Sustainability Week 2

Question 1

Tragedy of the Commons

Answer 1

The tendency of a shared, limited resource to become depleted if it is not regulated in some way

Question 2

Externality

Answer 2

The cost or benefit of a good or service that is not included in the purchase price of that good or service, or otherwise accounted for

Question 3

Rangelands

Answer 3

Dry, open grasslands primarily used for grazing cattle

Question 4

Forest

Answer 4

Land dominated by trees and other woody vegetation and sometimes used for commercial logging

Question 5

Clear-cutting

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Selective Cutting

Answer 6

The method of harvesting trees that involves the removal of single trees or a relatively small number of trees from the larger forest

Question 7

Ecologically Sustainable Forestry

Answer 7

An approach to removing trees from forests in ways that do not unduly affect the viability of other noncommercial tree species

Question 8

Tree Plantation

Answer 8

A large area typically planted with a single fast-growing tree species

Question 9

Endangered Species Act

Answer 9

A 1973 US law designated to protect plant and animal species that are threatened with extinction, and the habitats that support those species

Question 10

Ecological Footprint

Answer 10

A measure of the area of land and water an individual, population, or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to process the waste it generates

Question 11

Carbon Footprint

Answer 11

A measure of the total carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emissions from the activities, both direct and indirect, of a person, country, or other entity

Question 12

Sustainability

Answer 12

Being able to use a resource or engage in an activity now without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to engage in similar activities later

Question 13

Sustainable Development

Answer 13

Development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations

Question 14

Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)

Answer 14

The largest quantity of a renewable resource that can be harvested indefinitely

Question 15

Environmental Indicators

Answer 15

Describe the current state of an environmental system or the Earth

Question 16

Anthropogenic

Answer 16

Derived from human activities

Question 17

Igneous Rock

Answer 17

Rock formed directly from magma

Question 18

Sedimentary Rock

Answer 18

Rock that forms when sediments such as muds, sands, or gravels are compressed by overlying sediments

Question 19

Metamorphic Rock

Answer 19

Rock that forms when sedimentary rock, igneous rock, or other metamorphic rock is subjected to high temperature and pressure

Question 20

Rock Cycle

Answer 20

The geologic cycle governing the constant formation, alteration, and destruction of rock material that results from tectonics, weathering, and erosion, among other processes

Question 21

Physical Weathering

Answer 21

The mechanical breakdown of rocks and minerals

Question 22

Chemical Weathering

Answer 22

The breakdown of rocks and minerals by chemical reactions, the dissolving of chemical elements from rocks, or both of these processes

Question 23

Acid precipitation

Answer 23

Precipitation high in sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Also known as acid rain.

Question 24

Erosion

Answer 24

The physical removal of rock fragments from a landscape or ecosystem.

Question 25

Parent Material

Answer 25

The underlying rock material from which the inorganic components of a soil are derived.

Question 26

Horizon

Answer 26

A horizontal layer in a soil defined by distinctive physical features such as color and texture

Question 27

O Horizon

Answer 27

The organic horizon at the sruface of many soils, composed of organic detritus in various stages of decomposition

Question 28

Humus

Answer 28

The most fully decomposed organiz matter in the lowest section of the O horizon

Question 29

A Horizon

Answer 29

Frequently the top layer of soil, a zone of organic material and minerals that have been mixed together. Also known as Topsoil.

Question 30

E Horizon

Answer 30

A zone of leaching, or eluviation, found in some acidic soils under the O horizon or, less often, the A horizon

Question 31

B Horizon

Answer 31

Commonly known as subsoil, a soil horizon is composed primarily of mineral material with very little organic matter

Question 32

C Horizon

Answer 32

The least-weathered and soil horizon, which always occurs beneath the B horizon and is similar to the parent material

Question 33

Porosity

Answer 33

The size of the air space between particles

Question 34

Water Holding Capacity

Answer 34

The amount of water a soil can hold against the draining force of gravity

Question 35

Permeability

Answer 35

The ability of water to move through the soil

Question 36

Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)

Answer 36

The ability of a particular soil to absorb and release cations

Question 37

Base Saturation

Answer 37

The proportion of soil bases to soil acids, expressed as a percentage

Question 38

Subsistence Farming

Answer 38

Farming for consumption by the farming family and maybe a few neighbors

Question 39

Industrial Agriculture

Answer 39

Agriculture that applies the techniques of mechanization and standardization to the production of food. Also know as agribusiness

Question 40

Green Revolution

Answer 40

A shift in agricultural practices in the twentieth century that included new management techniques and mechanization, as well as fertilization, irrigation, and improved crop varieties, that resulted in increased food output

Question 41

Ecoomies of Scale

Answer 41

The observation that average costs of production fall as output increases

Question 42

Organic Fertilizer

Answer 42

Fertilizer composed of organic matter from plants and animals

Question 43

Synthetic Fertilizer

Answer 43

Fertilizer produced comercially, normally with the use of fossil fuels. Also known as inorganic fertilizer

Question 44

Waterlogging

Answer 44

A form of soil degradation that occurs when soil remains under water for prolonged periods

Question 45

Salinization

Answer 45

A form of soil degradation that occurs when the small amount of salts in irrigation water becomes highly concentrated on the soil surface through evaporation

Question 46

Pesticide

Answer 46

A substance, either natural or synthetic, that kills or controls organisms that people consider pests

Question 47

Insecticide

Answer 47

A pesticide that targets species of insects and other invertebrates that consume crops

Question 48

Herbicide

Answer 48

A pesticide that targets plant species that compete with crops

Question 49

Broad-spectrum Pesticide

Answer 49

A pesticide that kills many different types of pests

Question 50

Selective Pesticide

Answer 50

A pesticide that targets a narrow range of organisms. Also known as narrow-spectrum pesticide

Question 51

Monocropping

Answer 51

An agricultural method that utilizes large plantings of a single species or variety

Question 52

Energy Subsidy

Answer 52

The fossil fuel energy and human energy input per calorie of food produced

Question 53

Plowing

Answer 53

The process of digging deep into the soil and turning it over

Question 54

Tilling

Answer 54

The preparation of soil through a variety of activities including plowing but also including stirring, digging, and cultivating

Question 55

Slash And Burn Agiriculture

Answer 55

An agricultural method in which land is cleaered and farmed for only a few years until the soil is depleted of nutrients. Also known as shifting agriculture