Unit 5

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Unit 5: Land Use - Food Production, Forestry, Mining, and Sustainability

Part A: Food Production

Essential Skills

You should be able to describe the following concepts:

5.3 Changes in Agricultural Practices Over Time

  • The Green Revolution (post-WWII): Shift to increase food production with methods like:

    • Mechanization

    • Use of fertilizers, pesticides

    • Introduction of GMOs

    • Enhanced irrigation techniques

  • Positive Impacts: Higher crop yields, reduced hunger in some regions.

  • Negative Impacts: Soil degradation, pesticide resistance, water overuse, and pollution.

5.4 Agricultural Practices that Cause Environmental Damage

  • Tilling: Disrupts soil structure, increases erosion.

  • Slash-and-Burn: Destroys ecosystems and releases CO2.

  • Fertilizer Use: Leads to eutrophication and contamination of water supplies.

5.5 Methods of Irrigation

  1. Furrow Irrigation:

    • Cheap but wastes ⅓ of water via evaporation/runoff.

  2. Flood Irrigation:

    • 20% water lost; risk of waterlogging.

  3. Spray Irrigation:

    • More efficient; 25% water loss but expensive and energy-intensive.

  4. Drip Irrigation:

    • Most efficient (<5% loss), but costly and hard to implement.

  • Problems:

    • Waterlogging: Raises groundwater table, reducing root oxygen.

    • Salinization: Salt buildup in soil makes it toxic to plants.

    • Aquifer Depletion: E.g., Ogallala Aquifer.

5.6 Pest Control Methods

  • Chemical Pesticides: Lead to resistance through artificial selection.

  • Genetic Engineering: Crops resist pests but reduce genetic diversity.

5.7 Methods of Meat Production

  • CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations):

    • Pros: Cost-effective, fast production.

    • Cons: Crowded conditions, waste pollution, antibiotic use.

  • Free-Range Grazing:

    • Pros: Animals graze naturally; waste acts as fertilizer.

    • Cons: Land-intensive, expensive.

  • Overgrazing: Causes soil erosion and desertification.

5.8 Overfishing

  • Leads to scarcity of species, reduced biodiversity, and disruption of aquatic food chains.

5.14 Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

  • Combines biological, physical, and chemical methods to minimize environmental impact:

    • Biocontrol: Natural predators.

    • Intercropping, crop rotation.

    • Advantages: Reduces wildlife risks, less chemical dependence.

    • Disadvantages: Complex, expensive.

5.15 Sustainable Agriculture Practices

  • Soil Conservation:

    • Methods: Contour plowing, windbreaks, no-till, strip cropping.

  • Soil Fertility:

    • Crop rotation, green manure, limestone addition.

  • Rotational Grazing: Reduces overgrazing and preserves pastures.

5.16 Aquaculture

  • Pros: Efficient, requires less land and water.

  • Cons:

    • Wastewater contamination.

    • Escaped fish compete with or breed with wild populations.

    • Disease transmission to wild fish.

Part B: Forestry, Mining, and Sustainability

5.2 Clearcutting

  • Economic Advantages: Provides resources and boosts economy.

  • Environmental Disadvantages:

    • Soil erosion, flooding, and stream temperature increases.

    • Releases carbon dioxide, worsening climate change.

5.17 Forest Conservation Methods

  • Reforestation: Planting trees to restore ecosystems.

  • Ecologically Sustainable Forestry: Reduces ecological damage.

  • Prescribed Burns: Controlled fires to prevent large-scale wildfires.

5.9 Mining Impacts

  • Surface Mining: Removes vegetation, leading to erosion.

  • Waste Products: Slag/tailings contaminate land and water.

  • Coal Mining:

    • Pros: Provides energy and materials.

    • Cons: Habitat destruction, pollution, and health risks.

  • Subsurface Mining: Expensive and dangerous but necessary as reserves deplete.

5.10 Effects of Urbanization

  • Water Depletion: Saltwater intrusion, impervious surfaces increase flooding.

  • Carbon Cycle Disruption: More CO2 from burning fossil fuels and landfills.

  • Urban Sprawl: Expansion into rural areas reduces biodiversity and increases resource use.

5.12 Sustainability

  • Living in a way that ensures resources remain for future generations.

  • Indicators: Biodiversity, food production, CO2 levels, resource depletion.

5.13 Urban Runoff Solutions

  • Replace pavement with permeable surfaces.

  • Plant trees, increase public transportation, and reduce sprawl by building up, not out.

Key Vocabulary

  • Agriculture: Tilling, slash-and-burn, CAFOs, aquifers, salinization.

  • Forestry: Clearcutting, prescribed burns.

  • Mining: Overburden, slag/tailings, subsurface mining.

  • Sustainability: Mitigation, sustainable yield, ecological footprint.

  • Urbanization: Urban sprawl, impervious surfaces, saltwater intrusion.

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