Ecology and Sustainable Agriculture: Oil Palm and Rainforest Ecosystems

This flashcard set covers key vocabulary regarding tropical ecosystems, oil palm production, orangutan conservation, and various farming techniques such as monoculture and sustainable agriculture.

Oil Palm

A crop that grows best in regions supporting native tropical rainforest and produces more oil per hectare than any other oil crop.

Orangutans

Great apes found in the Indonesian rainforest that require a space of $1$ to $3\,km^2$ and a specific ratio of fruit trees to maintain a stable population.

Habitat

The location where an organism is located.

Predation

An interaction where one animal or organism hunts and eats another as food.

Symbiosis

A relationship between two organisms where at least one organism benefits from the interaction.

Carrying capacity

The number of organisms that a piece of land can support without negative consequences.

Monoculture

A farming technique that involves growing only one specific type of crop at a time in a field.

Food web

A diagram that illustrates all the interconnected food chains within an ecosystem.

Parasitism

A type of interaction between organisms where one benefits and the other is harmed or receives a negative effect.

limiting factors

Resources that restrict the growth of a population if they are not available in sufficient quantities.

Population

A group of the same organism living together in the same geographical area.

Mutualism

A type of interaction between organisms where both species benefit or receive something positive from the action.

Ecosystem

A collection of living and nonliving things in an area that interact with one another.

Competition

When two or more organisms attempt to use the same limited resource, such as food or mating opportunities, at the same time.

Seed disperser

The movement of seeds away from the original parent plant to a new location.

Commensalism

An interaction between organisms in which one benefits and the other is unaffected by the action.

Sustainable agriculture

A farming approach that aims to produce food while keeping the environment healthy.

Diversified farming

The practice of producing a variety of different crops on a single farm.

Customary farming

A service agreement in which a landowner pays a fee to hire an operator to perform specific field operations.

Indonesian rainforest

The specific world region where orangutan populations are found and where many oil palm farms are established.

Oil Palm Growth Requirements

Environmental conditions including lots of rain, warm year-round temperatures, and at least $6$ hours of direct sunlight every day.

Orangutan Population Density

In a healthy rainforest, you would typically find between $1$ and $3$ orangutans per square kilometer.

What would happen if a resource availability decreases?

the populations that rely on those resources also decrease.