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