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AP Environmental Science > Unit 5: Earth's Land Resources and Use > Flashcards

Unit 5: Earth's Land Resources and Use Flashcards

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Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Soil

A

a complex system of inorganic, weathered parent material (rock), organic matter, water, gases, nutrients, and microorganisms; a renewable source, but renewal occurs very slowly

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2
Q

Soil Degredation

A

results primarily from forest removal, cropland agricultural practices, and overgrazing of livestock

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3
Q

Subsistence Agriculture

A

producing only enough food for it to cover the entire family

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4
Q

Monoculture

A

only farming a one single crop, on a large-scale

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5
Q

Polyculture

A

farming several different crops

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6
Q

Green Revolution

A

spreads industrial agriculture techniques practiced in developed nations to developing countries; increased crop yields and helps prevent mass starvation

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7
Q

Culinary Sustainability

A

a pursuit that embraces the use of fresh, healthy, locally produced foods

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8
Q

Closed Loop System

A

uneaten food waste from dining commons is fed into an anaerobic digestion system, where it is broken down to generate a nutrient-rich liquid and then used to nourish soils of the campus cropland

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9
Q

Material of Soil

A

consists of 50% mineral matter, 5% organic matter (includes living/dead microorganisms and decaying material of plants and animals), and 45% air or water

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10
Q

Parent Material

A

the base geological material, rock, or sediment of a particular location

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11
Q

Soil Formation

A

the slow physical, chemical, and biological weathering of parent material and the accumulation and transformation of organic matter

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12
Q

Soil Horizons

A

the distinct layers of soil that develop as wind, water, and organisms move and sort the fine particles weathering creates, producing a soil profile

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13
Q

O Horizon

A

the litter layer of soil, consisting mostly of organic matter

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14
Q

A Horizon

A

the topsoil, consisting of some organic material mixed with mineral components

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15
Q

E Horizon

A

the zone of leaching in soil (eluviation), where mineral and organic matter tend to leave this horizon and move into the next lower layer

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16
Q

B Horizon

A

the subsoil, where minerals and organic matter accumulate from above

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17
Q

C Horizon

A

layer of soil that consists largely of weathered parent material

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18
Q

R Horizon

A

layer of soil where it only consists of the rock or sediment of pure parent material

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19
Q

Top Soil

A

the crucial horizon for agriculture and ecosystems; it is the most nutritive, taking its texture, coloration, and water-holding capacity from the humus content

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20
Q

Humus

A

partially decomposed organic matter

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21
Q

Soil Texture

A

determined by the size of its particles, ranging from clay (the smallest), silt (intermediate), to sand (the largest)

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22
Q

Loam

A

soil with an even mixture of clay, silt, and sand

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23
Q

Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)

A

the process by which plants’ roots donate hydrogen ions to the soil in exchange for cations (positively charged ions) of nutritional value such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium; often referred to as the nutrient-holding capacity of soil

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24
Q

Land Degredation

A

deterioration that diminishes land’s productivity and biodiversity, impairs the functioning of its ecosystems, and reduces the ecosystem services the land can offer

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25
Q

Erosion

A

the removal of material from one place and its transport to another by wind or water; major causes are (1) overcultivating fields through excessive tilling (2) grazing range-land with more livestock than the land can support (3) removing forests on steep slopes or with large clear-cuts

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26
Q

Desertification

A

a form of land degradation affecting arid lands in which more than 10% if productivity is lost as a result of erosion, soil compaction, forest removal, overgrazing, drought, salinization, water depletion, or other factors

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27
Q

Dust Bowl

A

a major drought in the 1930s that occurred with the large-scale cultivation and overgrazing of native grasses in North Americas Great Plains; millions of tons of topsoil eroded and were lost forever

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28
Q

Overgrazing

A

done by cattle, sheep, goats, or other livestock that can contribute to soil degradation, especially when native grasses are removed

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29
Q

The Soil Conservation Act (1935)

A

established the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) in response to the devastation caused in the Dust Bowl; it was renamed the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and responsibilities were expanded to include water quality protection and pollution control

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30
Q

Conservation Tillage

A

describes an array of approaches that reduce the amount of tilling relative to conventional farming; any method of limited tilling that leaves more than 30% of crop residue covering the soil after harvest

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31
Q

No-Till Agriculture

A

the most extreme form of conservation tillage and does not involve tilling (plowing or disking) the soil; it cuts furrows through the O horizon of dead weeds and crop residue and the upper levels of the A horizon, dropping seeds and fertilizers into the furrow; increased organic matter also helps to improve soil’s fertility

32
Q

Crop Rotation

A

involves alternating the type of crop grown in a given field from one season to the next; it returns nutrients to the soil, breaks plant disease cycles, and minimizes erosion

33
Q

Contour Farming

A

plowing furrows sideways across a hillside; prevents runoff and erosion

34
Q

Terracing

A

the most effective method for preventing soil erosion on extremely steep terrain; they are level platforms/steps that are cut into steep hillsides to contain irrigation water

35
Q

Intercropping

A

minimizes erosion by planting different types of crops in alternating bands or other spatially mixed arrangements

36
Q

Shelterbelts

A

a technique used to reduce erosion caused by wind; consists of rows of trees or tall shrubs that are planted along the edges of fields to slow the wind

37
Q

Irrigation

A

the artificial provision of water beyond that which crops receive from rainfall

38
Q

Salinization

A

occurs most frequently in arid agricultural areas when the small amounts of salts in irrigation water become highly concentrated on the soil surface through high evaporation rates

39
Q

Waterlogging

A

occurs when over irrigation saturates the soil and causes the water table to rise to the level that plant roots are drowned, essentially suffocating the plants

40
Q

Drip-Irrigation

A

where hoses drop water directly into soil near the plant’s roots

41
Q

Subsidies

A

government incentives of cash or tax breaks

42
Q

Conservation Reserve Program

A

pays farmers to stop cultivating highly erodible cropland and instead places it in conservation reserves planted with grasses and trees

43
Q

Norman Borlaug

A

developed improved varieties of wheat through selective breeding

44
Q

Monocultures

A

large expanses of single crop types replaced the traditional, small-scale polycultures as they were found to be more efficient for planting and harvesting

45
Q

Seed Banks

A

institutions preserving genetic diversity as a kind of living museum

46
Q

The Sierra de Manantlan Biosphere Reserve

A

an important repository of crop biodiversity, especially for maize (southern Mexico)

47
Q

Feedlots

A

an industrial agriculture practice; also known as factory farms, or concentrated animals feeding operations (CAFOs)

48
Q

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)

A

huge warehouses or pens designed to deliver energy-rich food to confined animals living at extremely high densities

49
Q

Aquaculture

A

the cultivation of aquatic organisms for food in controlled environments

50
Q

Bycatch

A

the unintended catch of nontarget species

51
Q

Pollination

A

the process by which male sex cells of a plant (pollen) fertilize the female egg cells of a plant, and is essential for plant reproduction

52
Q

Colony Collapse Disorder

A

up to one-third of all honeybees in the U.S. have vanished; hypotheses as to causes are insecticides, weed-killers, parasitic mites, or a combination of these stresses

53
Q

Pesticides

A

synthetic chemicals used to kill insects

54
Q

Neonicotinoids

A

make the plant toxic to insects, killing them as they feed on or pollinate the plant

55
Q

“Pesticide Treadmill”

A

pests can evolve resistance to chemical pesticides, requiring humans to design over-increasingly toxic poisons in order to kill the genetically resistant individuals

56
Q

Biological Control (biocontrol)

A

the use of living species that are the natural enemy of or prey upon or parasitize the targeted pest

57
Q

Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt0

A

a naturally occurring soil bacterium that produces a toxin that kills many caterpillars and some fly and beetle larvae; can be sprayed on crops

58
Q

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

A

incorporates numerous techniques, including biocontrol, use of limited chemicals when essential, crop rotation, transgenic crops, alternative tillage methods, and mechanical pest removal

59
Q

Organic Agriculture

A

uses no synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides or herbicides, but instead relies on biological approaches such as bioncontrol and composting

60
Q

Genetic Engineering

A

any process whereby scientists directly manipulate an organism’s genetic material in the laboratory by adding, deleting, or changing segments of its DNA

61
Q

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

A

organisms that have been genetically engineered using recombinant DNA

62
Q

Recombinant DNA

A

DNA that has been spliced together from multiple organisms

63
Q

Transgenic Organisms

A

those that contain DNA from another species; all GM organisms are also transgenic species

64
Q

“Roundup Ready Crops”

A

contain genes to resist their widely used herbicide

65
Q

Bt Crops

A

have the ability to produce their own toxic effects on insects

66
Q

Precautionary Princple

A

“One should not undertake a new action until the ramifications of that action are fully understood”

67
Q

Sustainable Agriculture

A

agriculture that does not deplete soils faster than they form and does not reduce the amount of clean water or genetic diversity essential to long-term crop and livestock production

68
Q

Organic Agriculture

A

the production of crops without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, using ecological principles and attempting to keep as much organic matter in the soil as possible

69
Q

Organic Food Production (1990)

A

established the national standards for organic products (both crops and livestock) in the United States

70
Q

Locally Grown Agriculture

A

reducing fossil fuel use by avoiding long-distance transport

71
Q

Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA)

A

where consumers partner with local farmers to pay in advance for a share of their yield

72
Q

Carbon Storage

A

the more forests we reserve or restore, the more carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) that can be kept out of the atmosphere

73
Q

Deforestation

A

the clearing and loss of forests, has been driven by the demand for wood (as fuel and building materials) and for agricultural land to feed the world’s growing population

74
Q

Primary Forest/Old-Growth Forest

A

natural forests uncut by humans or natural disasters in 200 years or more

75
Q

Secondary-Growth Forests

A

forests that have grown back from secondary succession once` land has been cleared

AP Environmental Science (5 decks)

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