unit 5 AP sg

Unit 5 Land and Water Use

• Covers Chapters 9, 10, 12, 14, 22

5.1 The Tragedy of the Commons

• Definition: Scenario where individuals use shared resources for self-interest leading to depletion of resources.

• Implication: Human activities can alter natural systems, worsening resource scarcity.

5.2 Clearcutting

• Advantages: Economically advantageous for logging companies.

• Disadvantages:

  • Leads to soil erosion.

  • Increases soil and stream temperatures, leading to flooding.

  • Cutting and burning trees releases stored carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change.

5.3 Tragedy of the Commons Continued

• Carrying Capacity: Maximum use of a natural resource that can be sustained.

• Users will benefit in the short term by increasing resource use beyond this limit.

• Eventually, collective degradation impacts all users, decreasing resource availability.

5.4 The Green Revolution

• Objective: Shift to new agricultural strategies to improve food production.

• Strategies:

  • Mechanization, use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), fertilization, irrigation, pesticides.

  • Mechanization improves farm efficiency but increases fossil fuel dependency.

5.5 GMO Overview

• Definition of GMO: Organisms whose DNA has been modified in a lab, usually to enhance certain traits.

• Public Perception: Strong demand for transparency with labeling (87% want GMOs labeled).

• Health Concerns: Long-term effects of GMOs not fully understood, with some studies indicating potential adverse effects on health.

5.6 Impact of Agricultural Practices

• Practices leading to environmental damage include:

  • Tilling

  • Slash-and-burn farming

  • Excessive use of fertilizers.

5.7 Irrigation Methods

• Largest Use: Human use of freshwater is predominantly for irrigation.

• Types of Irrigation:

  • Drip: Most efficient (5% loss), costly but minimizes water loss.

  • Flood: 20% water loss, potential for waterlogging.

  • Furrow: Inexpensive (1/3 water loss).

  • Spray: Efficient but costly (1/4 water loss).

• Salinization: Result of groundwater evaporation leaving salts in soil, leading to toxicity for plants.

• Aquifer Depletion: Overuse of aquifers like the Ogallala impacts sustainability.

5.8 Pest Control Methods

• Monocrops are the most infected.

• Common methods include pesticides and herbicides.

• Consequences: Organisms may develop resistance, reducing effectiveness over time.

• Genetic engineering may enhance pest resistance but could reduce genetic diversity (GMOs).

• Natural selection with the pesticide treadmill, pesticide-resistant. This cycle can lead to an increase in pest populations that are harder to control, necessitating even stronger chemicals.

5.9 Meat Production Methods

• CAFO: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations promote quick livestock preparation but cause significant waste and pollution.

  • keeps costs down because of quick preparation and maximizes efficiency, allowing producers to meet high demand while also raising concerns about animal welfare and environmental impact.

• Free-range: Healthier for animals, less use of chemicals, but requires more land and is more costly.

• Overgrazing: This leads to desertification and soil erosion, impacting land sustainability.

  • Tragedy of the Commons

• Eating less meat: use less water, fossil fuels

5.10 Impacts of Overfishing

• Leads to reduced fish biodiversity and affects food security for communities relying on fishing.

  • Tragedy of the Commons, bycatching

5.11 Impacts of Mining

• Mining depletes easily accessed ores leading to increased waste and pollution.

• Surface Mining: Removes topsoil and vegetation, increasing erosion risks.

• Environmental damage includes habitat destruction and groundwater contamination.

• Nonrenewable resources, keep reusing instead of mining them again by implementing recycling programs and promoting the use of alternative materials to mitigate the impact on our environment.

5.12 Impacts of Urbanization

• Urbanization leads to resource depletion and increased CO2 levels due to fossil fuels.

• Impervious Surfaces: Prevent water absorption, leading to flooding.

• Urban Sprawl: Increases environmental issues by spreading into rural areas.

  • increased temperature because of the urban heat island effect, where urban areas become significantly warmer than their rural surroundings due to human activities and infrastructure.

  • Loss of Biodiversity: As urban areas expand, natural habitats are destroyed, resulting in the decline of various species and disruption of ecosystems.

5.13 Ecological Footprints

• Measure of resource consumption and waste production of individuals or societies.

  • developing countries have small ecological footprint, developed countries have large ecological footprint, this discrepancy often results from differences in lifestyle, industrial activity, and consumption patterns, leading to greater environmental impacts in developed nations.

5.14 Introduction to Sustainability

• Definition: Sustainable use of resources to avoid depletion for future generations.

• Indicators: Include biodiversity, food production, climate data, and resource consumption metrics.

• Sustainable Yield: Amount of a renewable resource that can be harvested without reducing its availability.

  • Native Americans are very sustainable, know about the land

5.15 Methods to Reduce Urban Runoff

• Solutions include:

  • Permeable pavement.

  • Planting trees.

  • Encouraging public transport.

  • Building vertically instead of horizontally to reduce land cover.

5.16 Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

• Combination of methods minimizing environmental disruption when controlling pest species.

• Methods include biological controls, intercropping, and crop rotation.

• Benefits: Reduces risks to wildlife and human health.

  • Biggest Little Farm + Food INC

  • cultural, physical, biological, and chemical methods all play a role in sustainable agriculture practices, enhancing soil health and promoting biodiversity.

5.17 Sustainable Agriculture Techniques

• Focus on soil conservation to prevent erosion through methods like contour plowing, windbreaks, and crop rotation.

• Rotational Grazing: Helps prevent overgrazing by rotating livestock between pastures.

  • contour plowing, no-till agriculture, cover crops, manure, rotated crops/livestock

• Permaculture: the concept of utilizing land, resources, people, and the environment in a manner that doesn't produce any waste