8-22 Sustainable Forestry and the Green Revolution

APES 2024

Ecologically sustainable forestry

Ecologically sustainable forestry

Removes trees from the forest in ways that do not cause a large impact on other trees and tries to keep plants and animals in as natural a state as possible

Using recycled wood or reusing

• Wood can be chipped and used for mulch

• Reforestation

• Removing diseased trees to prevent spread of infection

• Selective cutting

Reforestation

Replanting trees in an area that has been logged

Fire suppression

• Stopping natural fires by putting out forest fires as soon as they start

• Adds biomass buildup which can lead to bigger fires

• Better to monitor to prevent damage and worse fires in future

Prescribed burns

• Dead biomass builds up and provides fuel for fires

• Small controlled fires will burn up the extra fuel load (dead biomass)

• Helps to promote nutrient cycling

The Green Revolution

Shift from small family farms (subsistence) to
large industrialized farms (spread to the developing world in the 1940s)

What crops are associated with the Green Revolution

Wheat, corn, and rice

What did the Green Revolution depend on

• Synthetic fertilizers

• Chemical pesticides

• Irrigation

• Machinery

• Genetically modified organisms (GMO)

• Fossil fuel use for machinery

Norman Borlaug

Started the Green Revolution and won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work

Mechanization can increase profits and efficiency of farms but

also reliance on fossil fuels

Positive effects of mechanization on the environment

• Prevented some deforestation and land conversion

• Preserved biodiversity and ecosystems

Negative effects of mechanization on natural resources

• Pollution, erosion

• Salinization, desertification

Transgenic organism

an organism that contains DNA from another species

Genetically modified organism (GMO)

organisms that have been genetically
engineered by recombinant DNA (new genes spliced into their genome)

Environmental benefits of genetic engineering

• Reduced use of chemical insecticides

• Increased no-till farming

• Decreased irrigation, deforestation, land conversion

Negatives of genetic engineering

Increased herbicide use affects health and habitats
Some GM fields support less biodiversity

GMO crops have genes for

• Drought resistance

• Pest resistance

• Faster growth

• Larger fruit/grain

GMO example

Bt corn

Bt corn

has been modified with a gene from soil bacteria (Bacillus thuringiensis) to produce a protein that kills many different corn pests