Botkin & Keller- Earth as a Living Planet: 8th Edition Guided Reading Assignment Chapter #11- Agriculture, Aquaculture

and the Environment Name: ___________Chau Vu__________________________ Case Study: Biofuels and Banana Chips: Food Crops vs. Fuel Crops 1: Why do pig farmers have to feed their pigs junk-food? -> Because the demand for the biofuel ethanol, produced from corn and other crops, had driven up prices of feed to the point where it became cheaper to feed the animals our snack food. Agroecosystems: 2: Explain how agroecosystems halt ecological succession. -> Most crops are early-successional species, which means that they grow fast, spread their seeds widely and rapidly, and do best when sunlight, water, and chemical nutrients in the soil are abundant. Under natural conditions, crop species would eventually be replaced by latersuccessional plants. Slowing or stopping natural ecological succession requires time and effort on our part. 3: What is the problem with growing monocultures? -> The downside of monoculture is that it makes the entire crop vulnerable to attack by a single disease or a single change in the environmental conditions. 4: Why does growing plants in neat rows and fields make it easier for pests? ->Because the crop plants have no place to hide. 5: How does plowing fields over and over damage the soils? Explain. -> Plowing exposes the soil to erosion and damages its physical structure, leading to a decline n organic matter and a loss of chemical elements. 6: What are the other 2 ways that agrocultures are harmful to ecosystems? -> Biological diversity and food chains are simplified, and they may include genetically modified crops. The Plow Puzzle 7: How much of the top soil in the U.S. has been lost since European settlement? -> About one-third of the topsoil has been lost, making 80 million hectares (198 million acres) unproductive or only marginally productive. Can We Feed the World?

8: What percentage of the worlds land area is used for agriculture? -> Approximately 38% How We Starve 9: What is the difference between undernourishment and malnourishment? -> Undernourishment results from insufficient calories in available foo, so that one has little or no ability to work or even move and eventually dies from the lack of energy. Malnourishment results from a lack of specific chemical components of food, such as proteins, vitamins, or other essential chemical elements. 10: Why does providing food aid to countries in need actually work against increased availability of locally grown food? -> Free food undercuts local farmers - they cannot compete with it. What We Grow on the Land 11: Most of the worlds food is produced by only _14_ species. List them below in order of importance: Wheat, rice, maize, potatoes, sweet potatoes, manioc, sugarcane, sugar beet, common beans, soybeans, barley, sorghum, coconuts and bananas. 12: What is a forage crop? -> Some crops, called forage, are grown as food for domestic animals 13: Define the following: Rangeland: Provides food for grazing and browsing animals without plowing and planting. Pasture: Plowed, planted, and harvested to provide forage for animals. 14: What impact does the number of livestock around the world have on rangeland and pasturelands? -> More than 34 million square kilometers (km2) are in permanent pasture worldwide an area larger than the combined sizes of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Almost half of Earths land area is used as rangeland. 15: Why are feedlots considered to be a big source of local pollution? -> The penned cattle are often crowded and are fed grain or forage that is transported to the feedlot. Manure builds up in large mounds and pollutes local streams when it rains. 16: What is a benefit of farming animals rather than crops? -> Land too poor for crops that people can eat can be excellent rangeland, with grasses and woody plants that domestic livestock can eat.

Soils 17: How does rainwater affect the soil horizon? Explain. -> Rainwater is slightly acid (it has a pH of about 5.5). When rainwater moves down into the soil, iron, calcium, magnesium, and other nutritionally important elements are leached. 18: What is soil fertility? How it is determined? -> Soil fertility is the capacity of a soil to supply nutrients necessary for plant growth. 19: Why are soils in humid and tropical areas considered to be poor? What happens to them after deforestation? -> Soil in humid areas and tropics may be heavily leached and relatively nutrient-poor due to the high rainfall. If forest cover is removed, reforestation may be very difficult. 20: What is the problem with soils in semi-arid regions? -> Soils that accumulate certain clay minerals in semiarid regions may swell when they get wet and shrink as they dry out, cracking roads, walls, buildings, and other structures. 21: Why are coarse-grained soils more susceptible to erosion that soils that contain more clay? -> Coarse-grained soils have small clay particles that retain water and retard the movement. This causes the clay to erode. 22: Soil Horizons: Define each of the soil horizons Horizon O: Mostly organic materials, including decomposed or decomposing leaves and twigs, Horizon A: Composed of both mineral and organic materials Horizon E: Composed of light-colored materials resulting from leaching of clay, calcium, magnesium, and iron to lower horizons. Horizon B: Enriched in clay, iron oxides, silica, carbonate, or other material leached from overlying horizons. Horizon C: Composed of partially altered parent material; rock is shown here, but the material could also be alluvial in nature, such as river gravels. Horizon R: Unweathered parent material Restoring Our Soils 23: What is the difference between organic and inorganic (artificial) fertilizers? -> Organic fertilizers are made naturally, they improve both chemical and physical characteristics of soil. Artificial fertilizers are made industrially. 24: Define the following:

Macronutrient: A chemical element required by all living things in relatively large amounts. Micronutrient: A chemical element required in small amounts either in extremely small amounts by all forms of life or in moderate to small amounts for some forms of life. Limiting Factor: The single requirement for growth available in the least supply in comparision to the need of an organism. Originally applied to crops but now often applied to any species. Controlling Pests 25: In the U.S, how much of the potential harvest is lost to pests? -> 1/3 26: What is the definition of a weed? -> A plant in a place we do not want it to be. Pesticides 27: What are the differences between inorganic and organic pesticides? -> Inorganic pesticides are pesticides in forms of inorganic chemicals. Organic pesticides are made from organic compounds. 28: What are some of the reasons why pesticides are considered to be ineffective? -> Pests can create a resistance and then can reproduce pests that can also have a resistance to that pesticide, so that pesticide has no use. 29: Define Integrated Pest Management (IPM) AND explain HOW it works: -> Uses a combination of methods, including biological control, certain chemical pesticides, and some methods of planting crops. 30: What is the use of biological control and give an example: -> Biological control is the use of one species that is a natural enemy to another. An example is BT which is a disease to caterpillars. 31: What was the green revolution? -> The green revolution is a term that refers to the great increase in crop production in developing countries attained through the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and planting of crop varieties that yield high varieties. It was mainly witnessed between the 1940s and the late 1970s. Genetically Modified Food: Biotechnology, Farming and Environment 32: What are the 3 practices of genetic engineering? -> 1) New hybrids; 2) The terminator gene; 3) Transfer of genes from one major form of life to another

33: What are the PROS and CONS of developing hybrid crops? -> PRO- led to hybrids that require less fertilizer, pesticide and water CON-may produce super hybrids that can grow where they are not wanted and become pests 34: What is the terminator gene and what does it do? -> The terminator gene makes seeds from a crop sterile. 35: What are the political and social concern with companies using seeds with terminator genes? -> Terminator gene will allow U.S and corporations to control the world food supply. 36: How are GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) helpful? -> GMOs can give food new nutrients and can give a high crop yield than normal. 37: How can GMOs be harmful? -> GMOs can cause diseases to animals such as caterpillars and endangered species like monarch butterflies. Aquaculture 38: What is aquaculture and how can it be helpful? -> Production of food from aquatic habitats. 39: What is mariculture? -> Production of food from marine habitats. 40: How can aquaculture and mariculture harmful to the environment? -> Fishponds and marine fish release wastes polluting local environments. It can damage biodiversity. Critical Thinking Issue: Will There Be Enough Water to Produce Food for a Growing Population? 1: How might dietary changes in developed countries affect water availability? -> Higher demand for fruits or vegetables means more water would need to be consumed. 2: How might global warming affect estimates of the amount of water needed to grow crops in the 21st century? -> The Earth would be more droughts if there is global warning. Drought would lead to need more water. 3: Withdrawing water from aquifers faster than the replacement rate is sometimes referred to as mining water. Why do you think this term is used?

-> The machines used to withdraw the water are used in mining for valuable minerals. 4: Many countries in warm areas of the world are unable to raise enough food, such as wheat, to supply their populations. Consequently, they import wheat and other grains. How is this equivalent to importing water? -> The wheat and other grains had to grow with the help of sunlight, air and water. Interactive Soil Pyramid- Understand How to Calculate the Soil Composition Type go to: http://courses.soil.ncsu.edu/resources/physics/texture/soiltexture.swf Understand and Using Soil Pyramids go to: http://soils.usda.gov/technical/aids/investigations/texture/ Directions: Using the Soil Pyramid Program- Identify the Type of Soil with the Following Percent Compositions: Sand: 30 Clay: 30 Silt: 40 Answer: ______Clay Loam_____________ Sand: 45 Clay: 10 Silt: 45 Answer: ________Loam______________ Understand Soils in Biomes Around the World Go to: https://php.radford.edu/~swoodwar/biomes/ Directions: Determine the Type of Soils that are Characteristics of Each Specific of These Terrestrial Biomes and List Why? Tundra: No true soil is developed in this biome due to the edaphic factors Taiga (Boreal Forest): Podzolization occurs as a result of the acid soil solution produced under needleleaf trees. The main soil order associated with the taiga is spodosol. Temperate Broadleaf Deciduous: Brown forest soils (alfisols, in the American soil taxonomy) develop under the TBDF. Broadleaf trees tend to be nutrient-demanding and their leaves bind the major nutrient bases.

Mediterranean Scrub: The result is a very limited, but predictable, growing season when there is both sufficient soil moisture and adequately warm temperatures. Many plants are adapted to Temperate Grassland: Calcification is the dominant soil-forming process in semiarid regions. Mild leaching, high organic content, and concentration of calcium carbonate in the B horizon typifies the dark brown mollisols developed under the temperate grasslands. Scrubland: Calcification is the dominant soil-forming process, if indeed soil forming even occurs. There is poor development of horizons, with accumulation of calcium carbonate at or near the surface. Sparse vegetative cover and tiny leaves results in little humus and soils typically have a light gray color. Aridosols are the dominant soil order. Tropical Rainforest: Oxisols, infertile, deeply weathered and severely leached, have developed on the ancient Gondwanan shields. Rapid bacterial decay prevents the accumulation of humus. The concentration of iron and aluminum oxides by the laterization pro cess gives the oxisols a bright red color and sometimes produces minable deposits (e.g., bauxite). On younger substrates, especially of volcanic origin, tropical soils may be quite fertile. Tropical Savannah: Soils vary according to bedrock and edaphic conditions. In general, however, laterization is the dominant soil-forming process and low fertility oxisols can be expected. Control of Soil Erosion- go to: http://www2.kenyon.edu/projects/farmschool/types/tillage.htm Directions: Define and describe each of the alternative methods to traditional soil tillage Windbreaks: Some farmers plant trees along the borders of their fields to cut down on wind erosion. This method is most often practiced in flat areas, but is useful in hilly regions as well. Cover Crops: Another method to stop soil erosion is to plant crops that will grow during the most erosive fall and spring months. Winter cover crops such as fall rye or winter wheat act as a ground cover and protect the vulnerable soil from eroding. Grassed Waterways: In some fields the land forms natural depressions where run-off water goes. To keep the soil in these depressions from running away with the water, farmers plant grassy strips. Excess water is absorbed by the grass rather than acting as an erosion agent. Contour Cultivation: Cultivation is the process of loosening up the soil between the rows of a growing crop. Some farmers plant and cultivate their crops to follow the contours of a field. Contour cultivation produces furrows that are perpendicular or at an angle to the slope of the field. The irregular surface of the field breaks up the flow of water and makes it more difficult for water to erode the soil. Strip Cropping: Farmers may decide to alternate a field with strips of different crops or fallow. Strip cropping may be used in flat areas but it also is a kind of contour farming when strips are planted across the slope of a field. Forages: Forage crops such as alfalfa and hay can be included in a rotation to cut down on erosion. In areas where the land has steep terrain the practice of strip cropping forage crops and crops such as corn or wheat is a common way to slow erosion.

Conservation Tillage: If farmers leave the soil bare after they harvest a crop, they are asking for trouble! Most farmers today will practice conservation tillage where they leave stalks and leaves of the harvested crops on their fields. This layer protects the underlying soil from wind and rain during the fall and winter until a new crop is planted in the spring. One kind of conservation tillage is chisel-plowing which mixes crop residue into the soil. This leaves the ground partially covered from the wind and rain. Below you will find descriptions for two common types of conservation tillage practices. There are other methods that farmers use too, though! No-Till: No-till farming means that farmers leave all of the last crop's residue in the soil while planting the new crop. Ridge Tillage: Farmers may use special machinery to form the soil into ridges and then plant the seeds on top of the ridges. The soil and residue from the previous crop between the ridges are not disturbed during planting and cultivation. Since this plant and soil material is not broken loose by the machinery, it is less likely to erode.