APES Unit 5 Study Guide

Explain the Tragedy of Commons

shared, limited resource becomes depleted due to people acting self-interest for short-term gain

List some ways in which human land use has affected the environment negatively.

-extensive logging --> mudslides

-deforestation--> climate change

-paving--> water runoffs, "heat islands"

-overuse of farmland--> soil degradation, water pollution

What are some ways to prevent the tragedy of commons?

private ownership, regulation

max amount that can be harvested without compromising future availability of that resource; keep at half of its carrying capacity because this is when pop is at its highest growth rate

Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)

What determines how land is classified?

how it is used

List the 6 categories in which public lands can fall into.

1. National parks

2. managed resource protected areas

3. habitat/species management areas

4. strict nature reserves and wilderness areas

5. protected landscapes and seascapes

6. natural monuments

Which land type is the "most protected"?

natural reserves and wilderness areas

Who is the largest single landowner in the US?

federal government

What does it mean by multiple-use lands? Give one example of a type of land that is considered "multiple use"

used for recreation, grazing, timber, and mineral extraction

Ex: national forests

dry, open grasslands; primarily used for cattle grazing

rangeland

What are rangelands primarily used for in the US?

cattle grazing

List benefits and drawbacks of rangelands

Benefit- uses less fossil fuels than feedlots

Consequence-leave land exposed to erosion

Compare and contrast clear-cutting and selective-cutting. Know benefits and drawbacks of logging.

Clear-cutting:

-removal of ALL trees in an area

-forests replanted all at once

Selective-cutting:

-removal of a SINGLE tree among many

-creates small openings

-trees of different ages

-shade tolerant trees

Benefits- provides large amounts of pulp and wood

Consequences- destruction of habitats, compaction of soil (loss of nutrients)

Explain fire management. How can fire management be considered beneficial?

natural process for nutrient cycling, fire set under controlled conditions; provides openings for early-successional species

Describe the use of national parks. Know the human impacts on these parks.

managed for scientific, educational, and recreational use; Roads, trails, walking over plants, and leaving trash behind all influence the natural environment

urbanized areas that have spread into rural areas (ex-suburban)

Urban sprawl

List the 4 main causes of urban sprawl.

1. automobiles and highways

2. living costs

3. urban blight

4. government policies

What is zoning and what is it used for?

Zoning is the way the governments control the physical development of land and the kinds of uses to which each individual property may be put; used for separation of residential, industrial, recreational or commercial activities

Smart growth is used to address the problems of urban sprawl. What are some benefits? What strategies are used?

concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl; mixed land uses, compact building design, variety of transportation, etc.

What is under nutrition? What can it lead up to?

not consuming enough calories; makes you susceptible to disease, less energy, improper brain development

What is malnourishment? What can Vitamin A deficiency lead to? Iron deficiency?

diet lacks correct balance of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, doesn't matter how many calories are consumed; Vitamin A- blindness, Iron- anemia

What are the top 3 components of a human's diet?

grains, meat, fish

List reasons for under nutrition and malnourishment.

poverty, rise in food prices, large amounts to feed livestock and poultry rather than people (corn and soybeans)

What is it meant by industrial agriculture?

farming more mechanized, increased use of fossil fuels

small farms/human labor --> industrial operations/machinery

fertilization, irrigation, mechanization, pesticides, mono-cropping

increased food culture significantly

Green Revolution

What are some benefits and consequences of Irrigation?

benefits- efficient use of H2O

consequences- waterlogging, salinization, depletion of groundwater, saltwater intrusion

List the types of fertilizers.

-N, P, and K

-organic (decomposed animal manure)

-synthetic (comercial)

What advantages and disadvantages to synthetic fertilizers?

A- easy application, targeted nutrient content, easily absorbed

D- fossil fuel energy required, run-off, no organic material to soil

List the benefits and drawbacks of mono-cropping.

B- increased efficiency and productivity

D- soil erosion, vulnerability to pests

What is water logging?

saturation of soil with water

process by which water-soluble salts accumulate in the soil

salinization

What is a technique that can help reduce soil salinity due to salinization?

removing salt from root zone

Explain pesticides. What is the difference between persistent and non-persistent pesticides. Provide ex's of each.

kill or control pests

Persistent- do not break down in environment, but remain toxic to living things, bioaccumulation; Ex- DDT (mosquitos) & dieldrin

Non persistent- break down in the environment more quickly; Ex- pyrethroids, organophosphates and insect repellents

What are the benefits of GMOs?

higher crop yields, better food quality, reductions in pesticide use, higher profits, lower costs

2 or more crop species planted in same field at same time

intercropping

What are the benefits and drawbacks of no-till agriculture?

B- avoid soil degradation, leaves roots intact in soil, reduces emissions of CO2

D- increases use of herbicides

What is the purpose of IPM?

designed to minimize pesticide inputs

What are the benefits and drawbacks of CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations)?

B- minimize land costs while improving feeding efficiency, animals given nutrients

D- serious waste disposal problem

What are the benefits and drawbacks of free-range meats?

B- little to no supplemental feeding and use of antibiotics

D- uses more land, higher costs of meat

What is aquaculture? List benefits and drawbacks.

farming of aquatic organisms (ex- catfish and trout in US)

B- costs less to harvest a concentrated population

D- unintentionally catch non targeted fish declining in population (keystone), produces a lot of waste