Unit 5 - Land and Water Use Flashcards

1
Q

tragedy of the commons

A
  • when individuals use shared/public resources in their own self interests degrading them
  • must be a public resource (not privately owned)
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2
Q

examples of tragedy of the commons

A

overgrazing, overfishing, water and air pollution, overuse of groundwater

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3
Q

why does tragedy of commons occur

A
  • when no one owns the resource, no one directly suffers
  • people assume others will overuse it if they dont
  • no penalty for overusing
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4
Q

externalities

A

negative costs associated with human actions that aren’t accounted for in the price (unintended side-effects)

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5
Q

overfishing

A

can lead to fishery collapse (population crash), loss of income and starvation

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6
Q

pesticide runoff

A

from farms contaminates drinking water

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7
Q

how to solve TOC

A
  • private land ownership
  • fees or taxes for use
  • taxes, fines, criminal charges for pollution of shared soil, air, water resources
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8
Q

clearcutting

A

practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down

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9
Q

direct effects of clear cutting

A
  • soil erosion
  • increased soil and stream temp
  • flooding an landslides
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10
Q

what replaces clear-cuts

A

tree plantations

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11
Q

effects of tree plantations

A
  • lowers biodiversity
  • all the same age (lowers biodiversity more)
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12
Q

slash and burn

A

method of clearing land for agriculture by cutting trees and burning them releases CO2, N2O, and water vapor into the atm.
- return nutrients in plants to soil

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13
Q

green revolution when and where

A
  • 1950s to late 1960s
  • where: worldwide but major impact on developing countries like Mexico and India
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14
Q

what was the green revolution

A

a shift in agriculture away from small family operated farms to large industrial scale agribusiness
- increase in productivity due to higher yield crops that were pest and disease resistant
- increased use of mechanization, GMOS, irrigation, fertilizers,
- short term profitability

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15
Q

consequences of green revolution

A

soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, ground surface water contamination, requires massive input of water

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16
Q

mechanization

A

introduction of machinery

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17
Q

mechanization: pros

A

increased use of tractors for plowing and tilling fields = increased yield and profits

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18
Q

mechanization: cons

A
  • increased reliance in fossil fuels
  • emits GHGs
  • heavy machines compact soil. decrease water holding capacity
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19
Q

high yield variety crops

A
  • hybrid or genetically modified crops that produce a higher yield (amt of crop produced per unit of area)
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20
Q

GMOs

A

genetically modified crops that have genes for drought tolerance, pest resistance, faster growth, larger

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21
Q

GMOs: pros

A

increases profitability with fewer plants lost to drought, disease, or pests; larger plant size

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22
Q

GMOs: cons

A

crops are genetically identical so genetic diversity is decreased and susceptibility to diseases or pest is increased

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23
Q

synthetic fertilizer

A

shift from organic fertilizer (like manure and compost) to man made NH4, nitrate, phosphate

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24
Q

synthetic fertilizer: pros

A

increased yields and profits with more key nutrients

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25
Q

irrigation

A

drawing water from the ground or nearby surface waters and distributing it on fields to increase plant growth

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26
Q

irrigation: pros

A

make ag. possible for parts of the world that are naturally too dry (dont receive enough rain)

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27
Q

irrigation: cons

A
  • can deplete groundwater sources, esp. aquifiers
  • overwatering can drown roots and cause soil salinization
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28
Q

example of pesticides harming nontarget species

A
  • DOT thinned shells of bird eggs, especially eagles
  • atrazine turns amphibians and fish intersex
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29
Q

monocropping

A

growing one single species (corn, wheat, soy) of crop

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30
Q

monocropping is highly efficient for

A

harvest, pesticide, and fertilizer application

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31
Q

negatives of monocropping

A
  • greatly decreases biodiversity
  • increases soil erosion (crops harvested all at once and soil left bare)
  • decreases habitat diversity for species living in an area
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32
Q

tilling

A

mixing and breaking up soil to make planting easier; loosen soil for roots

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33
Q

negatives of tilling

A
  • increases erosion by loosening topsoil, breaking up leftover root structure from harvest
  • loss of organic matter and topsoil nutrients over time
  • increases PM in air
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34
Q

furrow irrigation

A
  • trench dug along crops and filled with water
  • easy and inexpensive, water seeps into soil slowly
  • 66% efficient, 33% lost to runoff and evaporation
35
Q

drip irrigation

A
  • most efficient
  • MOST COSTLY
  • holes in hoses allow water to slowly drip out
  • avoids water logging and conserves waters
36
Q

flood irrigation

A
  • flood enters field; easier but more disruptive to plants
  • can waterlog the soil and drown plants
  • 80% efficient, 20% runoff and evaporation
37
Q

spray irrigation

A
  • ground/surface water pumped into spray nozzles
38
Q

waterlogging

A
  • overwatering can saturate the soil, filling all soil pore space with water, depriving roots of oxygen
39
Q

solution to waterlogging

A

drip irrigation or soil aeration- poking holes in soil to allow air in and water to drain out

40
Q

largest human use of freshwater

A

is for irrigation (70%)

41
Q

soil salinization

A
  • process of salt building up in a soil over time
42
Q

solution to soil salinization

A
  • drip irrigation
  • soil aeration
  • flushing with fresh water
  • switch to freshwater source
43
Q

global human water use

A
  1. Agriculture: 70% (water for livestock, irrigation)
  2. Industrial: 19% (power plants, metal/plastic manufacturing)
  3. Municipal: 11% (households, toilets, shower)
44
Q

groundwater

A

h2o stored in pore space of permeable rock and sediment layers

45
Q

aquifer

A
  • layer of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater
  • replenished by groundwater recharge (rain percolating down through soil into aquifer)
46
Q

ogallala aquifer

A
  • central USA
  • aquifer was severely depleted bc it was overused for agricultural irrigation
47
Q

CAFO

A

concentrated animal feeding operation (to raise them asap)
- AKA feedlots

48
Q

CAFO: pros

A
  • maximizes land use and profit
  • minimizes cost of meat for consumers
49
Q

CAFO: cons

A
  • given antibiotics and growth hormones to prevent disease outbreak and speed meat production
  • animals produce large volume of waster which can contaminate nearby surface or groundwater
  • produces large amounts of CO2, CH4, and N2O
50
Q

manure lagoons

A

large, open storage pits for animal waste
- waste contains NH3, hormones, antibiotics, fecal coliform bacteria (e-coli)
- denitrification of NH3 in manure produces N2O (powerful GHG)
- antibiotics and growth hormones -> endocrine disruptors

51
Q

free range grazing

A

animas (usually cows) graze on grass and grow at a natural rate without growth hormones

52
Q

overgrazing

A
  • too many animals feed on a particular area of land
53
Q

overgrazing effects

A
  • loss of vegetation
  • soil erosion
  • desertification
54
Q

fisheries

A

population of fish used for commercial fishing

55
Q

fishery collapse

A
  • when overfishing causes 90% of population to decline in a fishery
  • pop. may never recover due to decreased biodiversity, inability to find mates, inbreeding depression
56
Q

bottom trawling

A
  • harmful fishing method that involves dragging a large net along ocean floor
  • mixes up sediment (turbidity) and destroys coral reef structure
57
Q

ore

A

commercially valuable deposits of concentrated minerals that can be harvested and used as raw materials

58
Q

metals

A

elements that conduct electricity, heat, and have structural properties for building (found in ores)

59
Q

mining reserve

A

the known amount of a resource left that can be mined
- usually measured in years left of extraction

60
Q

overburden

A
  • soil, vegetation, and rocks that are removed to get to an ore deposit below
61
Q

mining tailings and slag

A
  • leftover waste materials separated from the valuable metal or mineral within ore
62
Q

surface mining

A
  • removal of overburden to access ore near surface
  • diff types: open pit, mountaintop removal
    - mtn. top removal is esp. damaging to landscape and habitats, stream nearby
  • removal of vegetation and soil
63
Q

subsurface mining

A
  • more expensive due to higher insurance and health care costs for worker
  • risks: poor ventilation leading to toxic gas exposure, mine shaft collapse, injury from falling rock, lung cancer, asbestos
  • vertical shaft drilled down into ground; elevator to carry
  • increasingly used as surface coal deposits are depleted
64
Q

environmental impacts of mining

A
  • rainwater carries sulfuric acid into nearby streams, or infiltrates groundwater
  • lowers pH of water, making toxic metals like Hg and Al more soluble
  • CH4 release
  • PM release
65
Q

mine reclamation

A

process of restoring land to original state after mining has finished

66
Q

urban sprawl

A

population movement out of dense, urban centers to less dense suburban areas surrounding the city

67
Q

ecological footprint

A

measure of how much a person or group consumes expressed in area of land

68
Q

carbon footprint

A

all CO2 released from an individual or groups consumption and activities
- measured in tons of CO2 produced per year

69
Q

maximum sustainable yield

A

the max amount of a renewable resources that can be harvested without reducing or depleting the resource for future use

70
Q

IPM

A

using a variety of pest control methods that minimize environmental disruption and pesticide use

71
Q

biocontrol

A

introducing a natural predator, parasite, or competitor to control the pest population

72
Q

crop rotation

A

rotating crops can prevent pests from becoming established since it disrupts their preferred food source

73
Q

intercropping

A
  • push pull system
  • push plants emit volatile chemicals that naturally repel pests away from crops
  • pull plants emit chemicals that attract pest predators
74
Q

contour plowing

A
  • plowing parallel to natural slopes of the land instead of down slopes prevents water runoff and soil erosion
  • forms mini terraces that catch water running off, conserving Soil and Water
75
Q

terracing

A
  • cutting flat platforms of soil into steep slope
  • flatness of terraces catches water and prevents it from becoming runoff in eroding soil
76
Q

perennial crops

A
  • crops that live year round and are harvested numerous times
  • longer, more established roots and prevention of bare soil between harvest
77
Q

wind breaks

A
  • using trees or other plants to block the force of the wind from eroding topsoil
  • can be used as a source of firewood, fruit (income)
  • can provide habitat for pollinators and other species
78
Q

no till

A
  • leaving leftover crop remains in soil instead of tilling under
  • adds organic matter to soil (nutrients, soil cover, moisture)
  • prevents erosion from loosened soil
79
Q

strip cropping

A
  • another name for intercropping
  • alternating rows of dense crops (hay, wheat) with rows of less dense crops (corn, soy, cotton) to prevent runoff from eroding soil from less dense rows of crops
80
Q

aquaculture

A

raising fish or other aquatic species in cages or enclosures underwater

81
Q

why has aquaculture expanded

A

highly efficient, requires only small areas of water, requires little fuel

82
Q

drawbacks of aquaculture

A
  • can contaminate waste water
  • fish that escape may compete or breed with wild fish
  • density of fish can lead to increases in disease outbreaks and may transmit to wild fish
83
Q

methods for mitigating deforestation

A

reforestation, using and buying wood harvested by ecologically sustainable forestry techniques, reusing wood

84
Q

prescribed burn

A

method by which forest are set on fire under controlled condition in order to reduce the occurrence of natural fires