Unit 3 Ch11 in quizlet

Question 1

What is the Green Revolution?

Answer 1

A shift to new agricultural strategies and practices aimed at increasing food production, with both positive and negative results.

Question 2

What is mechanization in agriculture?

Answer 2

The use of machinery in farming to increase profits and efficiency, which can also increase reliance on fossil fuels.

Question 3

What are some environmental damages from agriculture?

Answer 3

Practices such as tiling, slash-and-burn farming, and the use of fertilizers that can harm the environment.

Question 4

What is waterlogging?

Answer 4

Occurs when too much water is left in the soil, raising the groundwater table and inhibiting plants’ ability to absorb oxygen.

Question 5

What is salinization?

Answer 5

The process where salts in groundwater remain in the soil after water evaporates, potentially making soil toxic to plants.

Question 6

What are common pest control methods?

Answer 6

Common methods include pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, and insecticides that can lead to pest resistance.

Question 7

What are genetically engineered crops?

Answer 7

Crops modified to increase resistance to pests and diseases, which can lead to loss of genetic diversity.

Question 8

What is Integrated Pest Management (IPM)?

Answer 8

A combination of methods used to control pest species while minimizing environmental disruption.

Question 9

What are the benefits of IPM?

Answer 9

Reduces risks that pesticides pose to wildlife, water supplies, and human health.

Question 10

What are the drawbacks of IPM?

Answer 10

Can be complex and expensive to implement.

Question 11

What is soil conservation?

Answer 11

Practices aimed at preventing soil erosion, including contour plowing, windbreaks, and no-till agriculture.

Question 12

How can soil fertility be improved?

Answer 12

Methods such as crop rotation and the addition of green manure and limestone.

Question 13

What is rotational grazing?

Answer 13

The regular rotation of livestock between pastures to avoid overgrazing.

Question 14

What is overfishing?

Answer 14

The depletion of fish species leading to reduced biodiversity and negative impacts on communities dependent on fishing.

Question 15

What is aquaculture?

Answer 15

The practice of farming aquatic organisms, which is efficient but can lead to wastewater contamination and disease transmission.

Question 16

What are Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)?

Answer 16

Methods of meat production that involve high-density animal farming.

Question 17

What is free-range grazing?

Answer 17

A method of meat production where animals are allowed to roam freely rather than being confined.

Question 18

What is the efficiency of meat production?

Answer 18

It takes approximately 20x more land to produce the same amount of calories from meat as from plants.

Question 19

What are the benefits of less meat consumption?

Answer 19

Could reduce CO2, methane, and N2O emissions; conserve water; reduce the use of antibiotics and growth hormones; and improve soil.

Question 20

What was the impact of the Green Revolution?

Answer 20

Brought new technologies to agriculture in the 1960s, drastically increasing yields worldwide.

Question 21

What is irrigation?

Answer 21

Can significantly increase yields and has allowed us to grow crops where they could not otherwise be grown.

Question 22

What percentage of the world’s agriculture is irrigated?

Answer 22

While only 16% of the world’s agriculture is irrigated, that land produces 40% of the world’s food.

Question 23

What are agrochemicals?

Answer 23

Includes synthetic fertilizers and pesticides introduced during the Green Revolution.

Question 24

What are high-yield crop varieties?

Answer 24

Disease-resistant crop varieties developed during the Green Revolution.

Question 25

What are the environmental externalities of irrigation?

Answer 25

Irrigation can deplete groundwater, reduce the size of bodies of water, and can contribute to soil degradation.

Question 26

What is eutrophication?

Answer 26

Can be caused by the overuse of any fertilizer (synthetic or organic).

Question 27

What are pesticides?

Answer 27

Substances that kill or control organisms that people consider pests; can be organic or synthetic.

Question 28

What is the pesticide treadmill?

Answer 28

The cycle of pesticide development, followed by evolution of pesticide resistance, followed by new pesticide development.

Question 29

What is bioaccumulation?

Answer 29

The gradual build-up of substances, such as pesticides, in the fatty tissues of an organism.

Question 30

What is biomagnification?

Answer 30

Increases in the concentration of a toxin, such as pesticides, in the tissues of organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain.

Question 31

What is soil compaction?

Answer 31

Loss of pore space in soil, which can increase due to mechanization.

Question 32

What is conservation tillage?

Answer 32

Reduced-till or no-till practices that help in soil conservation.

Question 33

What is contour plowing?

Answer 33

A method that reduces water erosion and runoff.

Question 34

What are windbreaks?

Answer 34

Planting perimeter trees that reduce wind erosion.

Question 35

What are perennial crops?

Answer 35

Crops that increase soil stability.

Question 36

What is intercropping?

Answer 36

A practice in which two or more crop species are planted in the same field at the same time to reduce competition and promote beneficial interactions.

Question 37

What is agroforestry?

Answer 37

Intercropping trees with vegetables to act as wind breaks and reduce erosion.

Question 38

What is crop rotation?

Answer 38

Reduces pest problems and nutrient depletion by rotating the crop species in a field from season to season.

Question 39

What are monocultures?

Answer 39

Can attract large pest populations, particularly when the same crop is planted year after year.

Question 40

What is shifting agriculture?

Answer 40

Involves clearing land, using it for a few years, and then allowing the soil to recover.

Question 41

What is organic agriculture?

Answer 41

Production of crops without the use of synthetic agrochemicals or GMOs.

Question 42

What are organic fertilizers?

Answer 42

Rich in organic matter, providing a slow, sustained release of nutrients and helping the soil hold onto those nutrients.

Question 43

What is the production of organic fertilizers?

Answer 43

Can be produced from 'waste' (compost, manure).

Question 44

What is the runoff susceptibility of organic fertilizers?

Answer 44

Typically less susceptible to runoff and/or volatilization.

Question 45

What are synthetic fertilizers?

Answer 45

Provide a concentrated source of nutrients that are immediately available for uptake.

Question 46

What is the GHG intensity of synthetic fertilizers?

Answer 46

Incredibly GHG-intensive to produce and can result in large N2O emissions when applied.

Question 47

What is a genetically modified organism (GMO)?

Answer 47

An organism or microorganism whose genetic material has been altered by means of genetic engineering.

Question 48

What are the pros of GMOs?

Answer 48

Can create strains of organisms that are resistant to harsh environmental conditions and produce essential nutrients for humans.

Question 49

What are the cons of GMOs?

Answer 49

Some GMOs are engineered to allow farmers to use pesticides more aggressively.

Question 50

What is the impact of GMOs on biodiversity?

Answer 50

Can significantly reduce agricultural biodiversity and can reduce biodiversity of surrounding native plants.

Question 51

What is integrated pest management (IPM)?

Answer 51

A variety of techniques designed to minimize pesticide inputs.

Question 52

What are the benefits of IPM?

Answer 52

IPM can simultaneously reduce inputs and increase outputs.

Question 53

What are Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)?

Answer 53

Large indoor or outdoor structures designed for maximum output of animal products.

Question 54

What are the ethical concerns of CAFOs?

Answer 54

Ethical concerns over animal treatment and antibiotic overuse.

Question 55

What is a fishery?

Answer 55

A commercially harvestable population of fish within a particular ecological region.

Question 56

What is fishery collapse?

Answer 56

A decline of a fish population by 90% or more.

Question 57

What are Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs)?

Answer 57

Fishery managers establish a total allowable catch and distribute or sell quotas to individual fishers or fishing companies.

Question 58

What is a sustainable fishery?

Answer 58

Means no fishing until populations recover.

Question 59

What is the impact of large-scale fishing?

Answer 59

Can adversely affect both target and non-target species and is the single largest source of plastics in the ocean.

Question 60

What is aquaculture pollution?

Answer 60

Waste-water from aquaculture pollutes waterways and escaped 'farmed fish' can decimate wild fish populations.