Things to know for final

Question 1

What are fertilizers?

Answer 1

Natural or artificial substances that contain chemical elements that help improve growth and plant productiveness

Question 2

What are the 3 benefits of using organic fertilizers?

Answer 2

1. They help provide plant nutrients
2. They aid in maintaining soil structure
3. Helps increase soil water-holding capacity

Question 3

What are some problems with fertilizers?

Answer 3

Nitrates tend to move down with percolation rates, eutrophication, fish kills

Question 4

What are pesticides?

Answer 4

Anything that controls/kills pests that cause harm to plants

Question 5

DDT is considered to have what qualities?

Answer 5

Very effective, cheap to make and can be considered to be a ‘good’ chemical when used correctly and in proper amounts

Question 6

T/F: Pesticides are designed to be toxic

Answer 6

True

Question 7

What are the 4 steps in Integrated Pest Management?

Answer 7

1. Study the pest
2. Identify vulnerabilities & weaknesses
3. Use a variety of techniques (including chemicals for management)
4. Control the pest (NOT through eradication, but rather keeping it below an economic threshold)

Question 8

Pesticide Type: What are inorganic pesticides?

Answer 8

Pesticides that consist of heavy metals

Question 9

T/F: Inorganic pesticides consist of a broad spectrum of poisons that remain in the soil indefinitely

Answer 9

True

Question 10

Pesticide type: Natural Organic Pesticides

Answer 10

Pesticides that come from natural sources

Question 11

Pesticide Type: Fumigants (smoke)

Answer 11

Consists of carbon tetrachloride which gasifies easily, penetrates rapidly, is very dangerous and is now banned

Question 12

The “old generations of pesticides” are known as what?

Answer 12

Chlorinated hydrocarbons (organochlorine)

Question 13

Organochlorine includes which pesticides?

Answer 13

DDT, chlordane, aldrin, toxaphene, dieldrin

Question 14

T/F: Chlorinated hydrocarbons (organochlorine) does NOT persist in the soil up to 15 years

Answer 14

False, they do persist in soils for that long and can biomagnify (not break down) which can impact trophic pyramids

Question 15

What are organophosphates?

Answer 15

Human-made pesticides that are very toxic to mammals, birds and fish. They only last a few hours/days in the environment

Question 16

What are some methods of controlling invasive species?

Answer 16

Bacteria, insects (beetles, ladybugs), parasitic wasps, wasps that attack moths, ladybugs which attack aphids

Question 17

What are the 5 main methods of integrated pest management?

Answer 17

1. Pesticides
2. Crop rotation
3. Other habitat controls (pruning of grape leaves to help reduce fungi)
4. Pheromone traps
5. Biological controls

Question 18

What is bioaccumulation?

Answer 18

The selective absorption and storage of chemicals

Question 19

What is biomagnification?

Answer 19

An increase in concentration of stable chemicals in successively higher trophic levels

Question 20

What are acute effects?

Answer 20

Things that happen all at once

Question 21

What are chronic effects?

Answer 21

Things that happen over a longer period of time

Question 22

What is weather?

Answer 22

The localized physical condition of the atmosphere that changes frequently

Question 23

What is climate?

Answer 23

The regional long-term weather pattern of a particular area (where it does not change frequently nor quickly)

Question 24

What are inversion layers?

Answer 24

Layers in the atmosphere where the temperatures change or “cap”