Unit 5: land and water use

Ecological footprint

-Measure of how much a person/group consumes, expressed in area of land (gha: a biologically productive hectare)

-how much "land" is required for all consumption

Carbon footprint

measured in tonnes of CO2 produced per year; all CO2 released from an individual or group's consumption & activities

Clearcutting

-The process of cutting down all the trees in an area at once

-causes soil erosion (lack of stabilizing roots), increased soil and stream temperature, flooding and landslides

Tilling

-mixing and breaking up soil to make planting easier (also loosens soil for roots)

-increases soil erosion (loosens topsoil + breaks root structure), loss of organic matter and top soil nutrients over time, increased particle matter in air (respiratory irritation) and water (pollution)

Slash-and-burn

-cutting down vegetation and burning it to clear land for agriculture and return nutrients to soil

-causes deforestation so loss of habitat, biodiversity, CO2 sequestration, air pollution filtration, releases CO2, CO, NO2 (GHG increasing global warming), increases particle matter in air (asthma), decreases albedo (increases temp.)

Synthetic (inorganic) fertilizers

don't return organic matter to soil; no increased H2O holding cap. & no soil decomposers

Sustainability

consuming a resource or using a space in a way that does not deplete or degrade it for future generations

Maximum sustainable yield

the maximum amount of a renewable resource that can be harvested w/out reducing or depleting the resource for future use

Fire suppression

practice of putting out all natural fires as soon as they start which leads to biomass buildup and worse fires

Prescribed burns

small controlled fires which promotes nutrient cycling and decreases biomass build up

Green Revolution

-shift away from small, family operated farms to large, industrial-scale agribusiness

-increase in mechanization, GMOs, irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides

-positive: increased land efficiency, short-term profits, food supply, and earth's carrying capacity for humans

-negatives: soil erosion, biodiversity loss, ground and surface water contamination, emission of GHGs, compaction of soil

GMOs

-crops with new genes "spliced" into genome

-positive: increased profits with fewer plants lost to disease/drought, larger plant size and yield

-negative: genetic diversity decreased, increased susceptibility to diseases and pests

Acid mine drainage

-sulfur-rich tailings from coal mines (FeS2/pyrite/Fool's Gold) mix with oxygen and water to create sulfuric acid and yellow boy (O2 + H2O + FeS2 → H2SO4 & Fe(OH)3)

-when this leaches into a water source, its pH is lowered and acidity rises, dissolving other minerals nearby

-as it runs down the water source, pH rises and yellow boy precipitates out increasing turbidity and decreasing water quality & stream ecosystem

Annual crop

crops that grow, produce seeds, and die in a single year and must be replanted each season

Aquaculture

The cultivation of seafood in pens/enclosures in the ocean or other water sources

Aquifer

A body of rock or sediment that stores groundwater and allows the flow of groundwater.

Arable land

land that can be used to grow crops

Artificial selection

Breeding organisms with specific traits in order to produce offspring with identical traits.

Biocapacity

a measure of the area and quality of land available to supply a population with resources

Biological pest control

the use of living organisms to control pests

Brownfields

abandoned polluted industrial sites in central cities

Bycatch

The unintentional catch of nontarget species while fishing

Coliform bacteria

a type of bacteria that occurs naturally in the intestines of humans and other animals, and indicates the presence of fecal contamination in water

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO)

a method in which large numbers of meat or dairy animals are reared at high densities in confined spaces and fed a calorie rich diet to maximize growth

Contour plowing

An agricultural technique in which plowing and harvesting are done parallel to the topographic contours of the land

Crop rotation/intercropping

Planting a different crop each season/ plant different crops together as a form of pest control, making it more difficult for pests to get at crop

Cyanide heap leaching

Extraction of Au (gold) can employ the application of cyanide-based fluids to extract gold in open-air sediment 'heaps' with slurry retained in holding ponds

Desertification

the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.

Drift/gillnetting

curtains of netting suspended by a system of floats and weights; they can be anchored to the seafloor or allowed to float at the surface, net is almost invisible to fish, so they swim right into it

Drip irrigation

the practice of using small pipes that slowly drip water just above ground to conserve water to use for crops

Externalities

A side effect of an action that affects a third party other than the buyer or seller

Flood irrigation

the entire field is flooded with water

Free range grazing

Animals (usually cows) graze on grass & grow at a natural rate without growth hormones

Furrow irrigation

easy and inexpensive, farmer digs trenches along the crop rows and fills them with water, which seeps into the ground and provides moisture to plant roots

Green manure

consists of freshly cut or growing green vegetation that is plowed into the topsoil to increase the organic matter and humus available to the next crop

Greenways

strips of land connecting parks or neighborhoods

Heat island effect

Warmer temps are experienced in urban landscapes due to solar energy retention on constructed surfaces. Principal surfaces include streets, sidewalks, parkings lots and bldgs.

Impermeable surfaces

A surface that does not allow water penetration (Tar, buildings, drought soil, etc.)

Integrated pest management

An agricultural practice that uses a variety of techniques designed to minimize pesticide inputs

Long-line fishing

Fishing by dragging extremely long lines with baited hooks spaced along their lengths

Mass transit

Transportation system designed to move large numbers of people along fixed routes

Monoculture

the cultivation of a single crop in a given area.

Multi-use landscape

a U.S. classification used to designate lands that may be used for recreation, grazing, timber, harvesting, and mineral extraction

Nonpoint source pollution

pollution that comes from many sources rather than from a single, specific site

Open-pit mining

a mining technique that uses a large visible pit or hole in the ground

Ores

concentrated accumulations of minerals from which economically valuable materials can be extracted

Overburden

the rocks and Earth that is removed when mining for a commercially valuable mineral resource.

Overgrazing

Destruction of vegetation caused by too many grazing animals consuming the plants in a particular area so they cannot recover

Perennial crop

Crops that live year round and are harvested numerous times- longer, more established roots and prevention of bare soil in offseason

Pesticide treadmill

A cycle of pesticide development, followed by pest resistance, followed by new pesticide development (artificial selection of pesticide resistant pests)

Placer mining

method of extracting mineral ore by hand using simple tools like picks, shovels, and pans

Polyculture

growing several crops on the same plot simultaneously

Purse seining

a large net in the shape of a purse that encloses a school of fish and closes at the bottom

Reclamation

the process of returning land to its original condition after mining is completed

Remediation

Containment, treatment or removal of contaminated groundwater. May also include containment, treatment or removal of contaminated soil above the water table.

Reserves

known quantity of a resource that can be economically recovered

Salinization

A form of soil degradation that occurs when the small amount of salts in irrigation water becomes highly concentrated on the soil surface through evaporation.

Saltwater intrusion

Movement of salt water into freshwater aquifers in coastal and inland areas as groundwater is withdrawn faster than it is recharged by precipitation.

Selective/Strip cutting

only cutting some of the trees in an area (biggest and oldest) to preserve habitat (biodiversity) and topsoil

Single-use zoning

Government designation of specific areas for residential, business and commercial use, causing separations between where people live and where they work.

Spoils

Unwanted rock and other waste materials produced when a material is removed from the earth's surface or subsurface by mining, dredging, quarrying, and excavation.

Spray irrigation

expensive and energy-consuming; 75-95% efficient; water is pumped from a well into an apparatus that contains a series of spray nozzles that spray water across the field

Strip mining

A process whereby miners strip away at the surface of the earth to lay bare the mineral deposits

Subsurface mining

The extraction of mineral and energy resources from deep underground deposits.

Tailings/Slag

leftover waste material separated from the valuable metal or mineral within ore

Terracing

Carving small, flat plots of land from hillsides to use for farming

Timber vs. Lumber

timber when it is first cut down; lumber after it is shaped in any way

Tragedy of the Commons

situation in which people acting individually and in their own interest use up commonly available but limited resources, creating disaster for the entire community

Transpiration

Evaporation of water from the leaves of a plant

Trawling (bottom)

Especially harmful fishing method that involves dragging a large net along ocean floor- stirs up sediment (turbidity), destroys coral reef structure and large amount of bycatch

Turbidity

A measure of how clear water is.

Urban planning

A plan or thought for the design of a city

Urban sprawl

The process of urban areas expanding outwards, usually in the form of suburbs, and developing over fertile agricultural land.

Urbanization

An increase in the percentage and in the number of people living in urban settlements.

Waterlogging

water saturation of soil that fills all air spaces and causes plant roots to die from lack of oxygen; a result of over irrigation

Wind breaks

Rows of trees or tall shrubs which slow down the movement of wind across a field

mountain top removal

a mining technique in which the entire top of a mountain is removed with explosives

Confined and unconfined aquifers

Confined - An aquifer that is separated from Earth's surface by materials with low permeability above and below it.

Unconfined - An aquifer where the water-bearing unit is unrestricted to Earth's surface and atmosphere