Soil and biodiversity
what are three soil textures in order from large to small
sand, silt, clay
tell what two nutrients mostly contribute to eutrophication in freshwater systems
nitrogen and phosphorus
Describe mechanical methods of IPM
screening, netting or traps either in air over crop or in water around crop to prevent pest from entering area
What farming technique best minimizes fertilizer use, erosion and sediment runoff?
crop rotation
why is DDT found in penguin eggs in the antarctic?
DDT must be a POP that can travel through biosphere and affect creatures on other side of the world
Which soil horizon has very little organic matter and accumulates soluble metals and nutrients that are transported from other soil layers?
C
Identify an advantage of urbanization compared to urban sprawl relating to cycling of carbon
urbanization will have smaller carbon footprint as humans will have decreased transportation which decreases CO2
Tell largest disadvantage of GMO?
Decrease in genetic diversity
what is best technique to minimise erosion in an area
terracing
Which of the following federal laws specifically deals with the cleanup of abandoned hazardous waste sites?
Comprehensive Environmental Responsibility Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)
A one-hectare pond is sampled in early September. The sample yields 1 small catfish as well as 17 benthic invertebrates that represent 10 species.
If the pond is resampled a year later, what would indicate that the pond had been adversely affected by adjacent development?
biodiversity would decrease due to human development
name the process of how nitrogen is covered to the largest nitrogen reservoir
denitrifyication by denitrifying bacteria in soil returns NO3 to air as N2
identify best way to minimize farm worker exposure to toxic pesticides
integrated pest management (or other methods to minimise pests besides synthetic chemicals)
IDentify the animal that contributes the most to greenhouse gas emmissions and explain how this happens
cows - bacteria in their first stomach (rumin) breaks down cellulose to make methane gas
Many synthetic chemicals, such as PCBs, act as estrogen mimics. In an ecosystem, these persistent chemicals would have the greatest effect on what trophic level?
secondary consumers or top of food chain
Explain evidence of acid rain deposition on a farm would look like.
Increased soluable heavy metals in down stream pond/lake/river.
what is an advantage of using synthetic fertilizer compared to organic manure fertilizer?
synthetic fertilizer is a more targeted, new macronutrient. organic manure is a more general nutrient. usually, manure will return nutrients to the soil that used to be in the soil if animal and plants were eaten in the same general location.
Describe two reasons why biological controls to pests are useful
1) biological pest control can lead to long term stable control of pest
2) generally tends to focus on one target animal (usually)
The major reason the green revolution helped increase world human population
The development of new strains of crops with higher yields
Major anthropogenic sources of nitrogen pollution include commercial fertilizers, vehicle exhaust, industrial air pollution, and
sewage from treatment plant
A field is abandoned, and an invasive plant that can live in nutrient-poor soil moves into the field. If the land is later cleared of this invasive species and it is discovered that the soil has an abundance of nitrogen compounds, what conclusion can best be made?
nitrogen fixing bacteria attached to root nodules must be converting free nitrogen to ammonia.
identify the largest reservoir of sulfur and describe how this sulfur can turn into acid rain
Ocean Marine Sediments is the largest reservoir.
Sediments can turn into acid rain by turning into coal which is then burned (combustion) to release SOx into air which react with water to make sulfuric acid = acid rain.
what is the purpose of IPM?
reduction of pest species to minimise crop damage to a tolerable economic level
Corn can be grown at a rate of 1,000 kcal per hectare, and it takes 20 times more land to produce beef than it does to produce corn. Which of the following equations would correctly calculate the amount of land needed to produce 10,000 kcal of beef?
10000 kcal x (1ha/ 1000kcal) x (20 kcal beef / 1 kcal corn) = final unit is hectacres land area
The LD50 for arsenic in humans is 13mg/kg. Which of the following approaches should be used to calculate the number of grams of arsenic it would take to reach the LD50 in a 140-pound person? [Note: 1kg=2.2pounds]
140 lb x (1kg / 2.2 lb) x (13mg / kg) x (1g / 1000mg) = 0.827g As