Environmental Science Quiz

Tragedy of the Commons

• The tendency of a shared, limited resource to become depleted if not regulated.

Externality

• The cost or benefit of a good or service not included in the purchase price.

Rangelands

• Dry, open grasslands used primarily for grazing.

Forest

• Land dominated by trees and other woody vegetation, sometimes used for commercial logging.

Clear-cutting

• Harvesting trees by removing all or almost all trees in an area.

Selective cutting

• Harvesting trees by removing single trees or a small number of trees.

Ecologically sustainable forestry

• An approach to tree removal that does not negatively impact non-commercial tree species.

Tree plantation

• A large area planted with a single, fast-growing tree species.

Endangered Species Act

• 1973 U.S. law protecting plant and animal species threatened with extinction and their habitats.

Subsistence farming

• Farming for the consumption of the farming family and perhaps a few neighbors.

Industrial agriculture (Agribusiness)

• Agriculture using mechanization and standardization for food production.

Green Revolution

• 20th-century shift in agricultural practices, including mechanization and the triad of fertilization, irrigation, and improved crop varieties, resulting in increased food production.

Economies of scale

• Average costs of production fall as output increases.

Organic fertilizer

• Fertilizer composed of organic matter from plants and animals.

Synthetic fertilizer (Inorganic fertilizer)

• Commercially produced fertilizer, typically using fossil fuels.

Waterlogging

• Soil degradation due to prolonged water saturation.

Salinization

• Soil degradation from high salt concentration in the soil surface.

Pesticide

• Substance, natural or synthetic, killing or controlling organisms considered pests.

Insecticide

• Pesticide targeting insects and other invertebrates consuming crops.

Herbicide

• Pesticide targeting plant species competing with crops.

Broad-spectrum pesticide

• Pesticide killing many different types of pests.

Selective pesticide (Narrow-spectrum pesticide)

• Pesticide targeting a limited range of organisms.

Monocropping

• Agricultural method using large plantings of a single species or variety.

Energy subsidy

• Fossil fuel and human energy input per calorie of food produced.

Plowing

• Deep soil digging and turning.

Tilling

• Soil preparation through activities like plowing, stirring, digging, and cultivating.

Slash-and-burn agriculture (Shifting agriculture)

• Clearing and farming land for a few years until soil nutrients are depleted.

Aquifer

• Pore spaces in permeable rock layers storing groundwater.

Unconfined aquifer

• Porous rock covered by soil.

Confined aquifer

• Aquifer surrounded by impermeable rock layers.

Water table

• Uppermost level of groundwater saturation.

Groundwater recharge

• Process of precipitation water percolating into groundwater.

Spring

• Naturally percolating surface water.

Artesian well

• Well drilled into a confined aquifer.

Water footprint

• Total daily per capita fresh water use.

Furrow irrigation

• Irrigation by digging trenches (furrows) along crop rows.

Flood irrigation

• Irrigation by flooding an entire field.

Spray irrigation

• Irrigation using water pumped through nozzles.

Drip irrigation

• Irrigation by slowly dripping water directly to plant roots.

Cone of depression

• Area around a well lacking groundwater.

Fungicide

• Pesticide targeting fungi.

Rodenticide

• Pesticide targeting rodents.

Persistent pesticides

• Pesticides remaining in the environment for years or decades.

Nonpersistent pesticides

• Pesticides rapidly breaking down in weeks or months.

Integrated pest management (IPM)

• Agricultural method using a variety of techniques to minimize pesticide inputs.

Pesticide resistance

• Trait of some individuals surviving pesticide exposure.

Concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO)

• Structure designed for maximum animal occupancy and meat output.

Manure lagoon

• Human-made pond for holding large amounts of manure.

Free-range grazing

• Allowing animals to graze outdoors.

Nomadic grazing

• Moving animals to seasonally productive feeding grounds.

Overgrazing

• Excessive grazing reducing or eliminating vegetation and compacting soil.

Desertification

• Transformation of arable land to desert.

Fishery

• Commercially harvestable fish population.

Fishery collapse

• 90% or greater decline in a fish population.

Bycatch

• Unintentional catch of non-target species.

Crustal abundance

• Average concentration of an element in Earth's crust.

Ore

• Mineral accumulation with valuable materials.

Metal

• Element conducting electricity and heat.

Reserve

• Economically recoverable resource quantity.

Strip mining

• Removing overlying vegetation and soil to expose underlying ore.

Mine tailings

• Waste material from mining.

Open-pit mining

• Mining technique creating a large pit.

Mountaintop removal

• Mining technique removing mountaintops.

Placer mining

• Mining river sediments for minerals.

Subsurface mining

• Mining below the surface.

Urbanization

• Increasing population density in an area.

Urban area

• Area with more than 386 people per square kilometer.

Suburbs

• Areas surrounding metropolitan centers.

Exurbs

• Suburbs not connected to a central city.

Saltwater intrusion

• Saltwater infiltration due to lowered groundwater pressure.

Impervious surface

• Surfaces preventing water penetration.

Urban sprawl

• Urbanized areas spreading into rural areas.

Urban blight

• Deterioration of urban communities.

Sense of place

• Area's distinct character.

Urban runoff

• Runoff water not infiltrating or evaporating in an urban area.

Ecological footprint

• Land and water area needed for an entity's resources and waste.

Carbon footprint

• Total carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainability

• Using resources without compromising future generations' access.

Sustainable development

• Balancing present and future human needs with resource management.

Maximum sustainable yield (MSY)

• Maximum harvestable quantity of a renewable resource.

Environmental indicators

• Descriptions of environmental system state or Earth.

Anthropogenic

• Derived from human activities.

Crop rotation

• Planting different crops in succession.

Intercropping

• Cultivating different crop species in close proximity.

Biocontrol

• Using biological organisms to control pests.

Natural predators

• Predators naturally occurring in an environment.

Sustainable agriculture

• Agriculture enhancing soil quality, minimizing non-renewable resource use, and ensuring farmer viability.

Soil conservation

• Soil erosion prevention and soil nutrient enhancement.

Agroforestry

• Technique of intercropping trees and vegetables.

Windbreaks

• Planting tall objects to prevent soil erosion.

Strip cropping

• Planting crops with different spacing to minimize soil erosion.

Contour plowing

• Plowing and harvesting parallel to topographic contours.

Terracing

• Shaping sloping land into step-like terraces.

Perennial plants

• Plants living for multiple years.

No-till agriculture

• Farming without tilling or plowing the soil between seasons.

Green manure

• Intentionally grown plant material plowed under at the end of a season.

Limestone

• Calcium carbonate sedimentary rock used as fertilizer.

Rotational grazing

• Rotating livestock grazing areas.

Organic agriculture

• Crop production using no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.

Delaney Clause

• Clause in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act preventing potentially harmful cancer-causing food ingredients.

Reforestation

• Intentional replanting of trees.

Sustainable forestry

• Forest management prioritizing wood production, water quality, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.

Prescribed burn

• Controlled burning of biomass on forest floors.

Amount of land needed

• Free-range cattle need more land than confined feedlots.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

• Method reducing pesticide use and improving human health.

Cause of rural population decline

• Increase in industrial and urban jobs and economic shifts led to rural-to-urban migration.

Why the decrease in rural population was less dramatic

• Urbanization trends slowed but did not reverse.

Percentage of Canada's population urban in 1981

• 18.6 million was urban.