Unit 5 vocab

Question 1

all the activities that farmers undertake during cultivation of crops such as plowing, sowing, fertilization, harvesting, etc.

Answer 1

Agricultural practices

Question 2

farming aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish, and seaweed

Answer 2

Aquaculture

Question 3

a permeable layer of rock and sediment that contains groundwater

Answer 3

Aquifers

Question 4

the diversity of life forms in an environment

Answer 4

Biodiversity

Question 5

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

Answer 5

Clearcutting

Question 6

a large indoor or outdoor structure designed for maximum output of high density animal farming used for cattle, dairy cows, hogs, or poultry

Answer 6

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)

Question 7

the purposeful removal of trees from a forested area, usually for farming or logging

Answer 7

Deforestation

Question 8

the transformation of arable, productive land to desert or unproductive land due to climate change or destructive land use

Answer 8

Desertification

Question 9

a measure of how much a person consumes, expressed in area of land, representing that person’s impact on world resources

Answer 9

Ecological footprint

Question 10

allowing animals to wander free rather spend their entire life confined in a small space as part of a CAFO

Answer 10

Free range

Question 11

an organism produced by copying genes from a species with a desirable trait and inserting them into another species

Answer 11

Genetically modified organisms (GMO)

Question 12

an agricultural practice that uses a variety of techniques designed to minimize pesticide inputs such as crop rotation and intercropping, the use of pest-resistant crop varieties, and the creation of habitats for predators of pests

Answer 12

Integrated pest management (IPM)

Question 13

techniques used to water crops including furrow irrigation, flood irrigation, spray irrigation, and drip irrigation

Answer 13

Methods of irrigation

Question 14

extracting mineral resources from the Earth by mining the ore and separating other minerals, elements, or residual rock away from the sought-after element or mineral

Answer 14

Mining operations

Question 15

the substantial depletion of fish stocks, often by international fleets of factory ships

Answer 15

Overfishing

Question 16

allowing livestock to overfeed on dry, open grasslands, denuding the region of vegetation and exposing to wind erosion which makes it difficult for soils to absorb and retain water and nutrients when it rains

Answer 16

Overgrazing

Question 17

practices used to kill, control, or prevent pests from damaging crops, including both chemical (herbicides and insecticides) and nonchemical practices

Answer 17

Pest-control methods

Question 18

process that occurs when the small amounts of salts in irrigation water become highly concentrated on the soil surface through evaporation, eventually reaching toxic concentrations that impede plant growth

Answer 18

Salinization

Question 19

living on Earth in a way that allows us to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources

Answer 19

Sustainability

Question 20

agriculture that 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

Answer 20

Sustainable agriculture

Question 21

an approach to logging that removes trees from the forest in ways that do not unduly affect the viability of other, noncommercial tree species

Answer 21

Sustainable forestry

Question 22

the maximum amount of a resource that can be harvested without compromising the future availability of that resource

Answer 22

Sustainable yield

Question 23

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

Answer 23

The Green Revolution

Question 24

When individuals overconsume a resource at the expense of society.

Answer 24

Tragedy of the commons

Question 25

urbanized areas that spread into rural areas, removing clear boundaries between the two

Answer 25

Urban sprawl

Question 26

is the population shift from rural to urban areas

Answer 26

Urbanization

Question 27

an infiltration of salt water in an area where groundwater pressure has been reduced from extensive drilling of wells

Answer 27

Water infiltration