Selection of species in agriculture | AQA A-Level Environmental Science Revision | Primrose Kitten

Agroecosystem

The community of living organisms, the abiotic environment and the interactions between them in an agricultural area of land.

Subsistence agriculture

A crop which is grown to feed the family or local community.

Cash crops

A crop which is grown to sell for a profit.

Heterotroph

An organism that needs to eat other organisms for nutrients.

Autotroph

An organism that can produce its own nutrients/sugars.

May impact things like seed dispersal, soil erosion and crop damage.

Wind velocity and direction

Temperature

Must be within the species' range of tolerance so enzymes do not denature.

Topography

Tractors and other heavy machinery cannot be used on steep slopes so crop cultivation may not be possible in these areas.

Soil texture

Can impact a wide range of soil features, for example: aeration, water content, and soil biota populations.

Altitude

Higher altitude means lower air pressures, some species of livestock and crop cannot survive at lower air pressures.

Presence of pest species

Includes livestock predators, crop and livestock pathogens, herbivores that will eat crops, and crop and livestock competitors.

Social factors

Human-related factors that can include market demand in an area for a certain product.

Political and economic factors

Includes factors such as the price the product will sell for on the market and government grants for sustainable farming.

Food production industry

Can often be very unsustainable with huge volumes of food waste produced.

Food surplus problem

Governments can implement quotas on the mass of product that can be produced per farm per year.

Buying food locally

Can reduce the volume that needs to be imported and therefore the food miles accumulated.

Free-range farming methods

Where organisms are kept in as close to natural conditions as possible.

Organic products

Cultivated using all natural processes with no artificial chemicals e.g. fertilisers or pesticides.