Unit 5: Land & Water Use

This set of flashcards covers key vocabulary and concepts related to land and water use, sustainability, and environmental impacts as outlined in the lecture notes.

Tragedy of the Commons

A situation where individual users of a shared resource act according to their own self-interest, leading to overuse and degradation of the resource.

What are some ways to prevent the Tragedy of the Commons?

Privatization of the resource, governmental regulation, or community agreements.

What characteristics make a resource susceptible to the Tragedy of the Commons?

It is a shared or common-pool resource, non-excludable (difficult to prevent access), and rivalrous (one's use diminishes another's).

Clearcutting

A logging practice where all trees in a specified area are cut down, which can lead to habitat destruction and increased soil erosion.

What are some immediate environmental impacts of clearcutting?

Increased surface water runoff, soil erosion, and sedimentation of waterways.

What are the long-term consequences of clearcutting on forest ecosystems?

Loss of biodiversity, disruption of nutrient cycling, altered water cycles, and reduced carbon sequestration ability.

Sustainability

The ability to maintain ecological balance by meeting current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

What is the core principle of sustainability?

Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

What are the three commonly recognized pillars of sustainability?

Environmental, social, and economic dimensions.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

An environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that combines cultural, biological, and chemical tools.

Name a non-chemical method used in Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

Biological control (e.g., natural predators), crop rotation, or resistant crop varieties.

What is the primary goal of Integrated Pest Management (IPM)?

To suppress pest populations below economically damaging levels while minimizing risks to humans, beneficial organisms, and the environment.

Aquaculture

The cultivation of aquatic organisms in controlled environments for commercial purposes, with both benefits and drawbacks to ecosystems.

What is a potential negative impact of aquaculture on wild fish populations?

Spread of diseases, parasites, and farmed fish escaping and competing with or interbreeding with wild stock.

What is a major benefit of aquaculture?

It can provide a reliable food source, reduce pressure on wild fisheries, and create economic opportunities.

Urbanization

The increasing population in urban areas leading to changes in land use, increased demand for resources, and various environmental impacts.

What is 'urban sprawl'?

The expansion of human populations away from central urban areas into low-density, car-dependent communities.

What are some positive aspects of urbanization?

Centralized access to goods and services, economic opportunities, innovation, and potential for more efficient resource use in densely populated areas.

Ecological Footprint

A measure of human demand on Earth's ecosystems, representing the amount of natural resources consumed and waste generated.

How is an Ecological Footprint typically measured?

In terms of the amount of biologically productive land and water area required to produce the resources an individual, population, or activity consumes and to absorb the waste it generates.

Soil Salinization

The accumulation of soluble salts in soil to the extent that it impacts agriculture and vegetation.

What agricultural practice commonly contributes to soil salinization in arid regions?

Irrigation with water containing dissolved salts, especially when coupled with poor drainage and high evaporation rates, leading to salt accumulation as water evaporates.

What are the primary effects of soil salinization on plants and agriculture?

Reduced crop yields, impaired plant growth due to water stress, and toxicity from high salt concentrations.

Drip Irrigation

An efficient irrigation method that delivers water directly to the base of plants, reducing water waste.

What is a key advantage of drip irrigation over traditional methods like flood irrigation?

Significantly reduced water waste due to precise delivery to plant roots, minimized evaporation, and decreased weed growth.

Overfishing

The depletion of fish stocks due to excessive fishing, leading to ecological imbalance and biodiversity loss.

What are some measures used to combat overfishing?

Establishing fishing quotas, creating marine protected areas, implementing fishing season restrictions, and promoting sustainable fishing practices.

What are the ecological consequences of overfishing?

Collapse of fish populations, disruption of marine food webs, loss of biodiversity, and impacts on the entire ecosystem structure and function.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO)

A large-scale agricultural facility that raises high numbers of livestock in confined spaces, which can lead to environmental pollution.

What kind of pollution is primarily associated with Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)?

Water pollution from animal waste runoff (excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, pathogens, antibiotics) and air pollution (ammonia, methane, hydrogen sulfide).

What is a social or ethical concern related to CAFOs?

Animal welfare issues due to confinement, potential health impacts on nearby communities from air and water pollution, and antibiotic resistance concerns.

Slash-and-Burn Farming

A method of agriculture that involves cutting and burning of forests to create fields for cultivation, which can lead to soil degradation.

Why do farmers use slash-and-burn farming, despite its drawbacks?

It quickly clears land for cultivation, and the ash from burning provides a temporary nutrient boost to the soil for a few growing seasons.

Waterlogging

A condition where soil is saturated with water, often leading to reduced crop yields and soil quality.

What are the common causes of waterlogging in agricultural fields?

Poor soil drainage, excessive irrigation, heavy rainfall without adequate runoff, or a high water table.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Organisms whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques to exhibit desired traits.

For what primary reasons are Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) developed in agriculture?

To increase crop yields, enhance nutritional content, provide resistance to pests or herbicides, and improve tolerance to environmental stresses.

What is a common public concern regarding GMOs?

Concerns include potential human health effects (allergies, toxicity), environmental impacts (superweeds, harm to non-target organisms), and issues of corporate control over the food supply.

Urban Runoff

Water that flows over impervious surfaces and can carry pollutants into waterways, affecting water quality.

What are common pollutants found in urban runoff?

Oil, grease, heavy metals, pesticides, fertilizers, sediment, litter, and pathogenic bacteria.

Salinization

The process where water-soluble salts accumulate in the soil, often resulting from irrigation practices.

Explain the general process of salinization.

It occurs when water evaporates from the soil surface, leaving behind dissolved salts. This process intensifies with the use of irrigation water containing naturally occurring salts, especially in arid and semi-arid regions.