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Pesticide treadmill
A cycle where pests develop resistance to pesticides, leading farmers to use more or different pesticides.
Carbon Cycle
The movement of carbon molecules and atoms between sources and sinks, involving processes like photosynthesis and respiration.
Ogallala Aquifer
An underground aquifer that contributes to one-third of agricultural harvests, facing depletion due to overuse.
Saltwater intrusion
When freshwater becomes salty due to an imbalance between inland freshwater and ocean water.
Windbreaks (Method of reducing soil erosion)
Walls of bushes or trees that block wind, reducing soil erosion.
Contour plowing (Method of reducing soil erosion)
Plowing horizontally across the land's contours to prevent soil erosion.
Terracing (Method of reducing soil erosion)
A method that reduces a field's slope length and angle to prevent erosion.
No-till agriculture (Method of reducing soil erosion)
A farming practice that makes furrows, plants seeds immediately, firms them, and covers them.
Strip-Cropping (Method of reducing soil erosion)
Growing crops in a systematic arrangement of strips to enhance diversity and reduce pests.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
Synthetic, carbon-based molecules that do not easily break down in the environment.
Environmental remediation
The removal of pollutants or contaminants from water and soil for health protection and environmental restoration.
Biodiversity
The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
Nitrogen Cycle
The travel of nitrogen atoms and molecules between sources and sinks, involving transformation processes.
Overgrazing
Occurs when too many animals feed on a specific area, causing vegetation loss and soil erosion.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
A sustainable approach to managing pests that combines biological, physical, intercropping, crop rotation, and chemical methods.
Heavy metals
Toxic elements that can render waste unfit for use as fertilizers.
Percent Change Calculation
Formula for determining the percent change: (New Val - Old Val) / Old Val * 100.
Ammonification
The process of nitrogen returning to the cycle when bacteria decompose waste or dead bodies, converting organic nitrogen into ammonia.
Denitrification
The conversion of ammonia and nitrate back into molecular nitrogen, returning it to the atmosphere.
Assimilation
Ammonia and nitrate are absorbed by plants through their roots, humans and animals get their nitrogen supply by eating plants/plant-eating animals.
Nitrogen Fixation
Bacteria fix nitrogen from the atmosphere in the form of ammonia (NH3) and converts it to nitrate (NO3)
DDT
an insecticide banned in 1972. Countries out of the US still use DDt to control mosquitoes that spread malaria. Women who are exposed to it are still at risk of developing breast cancer 4 decades later.
PCBs
a group of industrial chemicals that were once used in electrical transformers, plastics and lubricating oils and were banned in the US in the 1970s. They still persist in the environment from spills, leaks and improper disposal. They can remain for many years in soil and the sediment under rivers, lakes and other water bodies.
