work?
Moves through and is stored in land/soil, living things like plants, water/ocean, and the atmosphere
How does carbon move back and forth between the atmosphere and other things?
Photosynthesis (air to plants)
Cellular Respiration (living things to air)
How have humans altered the carbon cycle?
Releasing historically stored carbon back into the atmosphere
Burning fossil fuels, deforestation, tilling too often
What two nutrients do plants need for growth?
Nitrogen and Phosphorus
Where is the majority of Nitrogen?
In the atmosphere, of which it makes up about 78%
How do plants capture Nitrogen?
Lightning strikes
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil or attached to their root nodules
Where is the majority of Phosphorus?
Phosphate ions contained in rocks
How do phosphate ions get released from rocks?
Being dissolved by water that’s running over the rock
What is eutrophication?
When runoff from farms deposits excessive amounts of nutrients into water bodies, leading to dense plant growth, a lack of oxygen in the water, and the death of animal life
What is erosion? Why is it a problem with conventional farming?
When the topsoil is moved away by wind or water
Overturning = exposing soil and losing top layers of it faster
Why do farmers till their land?
To distribute air and moisture throughout the soil so seeds can grow better
Can be problematic if done too often
What was the Dust Bowl?
Overtilling of land + severe droughts + wind = dust storms
Intensified the Great Depression and led to migration westward
Left millions of acres of farmland useless
What were the effects of the Dust Bowl on agriculture?
Creation of Soil Erosion Service and Prairie States Forestry Project
Both dedicated to preventing soil erosion
What is excessive irrigation?
When farmers pump too much water out of the ground to water their crops
What are the effects of excessive irrigation?
Soil Salinization: accumulation of salt in upper layers of soil = stunted plant growth
Waterlogging: accumulation of underground water = rising water table = dead plants
What do the different kinds of pesticides target?
Insecticides = insects, herbicides = weeds, fungicides = fungi, rodenticides = rodents
What are the advantages of synthetic pesticides?
Customizable purpose, effective, improve crop yields and quality, expand food supply, affordable (in US)
What are the disadvantages of synthetic pesticides?
Genetic resistance if overused, non-target organisms may be impacted, residue on produce, health concerns for people spraying, pesticide drift, environmental pollution
How can we restore soil according to Zelikova?
Feed the microbes (increase the diversity of life in the soil)
Leads to more carbon in the soil, which can: serve as a carbon sink and lead to better water infiltration, retention, and higher nutrient content
How can we conserve topsoil?
Terracing, Contour Planting, Strip-cropping with a cover crop, Alley cropping/Agroforestry
Terracing vs Contour Planting
Converting a sloped piece of land into broad terraces vs planting perpendicular to a sloped piece of land
Both help prevent water erosion
Strip-cropping with a cover crop
Planting every other row of crops with a nitrogen-fixing cover crop such as clover
This acts as a natural fertilizer and keeps more soil covered
Alley Cropping
AKA Agroforestry
Planting trees between rows of crops to create a wind break, prevent soil erosion (trees have dense root structures), and encourage biodiversity by creating habitats for birds
How can we restore soil fertility?
Organic (carbon-based) fertilizers such as animal/green manure and compost
Crop Rotation: switching out the crops you’re planting and/or area you’re planting on
Biological Controls
Using a living thing such as natural predators, parasites, or disease-causing bacteria and viruses to address pest problems
What are some potential problems with Biological Controls?
Can’t control the population, risk that the biological control becomes the pest, difficult to apply/mass produce, time lags
Integrated Pest Management
Crops and pests are evaluated as part of the ecosystem
Trying biological and cultivation (crop rotation) controls before using small amounts of synthetic pesticides
Hydroponics
Growing plants without soil by exposing their roots to a nutrient-rich water solution
What are the benefits of Hydroponics?
Can happen year-round, water conservation, no runoff, efficient light, no chemicals, repurposing abandoned spaces
What is a major drawback of Hydroponics?
Needing a lot of electricity to power the lights
Aquaponic System
Like hydroponics, but adds fish into the system
Waste from the fish is used to help the plants grow
Organic Agriculture
Uses integrated pest management to promote biodiversity and nutrient cycles without the use of chemicals like hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and/or genetic modification
What are some ways to promote sustainable agriculture in your local community?
Buying local (supports the local economy and reduces the amount of greenhouse gases needed for transportation)
Participating in community-supported agriculture (CSAs)
The Food System
Production (growing, harvesting, packing), processing, distribution, marketing, purchasing, consumption, waste
What environmental factors influence a farmer’s decision to crop a certain crop?
Climate, soil types, plant and animal species, plant diseases
What economic/financial factors influence a farmer’s decision to crop a certain crop?
Cost of seed, regulation costs, profit loss from environmental pressures, harvesting costs, marketing and transportation costs, market value, agreements with companies
What social factors influence a farmer’s decision to crop a certain crop?
Demand for product, origin or DNA modifications, nutritional profile, quality, appearance, taste
Overall Consumer Interests
Crossbreeding
Combining two sexually compatible species to create a variety of a crop with the desired traits of the parents
Occurs over several years through trial and error
What is an example of a crop created through crossbreeding?
Galaxy Suite: tomato with a variety of colors, textures, and flavors
Created to please customers (social goals)
Transgenesis
Genetic Engineering and GMOs
Adding new genes (from any species) to the genome of a plant
Must be done in a lab
New crop has about 1 to 4 new genes
What is an example of a crop created using transgenesis?
Purple tomato: higher antioxidant levels and longer shelf life
Created to influence nutritional value and quality (social goals)
Gene editing
Changing the genome within a particular organism using enzymes like CRISPR
What is CRISPR
A protein from a bacteria that is able to edit the DNA of other organisms
Used to find and edit the genes within a plant in gene editing
What is an example of a crop created with gene editing?
Tomatoes with higher vitamin D
Influenced a gene responsible for making the enzyme that turns provitamin D into cholesterol
Aimed to change nutritional value (social goals)
What are some other examples of crops that were genetically modified? What were they modified to have?
Corn, cotton, and soybeans
Made to be herbicide tolerant and insect resistant
What are some additional factors that may influence a farmer’s decision to grow a crop?
Changing public perception about transgenesis (GMOs)
Changing public policies and labeling requirements
What is biodiversity and what are the 3 kinds?
The variety of life
Genetic, Species, and Ecological
Why should we care about biodiversity?
Species provide vital ecosystem, economic, medicinal, and recreational services
Existence Value
What is existence value?
The importance that people place on a species just knowing that it exists
Wanting to protect an animal just because we want it to exist
What are some threats to biodiversity?
Extinction: elimination of species (natural process sped up by human involvement)
Habitat Destruction: deforestation, dams, oil/gas drilling, trawling
Invasive Species
What are invasive species
Non-native species that outcompete native populations for food, disrupt ecosystem services, transmit diseases, and lead to economic losses
What are some examples of invasive species?
Zebra mussels, round goby, emerald ash borer, spotted lanternfly, autumn olive
What can be done about invasive species?
Increase research funding, surveys, increasing inspection of imported goods, educating the public
What can be done about biodiversity in general?
International treaties, policies, pollinator gardens, seed banks, botanical gardens, zoos and aquariums
What’s an example of an international treaty about biodiversity?
UN Convention on Biological Diversity
Goals: reduce rate of biodiversity loss, share use of genetic resources, prevent spread of invasive species
What’s an example of a policy about biodiversity?
Endangered Species Act: list of endangered and threatened species, which are illegal to import, export, or hunt
Also protects habitats with these species
What’s some controversy surrounding the endangered species act?
Can hinder development projects
Can become a problem for ranchers when animals such as wolves are on the list
What is captive breeding and its challenges?
Trying to build up animal populations for release into the wild
Challenges:
reliance on human caretakes, expensive, difficult to build large enough numbers for natural survival, doesn’t address habitat destruction
How do seed banks and botanical gardens support biodiversity?
Preserves genetic information in seeds
Preserves various plant species
What are some important milestones in the history of National Parks?
Unitarian Christianity, Transcendentalism, Hot Springs Reservation, Nation’s Park, Yosemite Act, Yellowstone, Antiquities Act, Organic Act
What changes do we see in forested land globally?
General decrease in percentage of forests everywhere except North America (which is experiencing an increase in forests due to reforestation and importing lumber)
What services do forests provide?
Lumber, habitat, recreation, water retention, prevent soil erosion, shade, food, carbon sink
Clearcutting
Cutting down all the trees in an area
Shelterwood and Group Selection
Harvesting select trees in an area at specific intervals
Opens up areas of light for new trees to potentially grow, with the larger trees providing shelter for the smaller ones
Single Tree Selection
Harvesting specific trees or kinds of trees
What’s special about tropical rainforests?
High biodiversity and high rates of deforestation due to: palm oil, soybeans, cattle grazing, logging
What are some ways to reduce deforestation?
Government regulations and third-party certifications
Why can forest fires be beneficial?
Regenerates tree populations, clears out undergrowth, creates a natural barrier for future fires, gets rid of combustible material
What are serotinous cones?
Open and release their seeds only when exposed to the heat of fire
Surface fires vs Crown fires
Burns undergrowth and leaf litter vs a fire that spreads up to the crowns of the trees and is more difficult to control
Prescribed burns
Creating a controlled fire to promote the benefits of surface fires while preventing crown fires in the future
What are some causes of increased crown fires?
Climate change = longer fire seasons
Hot, dry weather = insect attacks = dead trees = combustible material
More people living in the wildland-urban interface
Defensible Space
Designing the landscape around a house in a way that reduces the risk of fire reaching the home
Grasslands
Occupy 27% of land’s surface area
Used for livestock grazing
Problems with overgrazing
Rotational Grazing
Potential solution to overgrazing
Rotating livestock to different areas, giving grasslands time to recover
What is “The Land Ethic”
Land and people are both part of a larger biotic community
We should protect the land because it has a right to exist, not because of its economic value
National Forest System
Conservation
Use for logging, farming, grazing, recreation, etc.
Bureau of Land Management
Large tracts of land that can be used for mining, oil extraction, and grazing with permits
National Park Service
Preservation
Allows recreation like hiking, camping, fishing, + boating
National Wildlife Refuge
Conserve fish, wildlife, and plants
Minimal recreation permitted: photography, birding, fishing, + some hunting
How can communities get involved in land protection?
History of community displacement is changing
Guanacaste National Park: involving locals in park management
What sorts of conflicts can be seen in protected areas in South America?
Drug trafficking occurring in protected areas (they’re remote and less policed)
What conflicts can seen in protected areas in Madagascar?
Deforestation due to vanilla cultivation = allowing mixed-use status (cultivation with regulations)
Deforestation due to marijuana cultivation = law enforcement partnering with park management for strict enforcement (some suggest legalizing marijuana instead)
What did Wangari Maathai do?
Green Belt Movement = reforestation in Kenya
Focused on providing jobs for women outside of the home
What are coral reefs?
Mutualistic relationship b/w polyps (small animal) and algae
Forms in clear, warm/tropical, coastal areas
One of world’s oldest and most diverse ecosystems
Why should we care about coral reefs?
Provide natural storm barrier, habitat for various organisms, spawning grounds for almost 1/3 of aquatic species, supports tourism and fishing industries
How are coral reefs being threatened?
Soil runoff leads to clouded waters and less sunlight for algae
Climate change leads to rising ocean temps
Increasing ocean acidity leads to decay of protective calcium carbonate shells
Destructive fishing practices
What is the effect of destructive processes on the coral reefs?
Coral bleaching - acidity and high temps leads to death of the colorful algae (hence why the coral looks white/bleached)
How are coral reefs being restored?
Assisted Evolution - harvesting different coral fragments and cultivating them in underwater nurseries (in an attempted to guide evolution towards corals that can withstand new ocean conditions)
Ecological Restoration
Bringing a landscape back to its former condition (ideally before human disturbance occurred)
Rehabilitation
Least extreme type of restoration
Rebuilding the community to a useful, functioning state
Not concerned about returning it to its original condition
Remediation
Relatively mild or nondestructive chemical, physical, or biological methods to remove pollution
Bioremediation
Type of remediation where you use living things to remove toxins (ex: planting sunflowers near Chernobyl)
Reclamation
Most extreme form of restoration
Involves extreme techniques to clean up severe pollution in highly degraded or barren sites (ex: Onondaga Lake project)
What are the key components of restoration?
Removing physical stressors and invasive species, replanting (ideally native species), reestablishing fauna (ex: captive breeding), monitoring
