Population and Environment Flashcards
What physical factors affect a sparse/small population
-Climate: Extreme temperatures, low annual precipitation, seasonal drought
- Soils: Permafrost, thin soils in mountains, soil erosion due to leaching and overgrazing
-Resources: energy and minerals in short supply
-water supply lacking in quantity or quality
What physical factors affect a large/dense
-Climate: temperate areas and even supply of sunshine
-Soils: Deep fertile soils in alluvial river basins
-Resources: energy and mineral resources readily accessible
-Reliable supply of good clean water
What are the Key population parameters
-Distribution
Describes the pattern of how population is spread over an area
The world has an uneven population distribution
-Density
-The number of people living in a certain area
-Usually measured in population per km2
-Numbers
The total amount of people living in an area
-Change
How population increases or decreases over time
Population is never static; the distribution, density and number is constantly evolving due
to various processes
Development processes describe what
how human societies advance over time due to technological change
Describe the Neolithic revolution
12,000 years ago, Development of farming practices and shift from small hunter-gatherer populations into larger, settled agricultural communities. More stable food supply leads to population growth
Describe the Industrial revolution
-1760 - 1850, With the invention of labour-saving machinery and discovery of large supplies of energy resources, manufacturing industry overtook agriculture as the largest sector of the economy in Britain and other major world powers
-People moved to cities in larger numbers and life expectancy increased as social
conditions (for e.g. sanitation and medicine) improved
-Many developing countries going through the same process today which leads to fast growing populations and urbanisation
Describe the green revolution
1960, Agricultural yields were maximised with new food technologies (e.g. hybrid seeds) and better farming techniques, particularly in less developed countries
More reliable food supply meant populations in developing countries increased quickly
How can Development processes reduce population totals
-Countries reaching an advanced stage with highly developed social systems mean life expectancy can be very high
-increasing proportion of the population is elderly so that death rates increase
-Population growth rate slows and in some cases total population falls
-Japan’s population is falling (2020 growth rate was -0.30%)
World population grew very ___ until 18th century
slowly until 18th century
From 10,000 BCE to 1700 CE the average growth rate was just 0.04% per year
____ growth in population since the mid 18th century
World population reached 8 billion in November 2022
Exponential
Despite the growth rate falling, world population is projected to continue to grow until approximately ___ when it could reach more than ___
2100, more than 11 billion
Approximately ___ of the world now lives in cities but this figure is projected to reach __by 2050 as urbanisation increases
The densest populations are in areas that have the most ___environmental conditions or where human development processes have occurred
55%, ,65%, favourable
Example of Population change rates vary with time
Global average growth rate has declined since around 1970
How does Population change rates vary over space
-Countries that went through Industrial Revolutions in the 18th and 19th centuries
experienced rapid population growth. Today those countries are developed and their
growth rates have fallen. In some cases they have fallen so much that their total
populations are in decline (e.g. Japan)
-The fastest population growth today occurs in developing countries that are rapidly
industrialising
How has Global food production has changed over time
-Increased significantly in the last 50 years (three times more food is produced today than
in 1970)
-Due to more land being put aside to grow crops and technological advancements
increasing crop yields
Global food production is ___ distributed over space
unevenly, due to Physical factors (climate, soils, relief and water availability) influence how much food can be grown in some areas
Human factors (economic resources and investment in technology) also determine the pattern
Why has Global food consumption also increased significantly in recent years
-Linked to levels of development
-More highly developed countries can afford to invest in food production technology to increase yields and can also afford to import more food if it can’t be grown locally
-Consumption by lower income countries has also increased as they have developed, but total consumption by these countries is lower and increasingly more slowly than in developed countries
Agriculture is an example of an ___system
open, Contains inputs, outputs and processes that turn inputs into outputs
Also contains feedbacks
Inputs of Agricultural Systems
Physical - precipitation, temperature, relief, soil fertility, drainage
Human - Labour
Economic - Seeds, replacement stock, agrochemicals, mortgage, tax, machinery, fuel
Processes in Agricultural Systems
growing crops, rearing livestock, daily routines, hazard perception
Outputs of Agricultural Systems
Crops, livestock, livestock patterns
Feedbacks in agriculture systems
profit for reinvestment
manure for fertiliser
hay for fodder
Productivity in subsistence agriculture systems
Food is produced to feed family or community and only excess sold or traded. Often also extensive.
i.e…
Nomadic pastoralism, West Africa
Productivity in commercial agriculture systems
Crops grown or livestock raised to sell for profit, Often also intensive i.e.
Large agribusiness growing grain in North America
Cattle ranching in South America
High outputs