Urbanization & Its Impacts
This term describes when people move from rural to urban areas, typically increasing a city’s population
What is urbanization?
The ecological footprint measures how much of this type of resource a population requires to sustain its lifestyle.
What are natural resources? (or What is land/biologically productive land?)
Growing only a single crop on a field year after year is known as this practice that increases pest vulnerability.
What is monocropping/monoculture?
These surfaces, like concrete and asphalt, prevent water from infiltrating the ground.
What are impervious surfaces?
IPM stands for…
What is Integrated Pest Management?
This harvesting method removes only selected mature trees, reducing habitat disruption.
What is selective cutting?
These are the two major environmental consequences of increased impervious surfaces in urban areas.
A: What are increased runoff and decreased groundwater infiltration?
Two factors that result in developed countries having a higher average ecological footprint than developing nations.
Higher per-capita consumption
Higher energy use (especially fossil fuels).
Greater reliance on industrialized agriculture
Higher waste generation
Larger homes and transportation footprints (e.g., more car travel)
Higher meat consumption
More resource-intensive lifestyles overall
Planting multiple crops together or rotating crops improves soil health, reduces pests, and lowers fertilizer dependence.
What is crop rotation or polyculture?
These shallow basins planted with native vegetation capture and treat stormwater.
What are rain gardens?
IPM always begins with this step.
What is identifying and monitoring pests?
This forestry concept focuses on harvesting no more than the forest can regenerate over time.
What is sustainable yield?
This blending of cities and suburbs leads to increased land consumption, traffic, and loss of habitat.
What is urban sprawl?
This term describes the point where humanity uses more resources than Earth can sustainably regenerate.
What is ecological overshoot?
This practice involves reducing or eliminating tilling to prevent soil erosion and preserve soil structure.
What is conservation tillage/no-till farming?
Cities install these green structures on rooftops to reduce runoff and insulate buildings.
A: What are green roofs?
This biological method uses predators like ladybugs to control pests.
What is biological control?
Or...
Natural predator introduction
Predator-based control
Using natural enemies
Cutting all trees in an area at once is called this practice, known for major ecosystem disruption.
What is clear-cutting?
This effect occurs when urban areas often experience higher temperatures than rural surroundings due to concrete absorbing heat.
What is the urban heat island effect?
Eating foods lower on this chart — which vegetarians like to quote — reduces your ecological footprint.
What is the food chain/trophic pyramid?
Aquaculture can reduce pressure on wild fish populations, but one major drawback is the spread of these to surrounding waters.
What are diseases or parasites?
This type of pavement contains pores that allow water to pass through.
What is permeable/porous pavement?
IPM reduces pesticide use by relying first on cultural, physical, and biological controls. These are collectively known as ___ controls.
What are alternative controls? (Accept: non-chemical controls)
This type of prescribed disturbance can reduce fuel loads, prevent large wildfires, and maintain ecosystem health.
What is a controlled burn/prescribed fire?
One strategy cities use to reduce heat islands by increasing solar reflectivity of built surfaces.
What is installing cool/white roofs?
Also acceptable: Green roofs.
The two most impactful ways to reduce an individual’s ecological footprint (one energy-related, one consumption-related).
What are reducing fossil fuel use and reducing overall consumption/waste?
A major environmental concern with aquaculture in coastal waters is nutrient buildup, leading to oxygen-poor zones known as these.
What are dead zones/eutrophic or hypoxic zones?
The “three goals” of reducing runoff are to reduce volume, improve water quality, and increase this beneficial process.
What is infiltration?
A major economic benefit of IPM is reducing this resistance.
What is pesticide resistance?
Clear-cutting forests can increase sedimentation in nearby streams. Explain why sustainable forestry practices like selective cutting or shelterwood harvesting reduce this risk.
What is maintaining root structure and ground cover that hold soil in place and prevent erosion into waterways?