apes - land and water use unit 5

openpit mining

using tnt, drills, and such to create a crater at a dig site in order to expose ore and minerals.

placer mining

extracting minerals from riverbeds and streams using water and gravity, with sifters to separate out minerals.

strip mining

removal of soil rock and vegetation to extract ore and minerals

mountaintop removal

blowing off mountain summits so they can reach some mineral and ore founder deeper than surface

overburden

overlaying of rock, soil, and vegetation covering precious ore and mineral resources

reclamation

restoration of the land back to its original topography

tailings

large piles of gangues (toxic)

gangue

waste material removed from the ore mineral (toxic)

acid mine drainage

the ore that is sought out by miners are high in sulfates, when leaked into water mixed with air this forms sulfuric acid. this aid can this dissolve other metals from other rocks and acidification happens.

hunter gatherer characteristics

• small populations

• migration

• limited technology

• small ecological footprint

they were sustainable, not beyond carrying capacity

agricultural revolution

shift from nomadic hunting and gathering to a settled community

• farmers produced more food than their family needed

• towns and villages forms

• increased life span

• habitat destruction - slash n burn

• soil erosion and overgrazing

• pollution

industrial revolution

shift form renewable resources such as wood and water, to nonrenewable fossil fuels

• centralized factories to mass produce goods

• improved ag tech led to increase in urban population

• air pollution

• dangerous work conditions

industrial ag resources

• inorganic fertilizer

• pesticides

• irrigation

• inexpensive fossil fuels

• COAL!!! - fossil fuel

green revolution

increased yields per unit of area of cropland involved three steps:

• developing n planting monocultures of key crops

• lavishing fertilizer pesticides and water on crop to produce high yields

• increasing the intensity n frequency of cropping

subsistence ag

farmers grow enough food for themselves and their families - planting decisions are based on the families needs not the marketplace

intensive subsistence farming

common in india and china

• farmers that produce excess can exchange produce for other goods.

slash n burn

trees are cut down and burned in place , the ash is used to amend the soil after a very short time the soil is depleted of its nutrients and the cycle is repeated

two major types of food production

industrialized ag

subsistence ag

• traditional

• intensive

soil conservation

involves reducing soil erosion and restoring soil fertility

• keep soil covered with vegetation

• conventional tillage farming vs conservation tillage farming