Biology pp 14,2

Accumulation

pesticides build up more and more through links in the food chain

Animal breeding

mating of carefully selected animals in order to create offspring with more favourable characteristics

Crop farmers

farmers that grow crops such as potatoes or corn

Food crops

Plants produced for use as food such as maize, lettuce and carrots

Horticulturists

farmers that grow vegetables and fruit

Stock farmers

farmers that keep animals for meat, milk, eggs or wool

Mixed farm

farm that involves growing of crops as well as raising livestock

For what is manure used in a mixed farm

as fertilizer for the fields

Monoculture

to grow one type of crop on a large field

Advantages of a monoculture

•You can harvest everything with machines

•It creates more profits

Disadvantages of a monoculture

•Sensitive for diseases or insects

•Chemicals needed to prevent diseases

•It depletes the soil of minerals

Manure

feces and urine from animals; crop farmers use manure to increase their yield

Minerals

fertilizer (salts) that plants absorb with their roots

Factory farming (intensive farming)

intensive cattle farming; cattle farmers keep as many animals as possible in the available space

Concentrate feeds

feeds that are high in protein and minerals which results in faster growing animals

Advantages of factory farming

cheaper and more profits, a lot can be automated with machines

Disadvantages of factory farming

sensitive for diseases, very unfriendly for animals

Crossbreed

improving the characteristics of plants by cross-pollination and of animals by selective breeding programmes

Plant breeding

crossbreeding of favourable crops to get better characteristics

Manure surplus

when cattle farming produces more manure than needed to fertilise the fields

Ammonia

a foul-smelling gas that is released from organic manure

Acidification

when the soil acidifies as a result of ammonia emission from farming or caused by nitrogen oxides or sulphur dioxide from factories and traffic

Eutrophication (over-fertilization)

when too many minerals end up in the soil and in surface water

Algal bloom

rapid growth of algae and duckweed in ditches and ponds due to increased levels of fertilizer minerals

Pesticides

Toxic chemicals that kill insects and fungi to protect crops

Biodegradable

substances (waste) that can be broken down by fungi and bacteria

Animal well-being

display of natural animal behaviour as a result of good living conditions