Unit 5 - Land and Water Use

Salt water intrusion

Movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers, often caused by groundwater overpumping.

Impervious surface

Human-made structure like pavement that prevents rainwater from infiltrating the soil.

Urban area

A densely populated and highly built-up geographic area.

Suburban

A residential area existing on the outskirts of a city.

Exurban

A prosperous residential area located beyond the suburbs in rural regions.

Sprawl

The rapid, uncontrolled expansion of urban areas into surrounding rural lands.

Urban blight

The degradation of the built environment, often linked to population decline.

Sense of place

The unique character and emotional connection people feel toward a specific geographic area.

Urban runoff

Stormwater that flows over impervious surfaces instead of soaking into the ground.

Mixed-use zoning

Zoning that permits residential, commercial, and industrial uses within the same area.

Green infrastructure

Natural systems like rain gardens designed to manage stormwater and protect ecosystems.

Smart growth

Urban planning that focuses on compact, walkable, transit-oriented development.

Induced demand

The phenomenon where increasing highway capacity leads to more traffic and driving.

Ecological footprint

The amount of biologically productive land and water needed to support an individual.

Carbon footprint

The total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by an entity.

Embodied energy

The total energy consumption associated with a material or product throughout its life cycle.

Embodied carbon

The total carbon emissions associated with a material or product throughout its life cycle.

Fair earthshare

The amount of productive land available per person if globally distributed equally.

Sustainability

Meeting current human needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

Sustainable development

Economic development that balances current human growth with long-term environmental preservation.

Maximum sustainable yield (MSY)

The largest amount of a resource that can be harvested indefinitely without depletion.

Anthropogenic

Human-induced changes on the natural environment

Environmental indicators

Key metrics used to describe and assess the state of an ecosystem.

Pesticide treadmill

A cycle where pest resistance forces farmers to use more chemicals.

Crop rotation

The practice of growing different crops in succession on the same land.

Intercropping

Growing two or more different crops simultaneously in close proximity.

Biocontrol

The use of natural predators or pathogens to manage pest populations.

Natural predators

Organisms that hunt and consume pests, acting as a biological control.

Sustainable agriculture

Farming practices that meet current food needs without depleting natural resources.

Soil conservation

Strategies used to prevent soil erosion and maintain soil fertility.

Agroforestry

Planting trees alongside crops to improve biodiversity and soil health.

Windbreaks

Rows of trees planted to block wind and reduce soil erosion.

Strip cropping

Planting alternating bands of different crops to reduce water erosion.

Contour plowing

Plowing along the natural curves of land to prevent water runoff.

Terracing

Cutting flat steps into steep slopes to reduce runoff and soil erosion.

Perennial plants

Plants that live for multiple years, reducing the need for annual tilling.

No-till agriculture

Farming without turning the soil, which preserves soil structure and moisture.

Green manure

Cover crops plowed back into the soil to add nutrients.

Limestone

A calcium-rich mineral added to soil to neutralize high acidity.

Rotational grazing

Moving livestock between pastures to prevent overgrazing and allow recovery.

Organic agriculture

Farming without synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides, or genetically modified organisms.

Delaney Clause

Amendment to food, drug, and cosmetic act -- stating that no food substance/ additive can be considered safe if it produced cancer. A US law prohibiting food additives shown to cause cancer.

Reforestation

Replanting trees on land where forests have been cut down.

Sustainable forestry

Managing forests to meet timber needs while conserving biodiversity and soil.

Prescribed burn

A controlled fire set intentionally to reduce dry fuel and improve forest health.

aquifer

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

artesian well

a well that brings pressurized water to the surface without pumping

Broad spectrum pesticide

a pesticide that kills a variety of organisms, including beneficial organisms, in addition to the target pest

bycatch

The unintentional catch of nontarget species while fishing

Clear-cutting

a method of harvesting trees that involves removing all or almost all of the trees within an area

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO)

A large indoor or outdoor structure used to raise animals at very high densities

Cone of depression

an area lacking groundwater due to rapid withdrawal by a well

Confined aquifer

Aquifers covered by an impermeable and confining layer impeding water flow in or out.

Crustal abundance

The average concentration of an element in Earth's crust

Desertification

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

Drip irrigation

a proccess by which pipes placed near plant roots drip only as much water as the plants need.

Ecologically sustainable forestry

an approach that has a goal of maintaining all species in as close a natural state as possible

Economics of sale

proportionate savings in costs gained by an increased level of production; changes in variable cost ratio affect the addition to retained earnings, which in turn affects the amount of additional funds needed

Endangered Species Act

(1973) identifies threatened and endangered species in the U.S., and puts their protection ahead of economic considerations

Energy subsidy

the fossil fuel energy and human energy input per calorie of food produced

Externality

an economic side effect of a good or service that generates benefits or costs to someone other than the person deciding how much to produce or consume

fishery

a commercially harvestable population of fish within a particular ecological region

fishery collapse

the decline of a fish population by 90% or more

Flood irrigation

water is poured through canals and waterways so that it flows through fields

forest

land dominated by trees and other woody vegetation and sometimes used for commercial logging

Free range grazing

method of farming husbandry where the animals, for at least part of the day, can roam freely outdoors, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day

Fungicide

substance that kills fungi or inhibits their growth

Furrow irrigation

easy and inexpensive; 65% efficient; farmer digs trenches along the crop rows and fills them with water, which seeps into the ground and provides moisture to plant roots

Green Revolution

Rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers.

Groundwater recharge

A process by which water percolates through the soil and works its way into an aquifer.

Herbicide

A substance used to destroy plants, especially weeds

Industrial agriculture (Agribusiness)

Agriculture that applies the techniques of mechanization and standardization

Insecticide

a pesticide that targets species of insects and other invertebrates that consume crops

Integrated pest management (IPM)

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

Manure lagoon

Human-made pond lined with rubber built to handle large quantities of manure produced by livestock.

metal

A class of elements characterized by physical properties that include shininess, malleability, ductility, and conductivity.

Mine tailings

unwanted waste material created during mining including mineral and other residues that are left behind after the desired metal or ore is removed

Monocropping

An agricultural method that utilizes large plantings of a single species or variety

Mountaintop removal

Type of surface mining that uses explosives, massive shovels, and even larger machinery called draglines to remove the top of a mountain to expose seams of coal underneath a mountain.

Nomadic grazing

Feeding herds of animals by moving them to seasonally productive feeding grounds, often over long distances

Non-persistent pesticides

pesticide that breaks down relatively rapidly, usually in weeks to months

Open-pit mining

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

ore

a rock that contains a large enough concentration of a mineral making it profitable to mine

Organic fertilizer

slow-acting & long-lasting because the organic remains need time to be decomposed

Overgrazing

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

Persistent pesticides

Pesticides that remain in the environment for a long time

Pesticide

A chemical intended to kill insects and other organisms that damage crops.

Pesticide resistance

a trait possessed by certain individuals that are exposed to a pesticide and survive

Placer mining

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

Plowing

the turning and loosening of soil for the planting of crops

Rangelands

unfenced grasslands in temperate and tropical climates that supply forage or vegetation for grazing and browsing animals

Reserve

in resource management, the known quantity of a resource that can be economically recovered

Rodenticide

A chemical or agent used to destroy rats or other rodent pests, or to prevent them from damaging food, crops, etc.

Salinization

Accumulation of salts in soil that can eventually make the soil unable to support plant growth.

Selective cutting

The method of harvesting trees that involves the removal of single trees or a relatively small number of trees from among many in a forest.

Selective pesticide (Narrow-spectrum pesticide)

A pesticide that targets a narrow range of organisms. Also known as narrow-spectrum pesticide.

Slash-and-burn agriculture (Shifting agriculture)

An agricultural method in which land is cleared and farmed for only a few years until the soil is depleted of nutrients.

Spray irrigation

an apparatus that sprays water across a field

Spring

A flow of groundwater that emerges naturally at the ground surface

Strip mining

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