Unit 5- Land and Water Use

Acid mine drainage

Pollution caused when sulfuric acid and dangerous dissolved materials such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium wash from coal and metal mines into nearby lakes and streams.

Agriculture

The deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain.

Aquaculture

The cultivation of seafood under controlled conditions.

Aquifer

An area of underground permeable rock that stores groundwater.

Arable

Land hat is suitable for growing crops.

Arid

Extremely dry conditions.

Artificial selection

When humans breed specific individuals in order to get offspring with desirable characteristics.

Bottom trawling

A fishing technique in which the ocean floor is scraped by heavy nets.

Bycatch

The unintentional catch of nontarget species while fishing.

CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations)

Area where livestock are raised in very high densities.

Clearcutting

A timber harvesting technique that involves removing all or almost all the trees within an area.

Contour plowing

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

Cover crops

Plants, such as rye, alfalfa, or clover, that can be planted immediately after harvest of the main food crops to minimize soil erosion.

Deforestation

The removal of trees faster than forests can replace themselves.

Desertification

Degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, due to drought, deforestation, and inappropriate agriculture.

Dike

A protective wall controls or holds back water from the sea.

Drip irrigation

An efficient method of supplying water to crops using tubes that drip water onto the soil at the base of each plant.

Ecological footprint

A measure of the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources.

Fallow

Inactive and unproductive land.

Fertilizer

A substance added to soil or land to increase its fertility.

Flood irrigation

An efficient method of distributing water to crops using canals to allow water to flow over the whole field.

Floodplain

The land area adjacent to a river that will flood at times.

Food security

People's ability to access sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to maintain health.

Free-range grazing

Method of raising animals in which they roam freely over an area to feed.

Fungicides

Chemical agents capable of destroying, and/or inhibiting the growth of pathogenic fungi.

Furrow irrigation

Moderately efficient method of supplying water to crops by digging trenches to allow the water to flow through.

Gangue

The commercially valueless material in which ore is found that must be removed.

Genetic diversity

The variety of DNA within a group of organisms.

GMOs

Genetically modified organisms that are created to have desirable characteristics.

Green revolution

Period of agricultural advancement that increased production through improved seeds, fertilizers, irrigation, and mechanization.

Groundwater

Water that fills the cracks and spaces in underground soil and rock layers.

Heat island

An urban area with warmer temperatures than in the surrounding countryside due to factors such as numerous concrete buildings and large expanses of asphalt.

Herbicides

Chemicals that kill plants that compete with crops.

Hydroponics

The process of growing plants in sand, gravel, or liquid, with added nutrients but without soil.

Impervious

A hard area that doesn't allow water to seep into the ground and instead the water runs off.

Infiltration

Downward movement of water from the surface of the soil to lower layers.

Insecticides

Chemicals that kill insect pests.

Intercropping

An agricultural method in which two or more crop species are planted in the same field at the same time.

IPM (Integrated Pest Management)

An agricultural practice that uses a variety of techniques to control pests and minimize the use of chemical pesticides.

Irrigation

The process of supplying water to agricultural land.

Levee

An embankment along a river to prevent it from overflowing and flooding the adjacent land.

Mineral

A solid, naturally occurring, inorganic substance.

Mining

The process of extracting minerals from the earth.

Monoculture

Agricultural practice of growing a single crop species over a large area of land.

Mountaintop removal

Type of surface mining that uses explosives to remove the top of a mountain to expose mineral deposits underneath.

Natural selection

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits, increasing the prevalence of those traits in later generations.

No-till agriculture

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

Ogalalla Aquifer

A large area of groundwater found under the Great Plains region of the United States that is an important source of freshwater for agriculture.

Ore

Economically valuable parts of a rock.

Overburden

Layer of soil and rock overlying a mineral deposit that is removed during surface mining.

Overfishing

Capturing fish faster than they can reproduce

Overgrazing

Destruction of vegetation caused by too many grazing animals consuming the plants in a particular area at a rate faster than they can recover

Percolation

The downward movement of water through soil and rock due to gravity.

Perennial crops

Plants that do not die at the end of the growing season but live for several years, which means they can be harvested annually without replanting.

Pesticide treadmill

The process through which a farmer uses more pesticides, with increasing costs, as the effectiveness of pesticides decreases due to resistance.

Pesticides

Chemicals that kill crop-destroying organisms

pH

The measure of concentration of hydrogen ions; how acidic or basic it is.

Prescribed burn

Technique used to manage forests by reducing fuel in a controlled manner to decrease the risk of out of control wildfires.

Rangelands

A dry open grassland suitable for livestock grazing.

Recharge

The replenishment of an aquifer by the absorption of water.

Reclamation

The process of restoring land that has been mined to its natural state.

Refining

The process of removing impurities from a resource after it has been extracted.

Resistance

When a pest is naturally unaffected by a pesticide and passes on that genetic ability.

Restoration

The process of cleaning up and rehabilitating land that has been degraded in some way.

Rodenticide

Chemicals that kill rodent pests.

Rotational grazing

Confining animals to a small area for a short time then shifting them to a new location.

Runoff

Water that moves across the land surface and into rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Rural

Land that does not have a high density of people and is very open.

Saltwater intrusion

Movement of salt water into freshwater aquifers in coastal areas when groundwater is withdrawn faster than it is recharged by precipitation.

Selective cutting

Method of harvesting trees that involves the removal of only a small number of specific trees from among many in a forest.

Slag

The worthless residue of rock and metal left after smelting.

Slash-and-burn agriculture

A farming technique in which trees are cut down and burned to clear the land for growing crops.

Smelting

The process by which ore is melted to separate the useful metal from other elements.

Soil conservation

The management of soil to prevent its destruction by erosion or nutrient loss.

Soil erosion

Movement of topsoil from one place to another, usually by wind or water.

Soil salinization

Salt buildup in the soil from evaporation of irrigation water.

Sonar

A system for the detection of objects under water by emitting sound pulses and measuring their return after being reflected.

Spray irrigation

An moderately efficient method of supplying water to crops using large overhead sprayers.

Strip cutting

Tree harvesting technique where loggers cut down trees in narrow strips that are left to regrow.

Strip mining

The removal of strips of soil and rock to expose ore seams.

Subsistence farming

Producing just enough food to meet the needs of your family.

Subsurface mining

The extraction of minerals from deep underground deposits.

Suburb

An outlying residential area connected to a city.

Surface mining

The extraction of minerals near Earth's surface by removing the soil and rocks covering a mineral deposit.

Sustainability

The use of Earth's natural resources in ways that allow continued resource use in the future.

Sustainable yield

Highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply.

Tailings

Waste residue that comes from a mining operation.

Terracing

Carving small, flat plots of land from hillsides and mountain slops to use for farming.

Tilling

The turning over of soil before planting crops.

Topsoil

The crumbly, dark brown, top layer of soil.

Tragedy of the Commons

The tendency of a shared, limited resource to become depleted because people act from self-interest for short-term gain.

Tree plantation

A plot of land planted with one or only a few tree species in an even-aged stand to be harvested for timber.

Urban

Land that has a high density of people with little open space.

Urban runoff

Water that flows from the impermeable surfaces within a city into waterways and is often very polluted.

Urban sprawl

The uncontrolled and unplanned expansion of urban areas.

Urbanization

Movement of people from rural areas to cities.

Water table

Level underground at which the ground is saturated.

Waterlogging

Degradation of the soil that occurs when soil remains underwater for prolonged periods.

Windbreaks

Rows of large trees or bushes planted between fields to help block the wind and prevent soil erosion.

Yield

A measurement of the amount of agricultural production that is harvested per unit of land area.