Envi study guide questions

What was the Green Revolution?

Happened in the 50s and 60s where agricultural research stations addressed the issues of hunger in developing countries, figured out how to grow food more efficiently

Chronic under nutrition or hunger

People who cannot grow or buy enough food to meet their basic energy needs, which threaten their ability to live healthy and productive lives

Malnourishment

Nutritional imbalance caused by a lack of specific dietary components or an inability to absorb or utilize essential nutrient

Macronutrients

Carbs, fibers, fats, proteins

Micronutrients

Key vitamins and other minerals

Vitamin and mineral defiencies

2 billion people suffer from mineral or vitamin deficiencies: vitamin A, zinc, iron, iodine

What is famine and what leads to it

Large scale food shortages accompanied by widespread starvation and even death, can occur after large scale natural disasters, unstable governments, or conflict in the region

Food desert

Geographic area that lack nutritious food, no grocery stores nearby

Food swamp

Geographic areas that have an overabundance of unhealthy food, sell lots of processes and unhealthy food, lots of fast food

Organizations addressing issues of food deserts

North side of Binghamton - Greater Good Grocery opened in 2020, non-profit grocery store that sells a variety of food at discounted rates

VINES (Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Environments) - Helps with growing and showing people how to grow their own food and gives them access to healthy foods

What are three major crops grown in the US

Wheat, rice, corn

What are some trends we see with food production and diet? How do different countries rank in production/consumption of products we went over in class?

Trend in meat production and consumption: China produces a lot of meat, specifically pork US produces mainly beef and poultry

What are CAFOs? What are the problems associated with them?

CAFOs - Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

Total global consumption of meat has doubled since the 1970s

Major emitter of one particular greenhouse gas - Methane, higher potency of carbon dioxide

Aquaculture

Farming fish

Fishery

Concentration of wild aquatic species suitable for commercial harvesting in a given ocean or inland body of water

Bycatch

Unwanted fish collected

Problem with commercial fishing

Habitats can be destroyed especially with trawling on the ocean floor, fish too much and fisheries depleting rapidly

Trawling

Dragging a large net along seafloor

Purse-seine fishing

Catch surface dwelling species

Long-lining

Lines with baited hooks - swordfish, tuna, sharks, halibut, cod

Farm subsides

Government payments or other types of support intended to help farmers stay in business

Concerns with subsides

Concentration with payments

Soil conservation program

Conservation reserve program

Soil

Complex mixture of rock pieces, mineral nutrients, decaying organic matter, water, air, and living organisms that support plant and animal life

Particle sizes

Categorized by sand, salt, silt, clay

Sand is the largest silt is the middle and clay is the smallest

Loam

Well-suited for plant growth because it allows water to pass through 40-40-20 (sand,silt, clay)

Soil profile

The sequence of horizontal layers in soil

Organic layer

Partly decomposed plant material (leaves, twigs, mosses)

Topsoil

Mineral soil from the plant material and some organic

Subsoil

Inorganic matter, broken down rock, more clay

Parent material

Weathered rock (sand, windblown silt, bedrock, other mineral material on which the soil is built)

Carbon cycle

Photosynthesis - Done by plants that take in atmospheric carbon and produce oxygen

Nitrogen cycle

Nitrogen gas - Makes up 78% of the volume in the atmosphere

How are plants able to capture nitrogen

Lightning strikes, bacteria in the soil (nitrogen fixing bacteria)

Phosphorus cycle

Phosphate rocks contain phosphate ions Water runs over rocks

Phosphates - Important nutrient for plant growth

Usually a limiting factor in soil

Eutrophication

Excessive richness of nutrients in a body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen

Erosion

The movement of soil components by water or wind

The dust bowl

1930, severe drought

Effects of dust storms

Mass migration, of mice and men, the grapes of wrath

Dust bowl led to

Establishment of soil erosion service, prairie states forestry project, 220 million trees planted

Soil sanitization

Accumulation of salts in the upper soil layers

Waterlogging

Accumulation of water underground, raising the water table

Insecticides

Kill insects

Herbicides

Kill plants

Fungicides

Kill fungi

Rodenticides

Kill rodents

Types of pesticides

Organophosphate, chlorinated hydrocarbons, neonicotinoids

General components of the food system

Generally goes from production to processing to distribution to marketing to purchasing to consumption to nutrient cycling

Environmental pressures in farmer decision making

Climate (timing and extent of temperature changes, precipitation changes, and natural disasters)

● Soil Nutrients and types and their associated deficiencies/ limitation and loss potential

● Plants and animals pests

● Plant disease

Financial realities of farmer decision making

● Cost of seed

● Regulation costs

● Loss from environmental pressures

● Harvesting costs

● Transportation costs and processing opportunities

● Market value

● Agreements with companies

Social dynamics of farmer decision making

Demand for the product

● Origin or DNA modifications

● Nutritional profile

● Quality/ appearance

Taste

Be able to give a general overview of the history of domestication of tomatoes including how chromosomes, DNA, genes, proteins, traits and mutations play into the process of domestication

1. Extract DNA or RNA from organism

2. Copy the one gene of interest

3. Modify the gene for plant expression

4. Transform plant cells

5. Propagate plant from cell

6. Breed the transgenic plant with other plants

Cross breeding

Combining 2 sexually compatible species

Plant breeder selects 2 different parents

With crossbreeding, there is not always a perfect outcome, rather takes a long time to narrow down what genotype and then what phenotype comes through

Transgenesis

Involves adding new genes to a genome

Gene editing

Editing within the genome you are working with, using laboratory techniques to get desirable traits

Same number of chromosomes and genes as starting plant

How do public perceptions and policy (including labeling) relate to the different genetic modification techniques?

Public Perceptions

● Safety

● Cultural Factors

● Environmental

● Trust in who makes or regulates these technologies

● Transparency

Policy

● Regulation

● Labeling

What are trends we see related to small farms referencing the figure we discussed in class?

500 million family farms produced 80% of food consumed worldwide

89% of farms in this country are small scale farms

Large scale farms are producing nearly 50% of food

Topsoil

Organic material in the soil which helps support microorganisms and Nutrients in soil

Terracing

Turning sloped land into terraces to catch soil and water from flowing downhill

Contour Planting

Planting crops perpendicular or along contour lines to create mini dams which allow plants to catch and capture sediments and nutrients

Strip-cropping with cover crop

Planting in rows or planting green in order to trap soil and prevent wind erosion, holds carbon

Alley cropping/agroforestry

Planting trees along with crop, prevents erosion due to complex root structures of trees, adds nutrients to soil when trees fall, helps support biodiversity

Organic fertilizer

Fertilizers that are naturally produced (animal manure, green manure, compost)

Crop rotation

Farmers can plant their crops for a year and instead of continuing to keep planting that crop each year, they can alternate by planting row crop one year and a nitrogen crop the next year, gives time for land to recover and helps in preventing erosion, helps in preventing pests

Alternatives to synthetic pesticides

Biological controls: natural predators, parasites, disease causing bacteria and viruses

Problems with biological controls

If you introduce an insect to keep away pests, that insect could end up becoming a pest if too many are added

Integrated pest management

Crops and pests are evaluated as parts of an ecosystem

This includes:

● Biological controls

● Cultivation controls (altering planting times)

● Possibly applying small amounts of pesticides

Taking into account chemical, biological, physical-mechanical, and cultural factors into consideration

Hydroponics

Growing plants with no soil, but instead exposing them to different types of nutrient rich water solution

Aquaponics systems

Growing fish and plants together

Organic agriculture

production system that is managed to respond to site specific conditions integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity (USDA)

Types of practices employed in organic ag

No hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, genetic modification

Ways to support sustainable ag

Buying local

Help local economy

Reduction of greenhouse gasses

Ecological diversity

Complexity in the environment and all different communities which support different species

Why should we care about biodiversity

World species provide vital ecosystem and economic services

Existence value

relating to the importance we place on certain species just knowing that they exist

Threats to biodiversity

Habitat destruction: Deforestation specifically in agricultural land

● Fishing trollers destroying ocean bottom environments

● Oil and gas drilling

● Building of dams

Invasive species

Nonnative species that outcompete populations of many native species for food, disrupt ecosystem services, transmit diseases, and lead to economic losses

Ex: Zebra Mussels, Round Goby, Emerald Ash Borer, Spotted Lanternfly, Autumn Olive

What can be done about biodiversity

Endangered Species Act (1973)

● Endangered - About to be extinct

● Threatened - Keep an eye on numbers they are likely to be endangered

● Vulnerable - Animals that are naturally rare or depleted and can be a candidate for future

listing

U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service keep track of all of this

How can we support biodiversity

Research Funding

● Surveys

● Increasing inspection of imported goods

Seed banks

Storage environments to preserve genetic information

How do zoos and aquariums promote biodiversity

Captive Breeding

Challenges with reintroduction? Make sure they can live on their own Make sure habitat can support them

What is the case study about western U.S. forests related to drought, fires, and bark beetles?

American West Forest Threats

What changes do we see in forested land globally

There has been a decline in amount of forests, but North America has been making reforestation efforts

Why do we need forests

Lumber

● Fuel

● Pulp to make paper

● Recreation

● Reduce soil erosion

● Help with water retention

● Stores atmospheric carbon

● Provide habitat

Loss of tropical rainforests due to

Palm oil production

● Soybean plantations

● Cattle Grazing

● Logging

Ways to reduce deforestation

Cut down on illegal logging

● Subsidize sustainable forest practices

● Third party certifications promoting sustainable forestry practices

● Rainforest Alliance

● Sustainability Forestry Initiative

Surface fire

Burn undergrowth and leaf litter. They have ecological benefits in that help prevent more destructive fires, release seeds from cones of trees

Crown fires

Take place In the crown of trees. These are much more destructive and fast moving. Can kill wildlife, destroy most vegetation, increase topsoil erosion.

How does wind land-urban interface relate to fire

More susceptible to risks from fire

Problem facing grasslands

Overgrazing - Allowing livestock to eat so much forage that the ecosystem degrades by soil being too packed down that there are no spaces for water to soak into the soil

Solution to problems with grasslands

Rotational Grazing - Move animals around so they are not trampling the ground as much

What are the different U.S. land classifications, what practices in general are allowed in each, and what agency oversees each land classification?

National Forest System - managed by the U.S. Forest Service – can use for logging, livestock grazing, farming, oil/gas extraction, recreation, conservation

Bureau of Land Management - manages a variety of large tracts of land for mining, oil/gas extraction and livestock grazing

National Wildlife Refuge - managed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife service – meant to conserve fish, wildlife, and plants. Minimal recreation activities allowed – birding, photography, fishing, hunting

National Park System - managed by the National Park Service – can camp, hike, fish, boat

History of national park system

U.S National Park service established in 2016

Stephen Mather - 1st director

Wanted to make them attractive and comfortable for tourists Lots of hotels, roads build

How can communities be involved in land protection

Guanacaste National Park in Costa Rica where the local community has been involved in protection and restoration efforts of the land.

local farmers were paid to remove nonnative species and plant trees, students and citizen groups studied the park’s ecology, and were cited for ecotourism which helped promote the local economy.

What did wangari maathai do related to forests

promoted tree planting in Kenya – what became known as the “Green Belt Movement”

What are coral reefs?

World's oldest, most diverse, and most productive ecosystems that form in clear, warm coastal waters in tropical areas.

What is happening to coral reefs?

Climate change increasing ocean temperature, increasing ocean acidity, destructive fishing practices

How are coral reefs being restored?

Harvesting coral fragments and growing them in underwater nurseries, growing coral in conditions we expect to see in future, "Assisted evolution"

Remediation

 You employ chemical, physical, or biological methods to remove pollution, methods relatively mild and non-destructive

Bio Remediation

 Using bacteria or fungi to help clean up a site and restore ecosystem