Sustainable Farming the Ocean and Cimate Test Review

How does monoculture affect crop biodiversity?

It leads to a reduction due to soil erosion and pollution from pesticides

too much of one plant species can rob the soil of its nutrients

Raising a single crop has drawbacks as it increases the risk of disease and pest outbreaks because monocultures lack other plant and animal species that limit the spread of disease and control pests through predation.

How do GMO crops affect biodiversity?

It can be toxic to untargeted species

Existing species can be overrun by more dominant new species

What are the advantages of organic farming?

Its safe, cleaner, generates a lower carbon footprint, reduces erosion, more sustainable long term

What are the disadvantages of organic farming?

expensive, labor intensive, lower land use efficiency, crop yields are lower, no-till farming is often less successful b/c no herbicide use

What is integrated pest management (IPM)?

Effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that uses
chemical and non-chemical practices and tries to reduce crop damage with the least
amount of damage to the environment

What are some advantages integrated pest management?

less genetic resistance of pests, reduces pest control/fertilizer/water costs

reduce risks to wildlife and human health.

What are some disadvantages integrated pest management?

more involved planning, time and energy consuming, more outside knowledge

it requires expert knowledge about each pest situation. It takes more time than does use conventional pesticides.

What is soil salinization?

The increasing salt concentration in plants as repeated irrigation happens and evaporations leaves salt deposits behind that are toxic to plants

How does soil salinization affect crops?

Can dehydrate crops decreasing their yields

How can soil salinization be prevented.

not over irrigating and using efficient irrigation

How can we repair soil salinization?

by treating salty drainage water and setting up desalting plants

Theory of Island Biogeography

The number of species on an island result from an equilibrium between immigration and
extinction which are effected by the distance from the mainland, also islands that are
more isolated receive less immigrants than those who are less isolated

HIPPCO

habitat destruction, invasive species, population growth, pollution, climate change,
overexploitation, these are the main factors that cause a loss in biodiversity

Habitat Fragmentation

parts of a habitat are destroyed leaving behind smaller parts (ex: construction)

Primary Productivity

rate at which biomass is produced by organisms that convert inorganic substrates into
complex organic substances

rate at which organic matter is created by producers in an ecosystem

Aquatic Biomes

productivity greatest in swamps and least in open ocean

FRESH Aquatic biomes

Lake, stream ,river, freshwater wetland(super productive, reduces
floods/droughts)

SALT Aquatic Biomes

Mangrove swamp(salt tolerant), intertidal zone, coral reef, open ocean, salt
march(along the coast and high productivity)

What are freshwater lakes

Littoral Zone, Limnetic Zone, Profundal zone, benthic zone

Littoral Zone f or sw

near shore, shallow, goes to a depth at which plants can root

Limnetic Zone f or sw

a lot of sunlight, food is produced here for many consumers

profundal zone f or sw

to dark for photosynthesis, colder water

Benthic Zone

decomposers are found here

saltwater oceans

intertidal, coastal, open, euphotic, aphotic

intertidal zone

high low tides and organisms must be able to survive changing conditions

coastal zone

nutrient rich and high biodiversity

open ocean

most of the ocean with the large

* where whales and large schooling fish live

euphotic zone/ photic zone

photosynthesis occurs and lots of phytoplankton

aphotic zone

gets colder + darker as depth increases

many benthic feeders along the bottom

Why is the air less dense than the equator?

The equator receives direct solar energy compared to other latitudes, the air is warmed
up at the equator and this air becomes less dense then rises (atmospheric convection)

thermocline

Layer in the water in which the temperature changes very quickly

upwelling

Deep, nutrient rich, cold water rises to the surface and replaces the warmer water

Coriolis effect

due to rotation of the earth, currents divert to right in Northern hemisphere + left in southern hemisphere

( right in north) (left in south)

what factors affect the patterns of ocean surface currents

Patterns of surface currents are determined by wind direction, Coriolis forces from the
Earth's rotation, and the position of landforms that interact with the currents

ENSO

El Nino southern oscillation

El Nino

weak upwelling and deep thermocline, east pacific water warms and trade
winds weaken, occurs in the tropical east pacific

La nina

strong upwelling and shallow thermocline, increased phytoplankton
concentrations in the east

what does el Niño create

causes warmer temperatures, which eventually fall, and when they have
fallen substantially enough, La Nina occurs.

Solar Insolation

The amount of solar radiation reaching an area that’s measured in watss/m^2

* Depends on the angle of the earth and how directly rays strike the earths surface
* Also the amount of atmosphere the suns rays pass through
* Equator has higher insolation and the poles have lower