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What are the concerns with conservation programs?
enrollment of productive land, negative effects on wildlife
How can communities be involved in land protection?
farmers being paid to remove invasive species, student research, ecotourism
What are ways to conserve top soil?
terracing: making a sloped land into a bunch of platforms
Contour planting: planting plants perpendicular to the slope of a hill/mountain
What are CAFOs?
CAFOs are concentrated animal feeding operations which are bad because of zoonotic diseases, major waste problems as well as greenhouse gasses (methane)
Define the three fishing techniques
Trawling: dragging a large net along the seafloor
Purse-seine fishing: catching surface-dwelling species
Long-lining: lines with baited hooks
What can happen to soil if farmers overwater?
Soil salinization: accumulation of salts in the upper layers of soil
Waterlogging: too much water sitting for a long period of time, raising the water table and suffocating the plants due to not enough aeration (empty spaces are filled in with water)
List the four types of pesticides and what they kill
Insecticides kill insects
Herbicides kill weeds
Fungicides kill fungi
Rodenticides kill rodents
Define chronic undernutrition/hunger, and malnourishment
people who cannot grow/buy enough food to meet their basic energy needs which threatens their ability to live healthy and productive lives + nutritional imbalance is caused by a lack of dietary components or an inability to absorb or utilize essential nutrients
Describe two fire types and how one can become the other.
surface fire: the first stage, burning undergrowth, spreads serotinous seeds
crown fire: top of the forest, more dangerous, larger, out of control
a surface fire can turn into a crown fire in hot and dry environments
What are farm subsidies and their problems?
government payments or other types of support intended to help farmers stay in business
Subsidies end up going to the largest and wealthiest farms, a lot are monocultures as well (environmental concerns), and also use a lot of machinery which increases fossil fuel use
What was the Green Revolution?
Historical events in the 50s and 60s focused on trying to help other countries address hunger and food insecurity; Focused on genetic modification of crop switches would help with world hunger (Norman Borlaug)
What is the difference between fisheries and aquaculture and describe the problems with each.
fisheries harvest already existing aquatic life while aquaculture is the purposeful cultivation and subsequent harvesting of both freshwater and marine aquatic plants and animals.
Fisheries = overfishing/harvesting
Aquacultue = environmental degradation, pollution
Define eutrophication and gives it preceeding factors
excessive richness of nutrients(nitrogen) in a body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen (usually too much algae growth)
organic layer - partly decomposed plant material (leaves, twigs, mosses)
topsoil - mineral soil from the plant material and some organic
subsoil - inorganic matter, broken down rock, clay
parent material - weathered rock(sand, windblown silt, bedrock, other mineral material on which the soil is built)
bedrock
What is integrated pest management? What do the different pieces mean in relation to it?
Integrated pest management is assessing crops and pets as a part of the ecosystem and trying to use more natural or biological controls instead of synthetic chemicals. cultural, physical, biological, and then chemical is the order that controls should be applied to the ecosystem for preservation
What did Wangari Maathai do? What about Aldo Leopold?
W.M. promoted tree planting in Kenya (Green Belt Movement), won the Nobel prize in 2004, promoted work for women
Leopold claimed that people should not view the environment as solely profit, private landowners should respect the existing value, criticized the government for only using the environment for economic gain
Describe hydroponics and its pros/cons and compare it to aquaponics
Hydro = growing plants without soil and exposing their roots to nutrient-rich water
Pros = No concern of nitrogen or phosphorus run off (closed system), better at conserving water
Cons = consume more energy
Aqua = hydro + fish, waste adds nutrients (nitrogen) that bacteria convert into plant digestible form (nitrification)
Describe the four types of tree harvesting.
clearcutting: cut down everything, most environmentally damaging
shelterwood: harvest select trees in short intervals to provide room for saplings
group selection: getting rid of large groups of trees, but in less frequent intervals (more sustainable than shelterwood)
single tree selection: harvest certain types of trees for lumber, cutting down diseased trees
Define soil and how its texture is deterined
complex mixture of rock pieces, particles, mineral nutrients, decaying organic matter, water, air, and living organisms that support plant and animal life +
by the relative amounts of sand, silt, and clay in the soil + organic
What are the benefits and drawbacks of synthetic pesticides and what are alternatives to synthetic pesticides (and their potential drawbacks).
Good = more customizable, cheaper, improving crop yields and qualities
Bad = can lead to genetic resistance and pesticide drift
Alternatives = animal manure, green manure (cut plant material), compost, crop rotation, and other living controls like predators, parasites, and viruses
Alt. Drawbacks = May have unintended consequences, more difficult to apply, may be slower
Describe the 4 US land classifying systems, their roles/practices, and what agencies oversee each.
national forest system: managed by the US Forest Service, can be used for logging, livestock grazing, farming, oil/gas extraction, recreation, conservation
Bureau of Land Management: managed by the US Department of the Interior, land is used for mining, oil/gas, and livestock grazing
National Park Service: allows for camping, hiking, fishing, and boating
National Wildlife Refuge system: managed by the US fish and wildlife service meant to conserve fish, wildlife, plants, with minimal recreational activity
Why are forests needed? What services do they provide? What changes have been seen globally? And how can deforestation be reduced?
need for forests: oxygen and habitats
ecosystem services: air quality controls (carbon sink), habitats for a variety of species, recreation, soil erosion, water retention, food, lumber, shade, fuel
overall decreased forested areas in every continent except for North America which has increased slightly due to reforestation efforts
regulations, third party certifications (forest sustainability council, rainforest alliance, sustainability forest initiative)
List three biogeochemical cycles and describe each
Carbon: land to atmosphere via photosynthesis (storage) and respiration (release). Released to atmospheric via cell respiration, soil tilling, burning fossil fiels, and deforestation
Nitrogen: makes up 78% of atmospheric volume. Plants cannot directly capture nitrogen from the atmosphere and can get it through lightning strikes or nitrogen-fixing bacteria in soil
Phosphorus: phosphate rocks contain phosphate ions, water runs over rocks, it's an important nutrient for plant growth, usually a limiting factor in soil
What can be done to help biodiversity? Related to Invasive species? What diplomatic/legislative measures should you know related to it? And based on what was discussed in class what can we do to help support biodiversity?
funding research, education, and surveys can help increase biodiversity
invasive species can be stopped by increasing inspection of imported goods
International treaties: The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity: reduces the global rate of biodiversity loss by controlling and preventing the spread of certain species
Endangered Species Act: protects endangered (imminent threat to extinction) and threatened (likely to become extinct) species, such as grey wolves which are unable to be killed
plant pollinator gardens, don’t rake leaves as often, buy wood where you are planning on burning it
desert = no access to nutritious food
swamp = inundated with unhealthy food, may have healthy options but they are uncommon
security = ability to obtain sufficient and nutritious food on the daily
Orgs = Food Bank of the Southern Tier, Bing Food Rescue, VINES(volunteers improving neighborhood environment), Chow, Binghamton University Food Pantry, Greater Good Grocery