CHAPTER 11 GUIDED READING
1: Why do pig farmers have to feed their pigs “junk-food”?
The cost went up so high that it became cheaper to feed pigs junk food.
2: Explain how agroecosystems halt ecological succession.
Agroecosystems stop ecological succession by having crops grow in early successional states meaning they grow fast and spread widely and rapidly.
3: What is the problem with growing “monocultures”?
Makes entire crop vulnerable to attack by a single disease or change in environmental conditions.
4: Why does growing plants in neat rows and fields make it easier for pests?
The crop plants have no place to hide if they are placed in neat rows and fields.
5: How does plowing fields over and over damage the soils? Explain.
Plowing exposes soil to erosion, Erosion damages physical structure, leading to a decline in organic matter and loss of chemical elements.
6: What are the other 2 ways that agrocultures are harmful to ecosystems?
Agroculture lacks layers of soil and soils can be unsustainable from plowing.
7: How much of the top soil in the U.S. has been lost since European settlement?
1/3 of the top soil in the U.S has been lost since European settlement. 80 million hectares.
8: What percentage of the world’s land area is used for agriculture?
38% of world's land is used for agriculture
9: What is the difference between undernourishment and malnourishment?
Undernourishment means that there are insufficient calories in food so the person has no energy to work. Malnourishment is lack of a specific chemical such as proteins or vitamins.
10: Why does providing food aid to countries in need actually work against increased availability of locally grown food?
The free food undercuts local farmers and they cannot compete with it.
11: Most of the world’s 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?
Food that is grown for domestic animals.
13: Define the following:
Rangeland: Provides food for grazing and browsing animals without plowing and planting
Pasture: is plowed, planted and harvested to provide forage
14: What impact does the number of livestock around the world have on rangeland and pasturelands?
More than 34 million kilometers are used for permanent pastures worldwide, larger than combined size of Canada, U.S, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Half of the Earth's land area is used as a rangeland.
15: Why are feedlots considered to be a big source of local pollution?
Penned cattles are often crowded and are fed grain or forage. Manure builds up in large mounds and pollutes local streams.
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 eat domestic livestock can eat.
17: How does rainwater affect the soil horizon? Explain.
Rainwater is slightly acidic, so when it moves down into soil, iron,calcium, magnesium and other nutritionally important elements are leached.
18: What is soil fertility? How it is determined?
It 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?
The soils in these areas have a poor amount of nutrients. After deforestation, it is hard for reforestation to occur.
20: What is the problem with soils in semi-arid regions?
Soils that accumulate certain clay minerals may swell and crack roads, walls and buildings.
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: Upper horizon with the most organic material
Horizon A:Upper horizon composed of both mineral and organic materials
Horizon E: Composed of light-colored materials resulting from leaching of clay,calcium,magnesium and iron
Horizon B:Enriched in clay, iron oxides, silica, carbonate or other material leached from overlying horizons
Horizon C: Composed of partially altered parent material
Horizon R: Unweathered parent material
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: Chemical element required by all living things in large amounts
Micronutrient: chemical element required in small amounts by all life forms or in moderate to small amounts for some forms of life.
Limiting Factor: A factor that is limiting and if that factor isn't improved, nothing else will make a difference.
25: In the U.S, how much of the potential harvest is lost to pests?
1/3 of potential harvest is lost to pests.
26: What is the definition of a weed?
A plant in a place we do not want it to be.
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:
IPM is the idea that the goal can be control rather than complete elimination of a pest. It 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”?
Green revolution were programs that have led to development of new strains of crops with higher yields, better resistance to disease or better ability to grow under poor conditions.
32: What are the 3 practices of genetic engineering?
1. faster and more efficient ways to develop new hybrids, 2. introduction of the terminator gene 3. transfer of genetic properties from widely divergent kinds of life.
33: What are the PROS and CONS of developing hybrid crops?
PRO- lead to hybrids that require less fertilizer, pesticide and water
CON-may produce superhybrids that can grow where they are not wanted and become pests
34: What is the terminator gene and what does it do?
A terminator gene is a gene that terminates. It makes seeds from a crop sterile. It prevents GMOs from spreading.
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 GMO’s be harmful?
GMOs can cause diseases to animals such as caterpillars and endangered species like monarch butterflies.
38: What is aquaculture and how can it be helpful?
Aquaculture is farming of marine organisms. It can provide food of high nutritional quality.
39: What is mariculture?
Farming of ocean fish, though producing a small part of the total marine fish catch.
40: How can aquaculture and mariculture harmful to the environment?
Fishponds and marine fish release wastes polluting local environments. It can damage biodiversity.
1: How might dietary changes in developed countries affect water availability?
If their diet is more dependent on fruits and vegetables more than meat, then the demand for those will go up. Higher demand for these foods would mean more water that would need to be consumed to fit the needs of the people in those countries.
2: How might global warming affect estimates of the amount of water needed to grow crops in the 21st century?
If the Earth becomes warmer, there would be more droughts. More droughts would mean that more water is also needed for drinking water and for domestic use.
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 that are 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.
5: Malthusians are those who believe that sooner or later, unless population growth is checked, there will not be enough food for the world’s people. Anti-Malthusians believe that technology will save the human race from a Malthusian fate. Analyze the issue of water supply for agriculture from both points of view.
Malthusian-As populations grow, there is a higher demand for food. This food requires water to grow. The more food needed, the more water needed to feed the population.
Anti- As populations grow, technology grows also. Better technology means better and more efficient ways to conserve water when the demand is so high.
Sand: 30
Clay: 30
Silt: 40
Answer: Clay Loam
Sand: 45
Clay: 10
Silt: 45
Answer: Loam
Directions: Determine the Type of Soils that are Characteristics of Each Specific of These
Terrestrial Biomes and List Why?
Tundra: No true soils, Too cold of a layer and
Taiga (Boreal Forest): Podzolization, result of the acid soil solution produced under needleleaf trees
Temperate Broadleaf Deciduous: Brown forest soil, Hummus content of A and Horizon gives it a brown color
Mediterranean Scrub: Eroded soils because they are maintained by fires and goats.
Temperate Grassland: Dark brown, mild leaching, high organic content, and concentration of calcium carbonate in the B horizon
Scrubland: Light gray, Little hummus to give brown color
Tropical Rainforest: Oxisols, Severely leached, Rapid bacterial decay prevents hummus from building up
Tropical Savannah: laterization is the dominant soil-forming process and low fertility oxisols can be expected
Directions: Define and describe each of the alternative methods to traditional soil tillage
Windbreaks: Farmers plant trees along borders to cut down on wind erosion.
Cover Crops: Planting crops that grow during the most erosive fall and spring months. Winter crops act as a cover to protect from eroding soil.
Grassed Waterways: Farmers plant grassy strips to keep soil from running away with water.
Contour Cultivation: Farmers plant and cultivate their crops to follow contour of a field. It produces furrows that are at an angle to the field. Irregular surface makes it more difficult for water to erode soil.
Strip Cropping: Alternate a field with strips of different crops. A type of contour farming
Forages: Forage crops included in a rotation to cut down on erosion.
Conservation Tillage:Leaving stalks and leaves of harvested crops on their fields to protect soil from wind and rain.
No-Till: Farmers leave all of the last crop's residue while planting a new crop
Ridge Tillage: Forming soil into ridges and planting on ridges. Less likely to erode because the plant and soil material is not broken loose by machinery,
1: Why do pig farmers have to feed their pigs “junk-food”?
The cost went up so high that it became cheaper to feed pigs junk food.
2: Explain how agroecosystems halt ecological succession.
Agroecosystems stop ecological succession by having crops grow in early successional states meaning they grow fast and spread widely and rapidly.
3: What is the problem with growing “monocultures”?
Makes entire crop vulnerable to attack by a single disease or change in environmental conditions.
4: Why does growing plants in neat rows and fields make it easier for pests?
The crop plants have no place to hide if they are placed in neat rows and fields.
5: How does plowing fields over and over damage the soils? Explain.
Plowing exposes soil to erosion, Erosion damages physical structure, leading to a decline in organic matter and loss of chemical elements.
6: What are the other 2 ways that agrocultures are harmful to ecosystems?
Agroculture lacks layers of soil and soils can be unsustainable from plowing.
7: How much of the top soil in the U.S. has been lost since European settlement?
1/3 of the top soil in the U.S has been lost since European settlement. 80 million hectares.
8: What percentage of the world’s land area is used for agriculture?
38% of world's land is used for agriculture
9: What is the difference between undernourishment and malnourishment?
Undernourishment means that there are insufficient calories in food so the person has no energy to work. Malnourishment is lack of a specific chemical such as proteins or vitamins.
10: Why does providing food aid to countries in need actually work against increased availability of locally grown food?
The free food undercuts local farmers and they cannot compete with it.
11: Most of the world’s 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?
Food that is grown for domestic animals.
13: Define the following:
Rangeland: Provides food for grazing and browsing animals without plowing and planting
Pasture: is plowed, planted and harvested to provide forage
14: What impact does the number of livestock around the world have on rangeland and pasturelands?
More than 34 million kilometers are used for permanent pastures worldwide, larger than combined size of Canada, U.S, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Half of the Earth's land area is used as a rangeland.
15: Why are feedlots considered to be a big source of local pollution?
Penned cattles are often crowded and are fed grain or forage. Manure builds up in large mounds and pollutes local streams.
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 eat domestic livestock can eat.
17: How does rainwater affect the soil horizon? Explain.
Rainwater is slightly acidic, so when it moves down into soil, iron,calcium, magnesium and other nutritionally important elements are leached.
18: What is soil fertility? How it is determined?
It 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?
The soils in these areas have a poor amount of nutrients. After deforestation, it is hard for reforestation to occur.
20: What is the problem with soils in semi-arid regions?
Soils that accumulate certain clay minerals may swell and crack roads, walls and buildings.
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: Upper horizon with the most organic material
Horizon A:Upper horizon composed of both mineral and organic materials
Horizon E: Composed of light-colored materials resulting from leaching of clay,calcium,magnesium and iron
Horizon B:Enriched in clay, iron oxides, silica, carbonate or other material leached from overlying horizons
Horizon C: Composed of partially altered parent material
Horizon R: Unweathered parent material
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: Chemical element required by all living things in large amounts
Micronutrient: chemical element required in small amounts by all life forms or in moderate to small amounts for some forms of life.
Limiting Factor: A factor that is limiting and if that factor isn't improved, nothing else will make a difference.
25: In the U.S, how much of the potential harvest is lost to pests?
1/3 of potential harvest is lost to pests.
26: What is the definition of a weed?
A plant in a place we do not want it to be.
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:
IPM is the idea that the goal can be control rather than complete elimination of a pest. It 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”?
Green revolution were programs that have led to development of new strains of crops with higher yields, better resistance to disease or better ability to grow under poor conditions.
32: What are the 3 practices of genetic engineering?
1. faster and more efficient ways to develop new hybrids, 2. introduction of the terminator gene 3. transfer of genetic properties from widely divergent kinds of life.
33: What are the PROS and CONS of developing hybrid crops?
PRO- lead to hybrids that require less fertilizer, pesticide and water
CON-may produce superhybrids that can grow where they are not wanted and become pests
34: What is the terminator gene and what does it do?
A terminator gene is a gene that terminates. It makes seeds from a crop sterile. It prevents GMOs from spreading.
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 GMO’s be harmful?
GMOs can cause diseases to animals such as caterpillars and endangered species like monarch butterflies.
38: What is aquaculture and how can it be helpful?
Aquaculture is farming of marine organisms. It can provide food of high nutritional quality.
39: What is mariculture?
Farming of ocean fish, though producing a small part of the total marine fish catch.
40: How can aquaculture and mariculture harmful to the environment?
Fishponds and marine fish release wastes polluting local environments. It can damage biodiversity.
1: How might dietary changes in developed countries affect water availability?
If their diet is more dependent on fruits and vegetables more than meat, then the demand for those will go up. Higher demand for these foods would mean more water that would need to be consumed to fit the needs of the people in those countries.
2: How might global warming affect estimates of the amount of water needed to grow crops in the 21st century?
If the Earth becomes warmer, there would be more droughts. More droughts would mean that more water is also needed for drinking water and for domestic use.
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 that are 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.
5: Malthusians are those who believe that sooner or later, unless population growth is checked, there will not be enough food for the world’s people. Anti-Malthusians believe that technology will save the human race from a Malthusian fate. Analyze the issue of water supply for agriculture from both points of view.
Malthusian-As populations grow, there is a higher demand for food. This food requires water to grow. The more food needed, the more water needed to feed the population.
Anti- As populations grow, technology grows also. Better technology means better and more efficient ways to conserve water when the demand is so high.
Sand: 30
Clay: 30
Silt: 40
Answer: Clay Loam
Sand: 45
Clay: 10
Silt: 45
Answer: Loam
Directions: Determine the Type of Soils that are Characteristics of Each Specific of These
Terrestrial Biomes and List Why?
Tundra: No true soils, Too cold of a layer and
Taiga (Boreal Forest): Podzolization, result of the acid soil solution produced under needleleaf trees
Temperate Broadleaf Deciduous: Brown forest soil, Hummus content of A and Horizon gives it a brown color
Mediterranean Scrub: Eroded soils because they are maintained by fires and goats.
Temperate Grassland: Dark brown, mild leaching, high organic content, and concentration of calcium carbonate in the B horizon
Scrubland: Light gray, Little hummus to give brown color
Tropical Rainforest: Oxisols, Severely leached, Rapid bacterial decay prevents hummus from building up
Tropical Savannah: laterization is the dominant soil-forming process and low fertility oxisols can be expected
Directions: Define and describe each of the alternative methods to traditional soil tillage
Windbreaks: Farmers plant trees along borders to cut down on wind erosion.
Cover Crops: Planting crops that grow during the most erosive fall and spring months. Winter crops act as a cover to protect from eroding soil.
Grassed Waterways: Farmers plant grassy strips to keep soil from running away with water.
Contour Cultivation: Farmers plant and cultivate their crops to follow contour of a field. It produces furrows that are at an angle to the field. Irregular surface makes it more difficult for water to erode soil.
Strip Cropping: Alternate a field with strips of different crops. A type of contour farming
Forages: Forage crops included in a rotation to cut down on erosion.
Conservation Tillage:Leaving stalks and leaves of harvested crops on their fields to protect soil from wind and rain.
No-Till: Farmers leave all of the last crop's residue while planting a new crop
Ridge Tillage: Forming soil into ridges and planting on ridges. Less likely to erode because the plant and soil material is not broken loose by machinery,