Unit 5 APES - Land and Water Use

Tragedy of the Commons

Indivduals will use shared/public resources in their own self interest, degrading them

examples of tragedy of the commons

overfishing, overgrazing, water and air pollution, overuse of groundwater

Why does the tragedy of the commons occur?

When no one owns the resource, no one suffers the negative consequences of depleting it.

Over fishing can lead to

population crash, loss of income, starvation

air pollution can lead to

bronchitis, asthma, healthcare costs

Externalities

negative costs associated with a human action, that aren't accounted for in the price

Solutions for the Tragedy of the Commons

private land ownership, fees or taxes

Clearcutting

The process of cutting down all the trees in an area at once

Effects of clearcutting

Soil erosion, increased soil and stream temp, flooding and landslides, loss of root structure

Tree plantations

Areas where the same tree species are repeatedly planted, grown, and harvested

Forest benefits

• filtering of air pollutants

• removal and storage of CO2 from the atmosphere

• habitat for organisms

deforestation consequences

-reduces air filtering and carbon storing services

-cutting trees down releases CO2 from decomposition of leftover organic material

slash and burn

Cutting down vegetation and burning it to clear land for agriculture. & return nutrients in plants to soil

Green Revolution

Shift in agriculture away from small, family operated farms to large, industrial scale agribusiness

Mechanization

Increased use of tractors for plowing and tilling fields, and combines for harvesting

High yield variety crops

Hybrid, or genetically modified crops that produce a higher yield

GMO's

Genetically modified crops have genes for drought tolerance, pest resistance, faster growth, and larger fruit/grain

Synthetic fertilizer leads to

excess nitrate, phosphate washed off fields and into nearby waters where they cause eutrophication

irrigation

Drawing water from the ground or nearby surface waters and distributing it on fields to increase plant growth

pesticides can

wash off crops in runoff and kill or harm non-target species in local soil or waters

Monocropping

Growing one single species of crop

monocropping disadvantages

decreases biodiversity, increased soil erosion, decreased habitat diversity

Tilling definition and sideeffects

mixing and breaking up soil to make planting easier, increases erosion, loss of organic matter, increased PM and turbidity

Leaching

water carrie's excess nutrients into groundwater or into surface waters

furrow irrigation

a trench that is flooded with water, easy and inexpensive

flood irrigation

flood entire field, easier but more disruptive to plants

drip irrigation

holes in hose allow water to slowly drip out. most efficient, but most costly

spray irrigation

ground or surface water pumped into spray nozzles. more efficient and more expensive

water logging effects

can saturate soil, filling all soil pore space with water

solution to water logging

drip irrigation or soil aeration

soil salinization

process of salt building up in soil over time

solution to soil salinization

drip irrigation, soil aeration, flushing with fresh water, switch to freshwater source

industrial water use

power plants, metal/plastic manufacturing

muncipial water use

households (toilet, shower, drinking water)

agriculture water use

water for livestock, irrigation water for crops

saltwater intrusion

excessive pumping near coast lowers water table pressure, allowing saltwater to seep into groundwater

cone of depression

forms when water table is lowered by excessive pumpkins, depleting water and drying nearby wells

chemicals toxic to pests

rodenticides, fungicides, insecticides, herbicides

pests can become ___________ to pesticide overuse

resistant

GMO's

gene for pest resistant trait is added to the plant through genetic modification

GM crops are

genetically identical, so they are mor susceptible to disease

CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations)

Also called feedlots - densely crowded method where animals are fed grain (corn) to raise them to as quickly as possible

Manure lagoons

Large open storage pits for animal waste

Waste contains

ammonia, hormones, antibiotics, e. coli

Free-range grazing

animals graze on grass and grow at a natural rate without growth hormones

Overgrazing

too many animals in an area of land can remove all vegetation which leads to topsoil erosion

desertification can occur if

plants are killed by overgrazing and soil is compacted so much that it can't hold enough water anymrie

overgrazing can be prevented by

rotational grazing

Producing meat for humans to eat is

far less efficient than producing plants in terms of energy, land, and water use

energy meat inefficiency

all of the energy needed to plant, grow, harvest plants to feed to animals

land meat inefficiency

all of the energy needed to grow plants to feed animals PLUS room the animals take up

water meat inefficiency

all of the water for crops that animals eat PLUS the water the animals drink

Overfishing

overfishing of a species or several species from a body of water at such a rate that they cannot recover

overfishing leads to

collapse in aquatic ecosystems

fisheries

populations of fish used for commercial fishing

fishery collapse

when overfishing causes 90% population decline in a fishery

population may never recover from fishery collapse due to

decreased biodiversity, inability to find mates, inbreeding depression

bottom trawling

Especially harmful fishing method that involves dragging a large net along ocean floor

Bycatch

unintended species being caught

Solutions to overfishing

Turtle exclusion device, licenses, limits on size / number

ore

commercially valuable deposits of concentrated minerals that can be harvested and used as raw materials

metals

elements that conduct electricity, heat, and have structural properties for building (found within ores)

reserve

the known amount of resource left than can be mined

overburden

Soil, vegetation, & rocks that are removed to get to an ore deposit below

tailings and slag

leftover waste material separated from the valuable metal or mineral within ore

surface mining

removal of overburden to access ore near surface

types of surface mining

open pit, strop, mountaintop, removal, placer

subsurface mining is (economically)

More expensive due to higher & health costs for workers

risks to subsurface mining

poor ventilation leading to toxic gas exposure, mine shaft collapse, injury from falling rock, lung cancer, asbestos,fires, explosions

acid mine drainage

rainwater leaks into abandoned mine tunnels & mixes with pyrite, forming sulfuric acid

methane release

Coal mining releases methane gas from rock around coal

PM release

coal mining especially, releases lots of soot and other particulates that can irritate human and animal lungs

mine reclamation

process of restoring land to original state after mining has finished

Urbanization

removing of vegetation to convert natural landscapes to city

impervious surfaces

don't allow water to infiltrate into the ground (concrete, asphalt, cement)

Saltwater intrusion results from

population growth in coastal cities

urban sprawl

Pop. movement out of dense, urban centers to less dense suburban areas surrounding the city

causes of urban sprawl

expanded highway system, cheaper housing, etc

urban growth boundaries

zoning laws set by cities preventing development beyond a certain boundary

mixed land use

Residential, business, and entertainment buildings all located in the same area of a city

ecological footprint

Measure of how much a person / group consumes, expressed in area of land.

carbon footprint

measured in tons of CO2 produced per year

sustainability

consuming a resource or using a space in a way that does not deplete or degrade it for future generations

maximum sustainable yield

The maximum amount of a renewable resource that can be harvested without reducing or depleting the resource for future use

environmental indicators of sustainability

factors that help us determine the health of the environment and guide us towards sustainable use of earth's resources

food production indicated

ability of earth's soil, water, and climate to support agriculture

as human pop grows

resource depletion grows

environmental consequences of urban runoff

decreased infiltration, rain washes pollutants into storm drains and local surface water

permeable pavement

Specially designed to allow stormwater to infiltrate & recharge ground water, decreases runoff

rain garden

gardens planted in urban areas, especially surrounding a storm drain, decreases runoff

public transit

Public transit decreases urban runoff, pollutants on road, CO2 emissions & even traffic

building up, not out

Building vertically decreases impervious surfaces (decreasing urban runoff)

Integrated Pest Management

Using a variety of pest control methods that minimize env. disruption and pesticide use

types of IPM

Biocontrol, crop rotation, intercropping

Biocontrol

introducing a natural predator, parasite, or competitor to control the pest population

crop rotation

rotating crops (planting a different crop each season) can prevent pests from becoming established since it disrupts their preferred food choice

Intercropping

"push" plants emit volatile chemicals that naturally repel pests away from crop while "pull" plants emit chemicals that attract moths to lay eggs in them, instead of crop