Unit 5 Flashcards

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1
Q

Subsistence farming

A

Farming for consumption by the farming family and maybe a few neighbors.

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2
Q

Reserve

A

In resource management, the known quantity of a resource that can be economically recovered.

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3
Q

Nonpersistent pesticides

A

Pesticide that breaks down relatively rapidly, usually in weeks or months, and have fewer long-term effects but because they must be applied more often their overall environmental impact is not always lower than that of persistent pesticides.

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4
Q

Water footprint

A

Total daily per capita use of fresh water for a country or the world.

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5
Q

Tragedy of the commons

A

The tendency of a shared, limited resource to become depleted if it is not regulated in some way.

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6
Q

Pesticide resistance

A

A trait possessed by certain individuals that are exposed to a pesticide and survive.

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7
Q

Furrow irrigation

A

A form of irrigation where the farmer digs trenches, or furrows, along the crop rows, and fills them with water.

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8
Q

Bycatch

A

The unintentional catch of nontarget species while fishing.

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9
Q

Strip cropping

A

An agricultural method of planting crops with different spacing and rooting characteristics in alternating sets of rows to prevent soil erosion.

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10
Q

Persistent pesticides

A

A pesticide that remains in the environment for years to decades.

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11
Q

Limestone

A

A calcium carbonated sedimentary rock that has been ground up or crushed for easy application as fertilizer.

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12
Q

Flood irrigation

A

A form of irrigation where an entire field is flooded with water.

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13
Q

Exurbs

A

An area similar to a suburb, but unconnected to any central city or densely populated area.

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14
Q

Groundwater recharge

A

The process by which water from precipitation percolates through the soil into groundwater.

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15
Q

Crop rotation

A

A crop-planting strategy in which different types of crop species are planted from season to season or year to year on the same plot of land.

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16
Q

Crustal abundance

A

The average concentration of an element in Earth’s crust.

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17
Q

Agroforestry

A

An agricultural technique in which trees and vegetables are intercropped.

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18
Q

Slash-and-burn agriculture (Shifting agriculture)

A

An agricultural method in which land is cleared and farmed for only a few years until the soil is depleted of nutrients.

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19
Q

Selective pesticide (Narrow-spectrum pesticide)

A

A pesticide that targets a narrow range of organisms.

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20
Q

Industrial agriculture (Agribusiness)

A

Agriculture that applies the techniques of mechanization and standardization to the production of food.

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21
Q

Waterlogging

A

A form of soil degradation that occurs when soil remains under water for prolonged periods.

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22
Q

Concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO)

A

A large indoor or outdoor structure designed for maximum occupancy of animals and maximum output of meat.

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23
Q

Strip mining

A

The removal of overlying vegetation and “strips” of soil and rock to expose underlying ore.

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24
Q

Subsurface mining

A

Mining techniques used when the desired resource is more than 100 m (328 feet) below the surface of Earth.

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25
Q

Windbreaks

A

An agricultural technique that literally plants tall objects that “break” the wind and prevent soil erosion.

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26
Q

Delaney Clause

A

A clause in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act designed to prevent potentially harmful cancer-causing food ingredients.

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27
Q

Fishery

A

A commercially harvestable population of fish within a particular ecological region.

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28
Q

Nomadic grazing

A

The feeding of herds of animals by moving them to seasonally productive feeding grounds, often over long distances.

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29
Q

Rotational grazing

A

The rotation of farm animals to different pastures and fields to prevent overgrazing.

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30
Q

Forest

A

Land dominated by trees and other woody vegetation and sometimes used for commercial logging.

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31
Q

Cone of depression

A

An area surrounding a well that does not contain groundwater.

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32
Q

Economies of scale

A

The observation that average costs of production fall as output increases.

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33
Q

Spray irrigation

A

A form of irrigation where water is pumped into an apparatus that contains a series of spray nozzles.

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34
Q

Anthropogenic

A

Derived from human activities.

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35
Q

Salinization

A

A form of soil degradation that occurs when the small amount of salts in irrigation water becomes highly concentrated on the soil surface through evaporation.

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36
Q

Energy subsidy

A

The fossil fuel energy and human energy input per calorie of food produced.

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37
Q

Externality

A

The cost or benefit of a good or service that is not included in the purchase price of that good or service or otherwise accounted for.

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38
Q

Free range grazing

A

Allowing animals to graze outdoors on grass for most or all of their lifecycle.

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39
Q

Sustainability

A

Living on Earth in a way that allows humans to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources.

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40
Q

Ecological footprint

A

A measure of the area of land and water an individual, population, or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to process the waste it generates.

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41
Q

Sustainable development

A

Development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations.

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42
Q

Intercropping

A

An agricultural technique that calls for physical spacing of different crops growing at the same time, in close proximity to one another, to promote biological interaction.

43
Q

Prescribed burn

A

When a fire is deliberately set under controlled conditions, thereby decreasing the accumulation of dead biomass on the forest floor.

44
Q

Monocropping

A

An agricultural method that utilizes large plantings of a single species or variety.

45
Q

Sustainable agriculture

A

Fulfills the need for food and fiber while enhancing the quality of the soil, minimizing the use of nonrenewable resources, and allowing economic viability for the farmer.

46
Q

Fishery collapse

A

The decline of a fish population by 90 percent or more.

47
Q

Clear-cutting

A

A method of harvesting trees that involves removing all or almost all of the trees within an area.

48
Q

Manure lagoon

A

Human-made pond lined with rubber built to handle large quantities of manure produced by livestock.

49
Q

Broad-spectrum pesticide

A

A pesticide that kills many different types of pest.

50
Q

Water table

A

The uppermost level at which the groundwater in a given area fully saturates the rock or soil.

51
Q

Impervious surface

A

Pavement or other surfaces that do not allow water penetration.

52
Q

Artesian well

A

A well created by drilling a hole into a confined aquifer.

53
Q

Endangered Species Act

A

A 1973 U.S. law designed to protect plant and animal species that are threatened with extinction, and the habitats that support those species.

54
Q

Environmental indicators

A

Describe the current state of an environmental system or the Earth.

55
Q

Urban area

A

An area that contains more than 385 people per square kilometer (1,000 people per square mile).

56
Q

Mountaintop removal

A

A mining technique in which the entire top of a mountain is removed with explosives.

57
Q

Soil conservation

A

The prevention of soil erosion while simultaneously increasing soil depth and increasing the nutrient content and organic matter content of the soil.

58
Q

Open-pit mining

A

A mining technique that creates a large visible pit or hole in the ground.

59
Q

Insecticide

A

A pesticide that targets species of insects and other invertebrates that consume crops.

60
Q

Urbanization

A

The process of making an area more urban, which means increasing the density of people per unit area of land.

61
Q

Fungicide

A

A pesticide that specifically targets fungi (the plural of fungus).

62
Q

Urban blight

A

The lack of support for and deterioration of urban communities.

63
Q

Green manure

A

Plant material deliberately grown in a field with the intention of plowing it under at the end of the season.

64
Q

Urban sprawl

A

Urbanized areas that spread into rural areas.

65
Q

Reforestation

A

The natural or intentional restocking of trees after clear-cutting to repopulate the forest reduce erosion, and begin the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

66
Q

Rodenticide

A

A pesticide that specifically targets rodents.

67
Q

Overgrazing

A

Excessive grazing that can reduce or remove vegetation and erode and compact the soil.

68
Q

Maximum sustainable yield (MSY)

A

The largest quality of a renewable resource that can be harvested indefinitely.

69
Q

Contour plowing

A

Plowing and harvesting parallel to the topographic contours of the land.

70
Q

Ore

A

A concentrated accumulation of minerals from which economically valuable materials can be extracted.

71
Q

Saltwater intrusion

A

An infiltration of salt water in an area where groundwater pressure has been reduced as a result of a cone of depression from extensive pumping of wells.

72
Q

Green Revolution

A

A shift in agricultural practices in the twentieth century that included new management techniques, mechanization, fertilization, irrigation, and improved crop varieties, that resulted in increased food output.

73
Q

Confined aquifer

A

Surrounded by a layer of impermeable rock or clay, which impedes water flow to or from the aquifer.

74
Q

Plowing

A

The process of digging deep into the soil and turning it over.

75
Q

Sustainable forestry

A

A methodology for managing forests so they provide wood while also providing clean water, maximum biodiversity, and maximum carbon sequestration in both trees and soil.

76
Q

Biocontrol

A

A shortened term for biological control, it uses biological organism to control agricultural pests.

77
Q

No-till agriculture

A

An agricultural method used in fields of annual crops where farmers do not till or plow the soil between seasons.

78
Q

Selective cutting

A

The method of harvesting trees that involves the removal of single trees or a relatively small number of trees from the larger forest.

79
Q

Spring

A

Water that naturally percolates up to the surface.

80
Q

Placer mining

A

The process of looking for minerals, metals, and precious stones in river sediments.

81
Q

Terracing

A

An agricultural technique where farms shape sloping land into step-like terraces that are flat.

82
Q

Tilling

A

The preparation of soil through a variety of activities including plowing but also including stirring, digging, and cultivating.

83
Q

Carbon footprint

A

A measure of the total carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emissions from the activities, both direct and indirect, of a person, country, or other entity.

84
Q

Aquifer

A

Pore spaces found within permeable layers of rock and sediment underneath the soil that store groundwater.

85
Q

Unconfined aquifer

A

Porous rock covered by soil.

86
Q

Mine tailings

A

Unwanted waste material created during mining; chemical compounds and rock residues that are left behind after the desired metal or ore is removed.

87
Q

Integrated pest management (IPM)

A

An agricultural practice that uses a variety of techniques designed to minimize pesticide inputs.

88
Q

Metal

A

An element with properties that allow it to conduct electricity and heat energy and to perform other important functions.

89
Q

Perennial plants

A

Plants that live for multiple years and do not need to be replanted at the beginning of each growing season.

90
Q

Synthetic fertilizer (Inorganic fertilizer)

A

Fertilizer produced commercially, normally with the use of fossil fuels.

91
Q

Urban runoff

A

Runoff, water that does not evapotranspire or infiltrate the soil, that occurs in an urban area.

92
Q

Sense of place

A

The feeling that an area has a distinct and meaningful character.

93
Q

Ecologically sustainable forestry

A

An approach to removing trees from forests in ways that do not unduly affect the viability of other noncommercial tree species.

94
Q

Rangelands

A

Dry, open grassland primarily used for grazing cattle.

95
Q

Pesticide

A

A substance, either natural or synthetic, that kills or controls organisms that people consider pests.

96
Q

Organic fertilizer

A

Fertilizer composed of organic matter from plants and animals.

97
Q

Drip irrigation

A

A form of irrigation where a slowly dripping hose on the ground or buried beneath the soil delivers water directly to the plant roots.

98
Q

Organic agriculture

A

The production of crops in a way that sustains or improves the soil, without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.

99
Q

Herbicide

A

A pesticide that targets plant species that compete with crops.

100
Q

Natural predators

A

Predators that occur naturally in the environment.

101
Q

Tree plantation

A

A large area typically planted with a single fast growing tree species.

102
Q

Desertification

A

Transformation of arable, productive low precipitation land to desert or unproductive land due to climate change or destructive land use such as overgrazing and logging.

103
Q

Suburbs

A

Areas that surround metropolitan centers.