Unit 5 Flashcards
individuals overconsume/exploit a public resource (optimizing for the self in the short term threatens the many in the long term)
Tragedy of the commons:
Examples of commons
(public/community resources): Atmosphere, Ocean, Lakes, Forests
Examples of tragedy
air pollution, loss of biodiversity, traffic, oil water pollution in Gulf of Mexico, aquifer depletion by farmers, Great Pacific Garbage Patch, public land overgrazing by livestock
To prevent Tragedy of the Commons
establish total catch quotas for fishermen, issue fewer (or more $$$) fishing licenses, or tax fish or supplies required for selling/ catching them
Clear Cutting Causes:
increased water evaporation in soil
Warmer and less fertile soil (less nutrition & decomposers in the soil due to a lack of dead trees)
Increased erosion
Increased CO2 in the atmosphere
Increased nitrates in streams & rivers
Increased soil and water temps (loss of shade & murkier water)
Decreased Biodiversity
Slash & Burn method causes
increased CO2 and N2O making the soil infertile
Major Deforestation: Amazonian Rainforest (beef), Indonesia (palm oil)
Pros of GMOs
develop new crops with higher yields, add vitamins to combat vitamin deficiencies
Cons of GMOs
potentially decreased biodiversity, could become or create an invasive species, can cause unforeseen health risks for consumers, carcinogens from glyphosate
Crops planted in strips between trees and shrubs
alley cropping
fertilizer type that provides more targeted macronutrients to the crops
synthetic fertilizer
fertilizer type that provides a wider diversity of nutrients, as well as microorganisms that can assist in growth
organic fertilizer
Causes of Eutrophication
fertilizer and/or sewage in water
Excessive groundwater can cause?
subsidence (fancy word for sinking)
How to increase genetic resistance to pests & diseases
crossing a plant with ancestral varieties
(one crop farms) decreases in organic matter and specific nutrients in soil
Monoculture
(solved by crop rotation)
Agricultural practices that can cause environmental damage
tilling, slash and-burn farming, and the excess use of fertilizers (eutrophication)
Causes of Desertification
-Overgrazing
-Deforestation
-Erosion (Method that does not distribute silt & soil (no till plowing)
Factors contribute to the rise in world hunger
unequal distribution of available food supplies
loss of or decline in arable (workable/farmable) land
increasing rate of population growth
increasing poverty in developing countries
Methods of soil conservation (preventing erosion)
contour plowing, windbreaks, perennial crops, terracing, no-till agriculture, and strip cropping, rotational grazing
Irrigation method used in orchards growing tree crops, and leads to erosion & eutrophication
Furrow Irrigation
Irrigation method which may cause water logging or salinization, helps replenish aquifers
Flooding Irrigation
Irrigation method which employs sprinklers, requires a lot of energy, and is used for large areas
Spray Irrigation
Very expensive irrigation method (good for smaller farms), only 5% water loss
Drip Irrigation
when salts in groundwater stay in soil after evaporation, making soil toxic to plants, can be combated through the addition of large amounts of water to leach out salts
Salinization
(can be solved by adding large amounts of water to leach out salts)
pesticides can cause organisms to build a resistance through genetic mutation that then requires more or stronger pesticides as the insects develop a resistance, Pesticides harm organisms other than targets due to biomagnification in food web
Pesticide Treadmill
(getting worse up the food chain)
native crop area to attract beneficial insects, birds, & amphibians to attract/sustain native animals to protect them or use them to help control pests
Habitat Island