Unit 5 apes

doesn't include 5.6 pest contol, 5.11 Sustainability, 5.16 aquaculture

Direct Effects of Clearcutting

soil erosion, increased soil & steam temp, flooding & landslides

Tree plantations

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

Effects of tree plantations

lowers biodiversity (bc single species) & the tree are all the same age

Forest Benefits

filters Air pollutants, removal & storage of CO2 (carbon sequestration), habitat for organisms

Deforestation Consequences; reduces air filtering and carbon stroign devices, cuttind tree releases CO2 from decomposition of leftover organic material

Irrigation

drawing water from the groun fo nearby surface waters and distributing it on fields to increase plant growth

Tilling

Mixing and breaking up soil to make planting easier; also loosens soil for roots

Impacts of tillings

increase erosion, loss of organic matter, increase pm in air

Slash & Burn

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

Impacts of Slash & burn

deforestation, release of CO2, CO, N2O, increase PM, lower albedo

Synthetic (inorganic fertilizers) impacts

doesn’t return organic matter to soil, less water holding capacity, no soil deconomposer, leaching (water carries excess nutrients into ground water or surface water) which contaminate drinking water & causes euthrophication

Furrow Irrigation

Trench dug along crop & filled with water, easy & ineqpensive, water seep into soil slowly, 66% efficient, 33% lost to runoff or evap

Drip Irrigation

most efficient, most costly, over 95% efficient, holes in hose to allow water to slowly drip out, avoid waterlogging & conserve water

Flood Irrigation

(look like a wetland marsh thing( glood entire field, easy but disrptvive to plants, can waterlog soil & drown plants, 80& efficient & 20% runoff/evap

Spray Irrigation

water pumped into spray nozzle, more efficient than flood or furrow, more expensive bc equipment

Waterlogging

overeating can saturate soil, fills all soil pore with water, doesn’t allow air into pores, roots can’t take in 02 they need

Solution to Waterlogging

also solves oversaturated soils; drip irrigation, soil aeration (poking holes or cores into soil to allow air/water to drain thru soil)

Soil Salinization

process of salt buildingg up in soil over time bc groundwater uses for irrigation has naturally some salt (water evap and salt stay later build up to toxic levels -> dehydration & prevent plant growth)

Solution to Soil Salinization

drip irrigation, soil aeration, flush with fresh water, switch to freshwater sources

Oversaturating Soil

filling all the soil pore space with water; doesn’t allow air into pores, roots can’t take in the O2 they need, can stunt growth or kill crops

Groundwater

H2O stored in pore space of permeable rock & sediment layers

Aquifers

useable groundwater deposits for humans; replenished by groundwater recharge (rain water percolating down thru soil into aquifer)

What aquifers get recharged quickly?

unconfied aquifers

Saltwater Intrusion

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

Cone of Depression

forms when water table is lowered by excessive pumping, depleting water & drying nearby wells

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 a resource left that can be mined.

Usually measured in years left of extraction.

Overburden

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

Tailings & slag

leftover waste material separated from the valuable metal or mineral within ore (often stored in ponds @ mine site)

Surface Mining

removal of overburden to access ore near surface

Different types of surface mining

open pit, string, mountaintop removal, placer

Open-pit mining

A method where a large hole is dug into the ground to extract ore and minerals near the surface. It's used when resources are spread over a large area.

Strip mining

Involves removing large strips of soil and rock (called overburden) to expose and extract shallow, horizontal mineral deposits, often coal.

Mountaintop removal

Entire mountaintops are blasted away to access coal seams underneath. The debris is usually dumped into nearby valleys, affecting ecosystems and waterways.

Placer mining

Uses water to separate heavier minerals (like gold) from sediment in riverbeds or streambeds, often by panning or sluicing.

Effects of Surface mining

topsoil erosion, habitat loss, increased stream turb, and increase of PM in air

Subsurface Mining

more expensive form of miningdue to higher insurance and healthcare cost for workers, has some risks like poor ventilation and mine shafts potentially collapsing, mining deep underground, and has a vertical shaft drilled down into ground + used more as surface coal deposits are being depleted

Environmental Impacts of Mining

methane release, pm release, acid mine drainage (rainwater leak from mine -> pyrvite -> sulfuric acid -> lower pH)

Mine Reclamation

process of returning land to original state after mining has finished such as filling empty shafts/holes, restoring original contours, returning topsoil with og stuff, and replanting native plants to restore the community to what it once was

Urbanization

removing of vegetation to convert natural landscape to city

Impervious surfaces

surfaces that replace soil, vegetation, and wetlands with surfaces that don’t let water infiltrate into the ground

CO2 emissions

cement production, construction machinery, deforestation (loss of future carbon sequestration, landfills needed for disposing trash from large pop

Urban Sprawl

pop movement out of desne, urban centers to less dense suburban areas surrounding the city

Causes of Urban Sprawl

cheaper property in suburbs, cars make it easy to still get from the suburbs into the city for work, entertainment, cultural attractions, domino effect (neighbors leave so they go w), fewer residents in cities lead to decline in tax revenue for city

Solutions to Urban Sprawl

Urban growth boundaries that are zoning laws set by cities preventing development beyong a certain boundary or Mixed Land Use that has residential, business, and entertainment buildings all located in the same area of a city

Maximum Sustainable Yield

the maximum amount of a renewable resource that can be harvested without reducing or depleting the resource for future use; roughly ½ of carrying capacity

Environmental indicators of Sustainability

biodiversity, etc

5.13 Reducing Urban Runoff

Eviornmental effects of Urban Runoff

decreased infiltration (groundwater recharge), rain washes pollutants into storm drains & into local surface waters

Pollutants and effects of Urban Runoff

Salt (plant & insect death), Sediment (turbidity), Fertilizer (eutrophication), Pesticides (kill non target species), and Oil & gasoline (suffocate fish/kill aq. insects)

Solutions to Urban Runoff

permeable payment (but more costly than usual), rain garden, more public transit, and building up not out (also helps urban sprawl)

IPM

dealing with pests wihtout using pesticides

Types of IPM

biocontrol, crop rotation, intercropping, gmo

Soil Conservation

agricultural technique that minimize erosion so prevents loss of nutrients in topsoil, soil moisture, decomposers in topsoil, and organic matter than traps soil moisture

Contour Plowing

plowing perpendicular to natural slopes of the land instead of down slopes that prevent water runoff & soil, forms mini terraces that catch water running off, sonerving soil & water (looks like curvy lanes)

Terracing

cutting flat “platforms” of soil into a steep slope, flatness of terraces catches water & prevents it from becoming runoff and eroding soil (looks like steps)

Perennial Crops

crops that live year round and are harvested numerous times and are longer, more established roots that prevent bare soil between harvest

Windbreaks

using trees or other plants to block the force of the wind from erodiign topsoil, can be used as a source of firewood, fruit, and can provide habitat and be a pollinator & other species

No till

leaving leftover crop remains in the soil instead of tilling under, adds org matter to soil (nutrients, soil cover, moisture), and prevents erosion from loosened soil

Strip Cropping

aka intercropping, alternating rows of dense crops (hay, wheat) with rows of less dense crops (corn, soy, cotton) to prevent runoff from eroding soil from less dense rows of crops

Ways of improving Soil Fertility

crop rotation( legumes-n fixation), green manure (leftovver plant matter from a cover crop), and limestone (neutralize soil)

Rotational Grazing

regular rotation of livestock to different pastures to prevent overgrazing, which can kill plants, compact soil, and lead to erosion of topsoil

Ecologically Sustainable Forestry

foresty (using trees for lumber) that minimizes damage to ecosystem (habitats, destruction, soil erosion, etc), can be selective cutting or strip cutting (to preserve topsoil)

Sustainable Forestry Practices

using recycled wood, or simply reusign without recylcing, reforestation, selectively removing diseased tress, etc

Fire Suppresion

this is about putting out all natural forest fires as soon as they start; putting out fires immediately leads to more dry biomass buildup (which makes future fires worse) , close monitoring can prevent fire damage and future fires

Prescribed Burns

the controlled application of fire to the land to reduce wildfire hazards, clear downed trees, control plant diseases, improve rangeland and wildlife habitats, and restore natural ecosystems