Chapte 7: Land and Water Use
Tragedy of the Commons: an important concept introduced by English economist, William Forster Llyod (1833) which serves as a foundation for modern conservation in which a common resource is used by many people and then becomes depleted as these people do not regulate their consumption of the resource
Conservation: management or regulation of a resource so that its use does not exceed the capacity of the resource to regenerate itself
Preservation: maintenance of a species or ecosystem in order to ensure their perpetuation, with no concern as to their potential monetary value
Ecosystem Capital / Natural Capital: economic value of natural resources to the humans who use them
Renewable Resources: resources that can be regenerated quickly ; can be used over and over again,replenished naturally within the time it takes to draw down its supply but must be carefully managed to conserve resources and insure an ongoing supply
Nonrenewable Resources: resources that do not regenerate quickly and are typically formed by very slow geologic processes and considered incapable of being regenerated within the realm of human existence.
Consumption: the day-to-day use of environmental resources such as food, clothing, and housing
Production: use of environmental resources for profit
Traditional Subsistence Agriculture: process where each family grew crops for itself, and families relied primarily on animal and human labor to plant and harvest crops ; practiced by about 43% of the world’s population
Slash-and-Burn: a method wherein an area of vegetation is cut down and burned before being planted with crops
Tropical Soils: typically thin and poor, and whatever fertility they hold is rapidly depleted by deforestation and subsequent farming.
Green Revolution: occurred in the 1950s and 1960s which when farming became mechanized and crop yields in industrialized nations boomed as farmers began using large amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides
Second Green Revolution: promoted integrated pest management and organic methods, such as fertilizers that are not synthetic
Chemical Fertilizers resulted in reduction of organic matter and oxygen in soil, large amounts of energy needed to produce, transport, and supply the fertilizers; and once washed into watersheds, they are dangerous pollutants.
Pesticides significantly reduced the number of crops lost to insects, fungi, and other pests, but these chemicals have also had an effect on ecosystems in and surrounding farms.
Integrated Pest Management: uses a combination of several methods and is a more environmentally sensitive approach than chemical pesticides ; keep the pest population down to an economically viable level by introducing natural insect predators to the area, intercropping, using mulch to control weeds, diversifying crops, crop rotation, releasing pheromone or hormone interrupters, using traps, and constructing barriers.
Advance Irrigation Techniques: a major contributor to increased crop yields which allowed crops to be planted in areas that normally would not have enough precipitation to sustain them
Repeated Irrigation: can cause serious problems, such as significant buildup of salts on the soil’s surface, making the land unusable for crops.
Salinization: process done by farmers by flooding fields with massive amounts of water and then dries out; as the water evaporates, salt crystallizes and forms a layer on the soil surface, which prevents the growth of plants
Furrow Irrigation: involves cutting furrows between crop rows and filling them with water; inexpensive but losses about ⅓ of water used to evaporation and runoff
Flood Irrigation: involves flooding a field with water (water flows via gravity to all parts of the field) that can lead to waterlogging and loses about 20% of water to evaporation and runoff.
Spray Irrigation: involves pumping water into spray nozzles and spraying fields and loses only about ¼ of water but requires energy to run and can be expensive
Land Degradation: deterioration of land quality that occurs due to waterlogging and salinization
Drip Irrigation: allots an area only as much water as is necessary and delivers water directly to roots using perforated hoses which releases small amounts of water ; more efficient since only about 5% of water is lost to evaporation and runoff, but is more expensive.
Genetic Engineering: scientists try to improve plants by adding genes from one species to another to encourage desirable characteristics, such as longer shelf life, disease/drought/pest resistance, faster growth, and higher crop yields.
Golden rice: genetically engineered plant which contains vitamin A and iron which addresses two of the serious health problems that are seen in developing nations:
Vitamin A deficiency : result in blindness and other serious health problems
Iron deficiency: leads to anemia
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO): organisms grown or bred by humans, in which strands of DNA that code for desired characteristics have been inserted ; discourage biodiversity and may harm beneficial insects and organisms, could pose new allergen risks, may increase antibiotic resistance, and could encourage the rise of new pesticide-resistant pests.
Photosynthate : a way to cause plants to divert more of their photosynthetic products to grain biomass rather than plant body biomass ; plants’ photosynthetic products
Monoculture: just one type of plant is planted in a large area.
Plantation Farming: a type of industrialized agriculture in which a monoculture cash crop (bananas, coffee, or vegetables,) is grown and exported to developed nation
Arable: cultivable soil that is suitable for plant growth in order for soil to meet agricultural needs ; land that is fit to be cultivated
Soil Fertility: soil’s ability to provide essential nutrients, like nitrogen (N), potassium (K), and phosphorus (P), to plants.
Humus: an extremely important component of soil because it is rich in organic matter.
Loamy: soils composed of a balanced mixture of the three particle sizes (clay, silt, and sand) as well as organic matter
Soil Structure: the extent to which soil aggregates or clumps
Soil Aggregates: formed and held together by clay particles and organic matter—plants and roots, the root-like filaments of fungi, and sticky substances released by bacteria and fungi
Monoculture: planting of just one type of crop over a large area
Crop Rotation: practice of alternating the crops grown on a piece of land in each growing season in order to replenish soil nutrients (Ex: corn one year, legumes for two years, and then back to corn)
Polyculture : practice of planting several crops on the same plot of land simultaneously to increase biodiversity and sustainability
Dust Bowl: dusty drought conditions that occurred in Great Plains (1930s) due to a bad drought and farming practices used at that time
Contour Plowing: rows of crops are plowed across a hillside, preventing the erosion that can occur when rows are cut up and down on a slope.
Terracing: aids in preventing soil erosion on steep slopes.
Terraces: flat platforms that are cut into the hillside to provide a level planting surface which reduces the soil runoff from the slope
No-till Methods: process where farmers plant seeds without using a plow to turn the soil
Plowing: accelerates decomposition of organic matter in soil, decreasing soil fertility and releasing carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere
Perennial Crops: crops that grow back without replanting each year which reduce the need to till and keep erosion at bay.
Windbreak: made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted near crops to provide shelter from eroding winds.
Intercropping / Strip Cropping: practice of planting bands of different crops in a field which prevents erosion by creating an extensive network of roots.
Green Manure: soil enricher by leaving plants (uprooted or simply sown) to wither and then serve as mulch and are plowed under and incorporated into the soil before they can rot, providing valuable nutrients.
Pulverized Limestone: used as a soil conditioner to neutralize soils with too much acidity
Soil and Water Conservation Act (1977): act established soil and water conservation programs to aid landowners and users; it also set up conditions to continue evaluating the condition of U.S. soil, water, and related resources.
Food Security Act (1985): act discouraged the conversion of wetlands to non wetlands.
Free-Range Gazing: animals are able to move about outdoors and eat the foods they are adapted to eat
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) / Feedlots: new meat production industry operations, in which animals are confined and concentrated into smaller spaces to keep costs down and quickly get livestock ready for slaughter. They tend to be crowded and are often fed grains
Feedlots: often require the use of antibiotics to prevent spread of disease among animals densely packed together, and create problems in disposing of animal waste, which can contaminate ground and surface water
Overgrazed: lands where grass is consumed by animals at a faster rate than it can regrow ; leads to erosion, soil compaction and cause desertification
Desertification: degradation of low-precipitation regions toward being increasingly arid until they become deserts
Rotational Grazing: a method of pasturing involving regular rotation of livestock between different pastures to avoid overgrazing in a particular area.
Deforestation: removal of trees for agricultural purposes or purposes of exportation
Old Growth Forest: forests that have never been cut, have not been seriously disturbed for several hundred years and is where deforestation is occurring; contain incredible biodiversity, with myriad habitats and highly evolved, intricate niches for a multitude of organisms.
Second Growth Forest: areas where cutting has occurred and a new, younger forest has arisen naturally.
Plantations / Tree Farms: a naturally occurring and remaining forests ; these are the planted and managed tracts of trees of the same age for they were planted at the same time and are harvested for commercial use
Silviculture: management of forest plantation for harvesting timber
Clear-Cutting: removal of all trees in the area; done in areas that support fast growing trees
Selective Cutting: removal of select trees in an area, leaving the majority of the habitat in place and having less of an impact on the ecosystem
Uneven-aged Management: broad category under which selective cutting and shelter-wood cutting fall; selective deforestation
Shelter-wood Cutting: mature trees are cut over a period of time (usually 10 - 20 years), leaving some mature trees, which can reseed the forest, in place
Agroforestry: trees and crops are planted together, creating a mutualistic symbiotic relationship between them
Reforestation: planting of new forests
Greenbelts: open or forested areas built at outer edges of the city
Surface Fires: typically burn only the forests’ underbrush and do little damage to mature trees ;Serve to protect the forest from more harmful fires by removing underbrush and dead materials that would burn quickly and at high temperatures if they accumulate, escalating more severe fires
Crown Fires: may start on the ground or in canopies of forests that have not experienced recent surface fires ; spread quickly and have high temperatures and are a huge threat to wildlife, human life, and property.
Ground Fires: smoldering fires that take place in bogs or swamps and can burn underground for days or weeks. Originating from surface fires, ground fires are difficult to detect and extinguish
Controlled Burns / Prescribed Burns: small fires started when conditions are just right and lowers amounts of fuel in forests to avoid more dangerous fires
Interbasin Transfer: a way used to deal with potential water shortages in communities wherein water is transported very long distances from its source, through aqueducts or pipelines.
Groundwater: any water that comes from below the ground—that is, from wells or from aquifers
Aquifers: underground layer of porous rock, sand, or other material that allows the movement of water between layers of nonporous rock or clay; frequently tapped for wells
Unconfined Aquifer: water that is free to flow both vertically and horizontally.
Confined Aquifer: aquifer with boundaries that don’t readily transport water
Compacted: condition in which the mineral grains making up the aquifer collapse on each other & the material is unable to hold as much water.
Water-Stressed: have a renewable annual water supply of about 1,000–2,000 m3 per person
Water-Scarce: have less than 1,000 m3 per person and lack sufficient freshwater resources to meet demand
Riparian: banks of a natural course of flowing water
Riparian Right: right of people who have legal rights to use that area (water)
Prior Appropriation: water rights given to those who have historically used the water in a certain area ; water squatters’ rights
Fishery: industry / occupation devoted to catching, processing, or selling of fish, shellfish, or other aquatic animals.
Tragedy of Free Access: the depletion of marine fisheries worldwide
Capture Fisheries: fish production in which fish are caught in the wild and not raised in captivity for consumption
By-Catch: any species of fish, mammals, or birds that are caught during fishing that are not the target organism
Drift Nets: nets that float through the water and indiscriminately catch everything in their path
Long Lining: the use of long lines that have baited hooks and will be taken by numerous aquatic organisms
Bottom Trawling: a fishing technique in which ocean floor is scraped by heavy nets that scrape away or smash everything in their path, including corals and other delicate marine life on underwater mountains
Seamounts: underwater mountains
Turtle Excluder Device (TED): an apparatus designed and located at the end of trawling net and will eject large organisms such as sea turtles and sharks from the net while keeping most of the shrimp.
Aquaculture / Fish Farming: raising of fish (those with highest economic value) and other aquatic species in captivity for harvest.
Mangrove Swamps: function as nurseries for shrimp and recreational fisheries, exporters of organic matter to adjacent coastal food chains, and enormous sources of nutrients valuable to plants, wildlife, and ecosystem function. Helps to prevent shoreline erosion, shielding inland areas from severe damage during hurricanes and tidal waves
Mining: excavation of earth for the purpose of extracting ore or minerals.
Metallic Minerals: mined for their metals which can be extracted through smelting and used for various purposes (Ex: Zinc)
Nonmetallic Minerals: mined to be used in their natural state—nothing is extracted from them (Ex: Salt , Precious Gem)
Mineral Deposit: an area in which a particular mineral is concentrated
Ore: a rock or mineral from which a valuable substance can be extracted at a profit.
Gangue: waste material in mining processes
Tailings: piles of gangues
Surface Mining: removal of large portions of soil and rock in order to access the ore underneath.
Overburden: large portions of soil and rock that are removed when strip mining for a commercially valuable mineral resource
Strip Mining: involves removal of Earth’s surface all the way down to the level of the mineral seam which makes the area more susceptible to erosion. ; least expensive and least dangerous but requires removing massive amounts of topsoil, thus having much greater impact on surrounding environment than underground mining
Shaft Mining: vertical tunnels are built to access and excavate minerals that are underground and unreachable
Mine Restoration: projects through which air, land, and water harmed by mining can be reclaimed
Suburbs: those who reside in satellite communities in the outskirts of cities ; occupy eleven times more space than those who live in city
Urban Sprawl: emigration of people out of the city and into the suburbs
Brownfields: urban areas that contain abandoned factories or former residential sites where the possibility that the soil and water are contaminated hinders redevelopment
Megacities: cities with populations in excess of 10 million people
Ecological Footprint: environmental impact of a population or individual person ; the amount of Earth’s surface that’s necessary to supply the needs of, and dispose of the waste of, a particular population or individual.
Economics: study of how people use limited resources to satisfy their wants and needs
Tangible: measurable; have physical value (food, shelter and clean air)
Intangible: immeasurable; not having a physical value
Cost-Benefit Analysis: weighing the benefits against the costs in order to make a decision on resource use
Marginal Costs: additional costs of a particular step in a process
Marginal Benefits: added benefits of a particular step in a process
Externalities: unwanted or unanticipated consequences of using resources
IPAT Model: a mathematical model to describe the impact that humans have on the environment: I = P × A × T, where I = the total impact, P = population size, A = affluence, and T = level of technology
Sustainability: humans using resources in such a way as to not deplete resources for future generations
Sustainable Yield: the amount of a renewable resource that can be taken without reducing the available supply.