Farming practices and productivity (BIOL4)

Question 0

What are the practices using in intensive farming?

Answer 0

Killing pest species - chemical, biological and integrated control

Fertilisers

Rearing livestock intensively

Question 1

Why do intensive farming practices increase productivity?

Answer 1

Inc. efficiency of energy conversion - more energy used for growth than movement

Remove limiting factors - more energy available to inc. energy input

Question 2

Define pests

Answer 2

Organisms that compete for resources - food/space

Question 3

Define pesticides

Answer 3

Chemicals that kill pests

Question 4

Define biological control

Answer 4

Predators control pests

Question 5

Features/advantages/disadvantages of chemical pesticides

Answer 5

• May directly affect non-pests
• May indirectly affect non-pests (through food chain)
• Can develop genetic resistance
• Must be reapplied - expensive! Risk of polluting rivers

Question 6

Features/advantages/disadvantages of biological control

Answer 6

• Use of predation
• V. specific
• Once introduced, will reproduce itself
• Pests don’t become resistant
• Risk that control organism becomes pest
• Can affect non-pests

Question 7

Features/advantages/disadvantages of integrated systems

Answer 7

Using both chemical pesticides and biological control

Combined effects

Reduce cost of using one just one

Reduce environmental effect

Question 8

Features/advantages/disadvantages of fertilisers

Answer 8

• Replace lost minerals, more energy used for growth
• Natural - organic matter e.g manure
• Artificial - inorganic matter, contain pure chemicals
• Risk of eutrophication and wasting it
• Need balance - too much can cause death, too little not enough

Question 9

Features/advantages/disadvantages of intensive rearing of livestock

Answer 9

• Benefits of more food in short time at lower cost (cheaper food)
• Control diet/feeding - high nutritious food
• Kept in pens - movement restricted; less energy lost during respiration as heat
• Kept inside - reduce energy used in maintaining body temp
• Animals genetically selected/bred to prod h. amounts of product
• Unethical - distress and unnatural restriction

Question 10

Differences between natural and agriculture ecosystems

Answer 10

• Natural has more species diversity, artificial has less
• Natural has more genetic diversity within spices, artificial has less
• Natural control population using competition/climate change, artificial uses predation, pesticides and cultivation

Question 11

How does intensive rearing of livestock increase net productivity?

Answer 11

• Control diet/feeding - high nutritious food
• Kept in pens - movement restricted to reduce energy lost during respiration, as heat
• Kept inside to reduce energy used in maintaining body temperature
• Animals genetically selected and bred to produce high amounts of product