APES Unit 5: Land and Water Use

Tragedy of the commons

The tendency of a shared, limited resource to become depleted if it is not regulated in some way

Maximum sustainable yield

The maximum amount of a renewable resource that can be harvested without compromising the future of that resource

National parks

Designed areas that are managed for science, education, recreation, and beauty

Managed resource protected areas

• Opened for the sustained use of biological, mineral, and recreational resources

• Mining, logging, and other activities are allowed and encouraged

Habitat/species management areas

Maintains biological communities

National monuments

Protect unique sites of natural or cultural interest

Resource conservation ethic

The belief that people should maximize use of resources, based on the greatest good for everyone

Multiple-use lands

A U.S. classification used to designate lands that may be used for recreation, grazing, timber harvesting, and mineral extraction

Clear-cutting

• A method of harvesting trees that involves removing all or almost all of the trees within an area

  • Increases wind and water erosion, causing the loss of soil and nutrients

Selective cutting

The method of harvesting trees that involves the removal of single trees or a relatively small number of trees from the larger forest

Ecologically sustainable forestry

• An approach to removing trees from forests in ways that do not unduly affect the viability of other noncommercial tree species

  • Difficult with high costs

Tree plantations

A large area typically planted with a single rapidly growing tree species

Prescribed burn

• A fire deliberately set under controlled conditions to reduce the accumulation of dead biomass on a forest floor

  • Help reduce the risk of uncontrolled natural fires and provide some of the other benefits of fire

National wildlife refuge

A federal public land managed for the primary purpose of protecting wildlife

National wilderness areas

An area set aside with the intent of preserving a large tract of intact ecosystem or landscape

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

A 1969 US federal act that mandates an environmental assessment of all projects involving federal money or federal permits

Environmental impact statement (EIS)

A document outlining the scope and purpose of a development project, describing the environmental context, suggesting alternative approaches to the project, and analyzing the environmental impact of each alternative

Environmental mitigation plan

A plan that outlines how a developer will address concerns raised by a project's impact on the environment

Endangered Species Act

A 1973 US act designed to protect species from extinction

Urban sprawl

• Urbanized areas that spread into rural areas, removing clear boundaries between the two

  • Can have disastrous environmental impacts

Urban blight

The degradation of the built and social environments of the city that often accompanies and accelerates migration to the suburbs

Zoning

A planning tool used to separate industry and business from residential neighborhoods

Multi-use zoning

A zoning classification that allows retail and high-density residential development to coexist in the same area

Smart growth

A set of principles for community planning that focuses on strategies to encourage the development of sustainable, healthy communities

Transit-oriented development (TOD)

Development that attempts to focus dense residential and retail development around stops for public transportation, a component of smart growth

Infill

Development that fills in vacant lots within existing communities rather than expanding into new land outside the city

Urban growth boundary

A restriction on development outside a designated area

Undernutrition

The condition in which not enough calories are ingested to maintain health

Malnourishment

Having a diet that lacks the correct balance of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals

Food security

A condition in which people have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs for an active and healthy life

Food insecurity

A condition in which people do not have adequate access to food

Famine

A condition in which food insecurity is so extreme that large numbers of deaths occur in a given area over a relatively short period of time

Overnutrition

Ingestion of too many calories and a lack of balance of foods and nutrients

Industrial agriculture

Agriculture that applies the techniques of mechanization and standardization to the production of food

Energy subsidy

The fossil fuel energy and human energy input per calorie of food produced

Green Revolution

A shift in agricultural practices in the 20th century that included new management techniques, mechanization, fertilization, irrigation, and improved crop varieties, that resulted in increased food output

Economics of scale

The observations that average costs of production fall as output increases

Irrigation

The artificial application of water to the soil through various systems of tubes, pumps, and sprays

Waterlogging

A form of soil degradation that occurs when soil remains under water for prolonged periods of time

Salinization

A form of soil degradation that occurs when the small amounts of salt in irrigation water become highly concentrated on the soil surface through evaporation

Organic fertilizers

Fertilizer composed of organic matter from plants and animals

Synthetic fertilizers

Fertilizer produced commercially, normally with the use of fossil fuels

Monocropping

An agricultural method that utilizes large plantings of a single species or variety

Polyculture

The practice of cultivating multiple crops together in the same field.

Pesticides

A substance, either natural or synthetic, that kills or controls organisms that people consider pests

Persistent pesticides

A pesticide that remains in the environment for a long time

Nonpersistent pesticides

A pesticide that breaks down rapidly, usually in weeks or months

Pesticide resistance

A trait possessed by certain individuals that are exposed to a pesticide and survive

Pesticide treadmill

A cycle of pesticide development, followed by pest resistance, followed by a new pesticide development

The benefits of genetic engineering

• Increased crop yield and quantity

• Potential changes in pesticide use

• Increased profits

The risks of genetic engineering

• Safety for human consumption

• Effects on biodiversity

• Regulation of genetically modified organisms

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO)

• A large indoor or outdoor structure designed for maximum output

  • Used for beef, cattle, dairy cows, hogs, and poultry

  • Minimizes land costs, improves feeding efficiency, and increases the fraction of food energy that goes into the production of animal body mass

Aquaculture

Constructing an aquatic ecosystem by stocking the organisms, feeding them, and protecting them from diseases and predators

Fishery

A commercially harvestable population of fish within a particular ecological region

Fishery collapse

The decline of a fish population by 90% or more

Bycatch

The unintentional catch of a nontarget species while fishing

Shifting agriculture

An agricultural method in which land is cleared and used for a few years until the soil is depleted of nutrients

Soil compaction

A process where repeated trampling by humans, machinery, or animals, causes a compaction of soil and a reduction in pore space

Desertification

The transformation of arable, productive land to desert or unproductive land due to climate change or destructive land use

Nomadic grazing

The feeding of herds of animals by moving them to seasonally productive feeding grounds, often over long distances

Sustainable agriculture

Agriculture that fulfills the need for food and fiber while enhancing the quality of the soil, minimizing the use of nonrenewable resources, and allowing economic viability for the farmer

Intercropping

An agricultural method in which two or more crop species are planted in the same field at the same time to promote a synergistic interaction

Crop rotation

An agricultural technique in which crop species in a field are rotated from season to season

Agroforestry

An agricultural technique in which trees and vegetables are intercropped

Contour plowing

An agricultural technique in which plowing and harvesting are done parallel to the topographic contours of the land

Perennial plants

Plants that live for multiple years

Annual plants

Plants that live for only one season

No-till agriculture

An agricultural method in which farmers do not turn the soil between seasons as a means of reducing topsoil erosion

Intergrated pest management (IPM)

• An agricultural practice that uses a variety of techniques designed to minimize pesticide inputs

  • Crop rotation, intercropping, agroforestry, and the use of pest-resistant crop varieties can prevent pest infestations

Organic agriculture

The production of crops in a way that sustains or improves the soil, without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers

Individual transferable quotas (ITQs)

A fishery management program in which individual fishers are given a total allowable catch of fish in a season that they can either catch or sell

Sustainable development

Development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations

Ecological footprint

A measure of how much an individual consumes, expressed in area of land

Process of mining and mineral use

1. Areas are explored

2. Resources are extracted

3. Minerals are refined and processed

4. Further processing forms specific materials

5. Materials are used to make products, such as cars or appliances

Strip mining

Removal of strips of soil and rock to expose ore

Open pit mining

Uses a large visible pit/hole, with resources closer to the surface

Mountaintop removal

Uses explosives

Tailings

Left-over materials from the processing of mined ore

Placer mining

Looking for minerals and metals in river sediments

Subsurface mining

Resource more than 100m below surface

Environmental impacts of mining

1. Air: Dust particles, methane/CO2 (fossil fuel emissions)

2. Water: Contamination as it percolates through tailings

3. Soil: Removal (sometimes replacement) and loss of vegetation increasing erosion

4. Biodiversity: Habitat destruction/degradation, road fragmentation

5. Human health: Respiratory diseases, mercury poisoning

Mining Law of 1872 (General Mining Act)

Allows individuals and companies to recover ores and fuels from federal land, with few revisions for environmental protection

Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (1977)

Land must be minimally disturbed during coal mining, and then reclaimed

Superfund Act (Reclamation Act) (1980)

Miners must clean up their mining sites and reclaim the area