Unit 3: Managing Canada's Resources and Industries Flashcards
Sustainable yield management
The process of managing a renewable resource
What important characteristic do farming, forestry, and fishing share?
Economic activities that depend on renewable resources
Overview of farming
- Resources needed: suitable climate, deep fertile soils
- Problems: soil deterioration from bad farming practices, cities build on suitable farming land
- Risk of being used unsustainably: moderate
- Impact of climate change: changes in temperature and rainfall patterns affect where farming is possible
Overview of forestry
- Resources needed: appropriate climate and soils, existing forests to provide seeds for a new generation
- Problems: poor forestry practices can result in scrub bush replacing a high-quality forest, soil erosion in hilly areas
- Risk of being used unsustainably: moderate-high
- Impact of climate change: size and borders of forest regions will change, warmer temperatures will increase risk of forest damage from insects
Overview of commercial fishing
- Resources needed: naturally occurring fish stocks
- Problems: fish stocks are too often mined, pollution of ocean reduces number of fish and makes them dangerous to eat
- Risk of being used unsustainably: high
- Impact of climate change: oceans are warming, fish are moving
Natural resource
Anything that people can use which comes from nature
Renewable resource
Resources that can replace themselves once they have been used (if used carefully)
Non-renewable resource
Resources that are limited and cannot be replaced once they are used up
Flow resource
Resources that are replaced by natural actions and must be used when and where they occur or be lost
Primary industries
Industries that extract the raw materials from the environment
Secondary industries
Industries involved in the manufacturing/processing of raw materials
Tertiary industries
Industries that provide a service to the end consumer, concentrated in the service sector
Quaternary industries
The knowledge based section of the economy (information generation and sharing, IT, consultation, research and development)
2 major factors that influence farming
Climate and land quality
2 climate factors that influence farming
Temperature and moisture
GDD
Growing degree days
What does looking at the amount of precipitation that occurs in an area to measure availability of water not take into account?
The demand for water
Aridity index
A value to show water availability, takes into account the supply and demand for moisture.
Canada Land Inventory
Classes 1-7, with 1 being excellent and 7 having no capability for agriculture. Only 1-4 are good enough for growing commercial crops.
Intensive farming
- Involves relatively small areas of land
- Requires large amounts of labour
- Located near large urban areas and produces products for the nearby large population
Extensive farming
- Involves large areas of land
- Requires relatively small amounts of labour
- Produces products for export
Average farm size
Increasing
Average hectares per worker
Increasing
Average tractors per farm
Increasing
Average hectares per tractor
Decreasing
Number of farms
Decreasing
Amount of people employed in manufacturing sector
Decreasing
Sustainable yield forest management
The use of forest resources at a rate that allows them to renew themselves
Softwood
Wood from coniferous (needle-leaved) trees
Hardwood
Wood from broad leaved trees
Commercial forests
Part of a forest that has large enough trees and is close enough to a market to allow it to be harvested by the forest industry
Forestry products: Boreal forest
Pulp and paper production
Forestry products: Taiga forest
Pulp and paper production
Forestry products: West Coast forest
Lumber, cedar shingles, plywood. Pulp and paper made from smaller logs
Forestry products: Montane forest
Lumber, pulp and paper made from logs cut here
Forestry products: Mixed forest
Flooring, furniture
Clear-cutting
Removes every tree, leaving a barren landscape behind. When replanted, the forest grows uniformly in size.
Shelterwood logging
Clear-cutting only a part of the forest. Groups of seed-bearing trees are left standing.