Topic 5 - Soil
Which soil horizon is most likely to be of interest to farmers?
Horizon A (topsoil)
Name 2 greenhouse gases.
Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxides, CFCs, etc
If a city has cloudy weather for 302 days of the year, what might be a good option for renewable energy for this city?
Geothermal, wind, hydroelectricity (anything but solar)
Give 1 example of non-renewable natural income.
Minerals, coal, oil, natural gas, water in aquifers
What is 1 gas that is responsible for acid deposition?
Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide
Why is the soil important for the nitrogen cycle?
where nitrogen fixation, ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification all take place
What international agreement is responsible for the reduction of CFCs & HCFCs, eventually leading to the elimination of the ozone hole?
Why is nuclear energy not considered renewable?
It produces nuclear waste which cannot be recycled and must be disposed of carefully. This waste will last for thousands (if not millions) of years and it will remain dangerous during this time.
Draw a population pyramid that might belong to an LEDC.
TBD by Ms. Moore
Name 1 adaptation strategy for dealing with climate change.
Building on stilts, limiting floodplain development, storing rainwater, growing drought-resistant crops, increasing reservoirs, cloud-seeding, migrating to new areas, vaccinating against water-borne diseases, etc
Overirrigation of the soil leads to what soil degradation issue?
increasing soil salinity
Explain a negative effect of tropospheric ozone on our ecosystems.
Tropospheric ozone damages leaves and chlorophyll, resulting in lower primary production and eventually lower secondary production as animals are impacted by decreased food supplies.
How does global warming lead to climate change?
Greenhouse gases trap more heat on Earth, leading to increased global temperatures (global warming). Increased temperatures cause more droughts, floods, stronger storms, etc leading to climate change.
Name 1 benefit and 1 disadvantage of using incinerators to manage our solid domestic waste.
Advantages - uses less land, can be used to generate electricity
Disadvantages - expensive to build, releases toxins into atmosphere that fall back to the soil, requires constant stream of waste
What is a named example of an intensive commercial food production system that we learned about in class?
Iowa corn production
Name 1 soil conservation method a farmer might use in a place with steep hillsides.
Terracing or contour plowing, cover cropping
Name 1 secondary pollutant that contributes to photochemical smog.
ozone, nitrous oxides
Name 1 mitigation strategy for dealing with climate change.
If a given population has a natural increase rate of 1.5%, what is its doubling time?
70/1.5 = 46.7 years
Draw a population pyramid that could belong to a late-stage MEDC such as Germany or Japan.
TBD by Ms. Moore
Name 1 soil conservation technique that might be used in a place with high wind erosion.
contour plowing, alley cropping, cover cropping, windbreaks
Identify and categorize 2 pollution management strategies for dealing with acid deposition.
Level 1 - replace fossil fuel use, use fewer private vehicles, reduce energy demand
Level 2 - "end-of-pipe" scrubbing technologies, catalytic converters, carbon capture and sequestration
Level 3 - liming lakes and rivers, recolonizing damaged forests and lakes
Identify 1 positive and 1 negative impact of climate change on human societies.
Positive - more arable land in Canada and northern Asia, Northwest Passage opens up trade opportunities, mineral and fossil fuel deposits in the permafrost would be exploitable, hyrdoelectricity becomes viable at higher latitudes because it won't freeze, etc
Negative - increased incidence of droughts and severe weather, sea level rise leading to flooding, insect pest and disease vectors spreading, mass extinctions, less freshwater due to glaciers melting, etc
Name 2 of the 6 components that are used to calculate ecological footprint.
If a population has a CBR of 35 and a CDR of 40, what is its natural increase rate?
(35 - 40)/10 = -0.5%