Sustainable Development and Agriculture Quiz

Sustainability

• Sustainable development is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It balances environmental protection, economic growth, and social equity.
• Sustainable resource management includes:
  • Conservation: Using resources efficiently and preventing overexploitation (e.g., reforestation, water conservation)
  • Restoration: Rehabilitating degraded ecosystems to ensure long-term resource availability.
  • Technology and Innovation: Implementing renewable energy and sustainable farming methods.
  • Regulation: Establishing laws and policies to control resource use and protect ecosystems.
  • Education and Awareness: Promoting knowledge about sustainability to encourage responsible practices.
• A person living in a less populated developed nation has a larger environmental impact than a person living in a highly populated less developed nation due to:
  • High Consumption: Individuals in developed nations use more energy, water, and materials per capita.
  • Industrial Activities: Advanced industries lead to significant greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.
  • Waste Generation: Developed nations produce more waste due to consumption-driven lifestyles.
  • Ecological Footprint: The infrastructure, transportation, and energy use in developed nations require extensive natural resources.

The Scientific Method

• The scientific method is a systematic approach for understanding natural phenomena that includes:
  • Observation: Identifying a question or problem.
  • Hypothesis: Proposing a testable explanation or prediction.
  • Experimentation: Designing and conducting experiments to test the hypothesis.
  • Data Collection: Gathering and analyzing data to assess the results.
  • Conclusion: Drawing conclusions based on evidence to accept, reject, or modify the hypothesis.
  • Communication: Sharing findings through reports or publications for further validation.

Ecosystem Structure/Function

• Negative Feedback: A stabilizing mechanism where a change triggers responses that counteract the initial change.
  • Example: Population growth leads to resource depletion, reducing birth rates or increasing death rates, which slows growth.
  • Example of CO2: Increased atmospheric CO2 boosts plant growth (photosynthesis), which absorbs CO2 and reduces its levels.
• Positive Feedback: A reinforcing mechanism where a change amplifies further changes.
  • Example: Melting ice reduces Earth's albedo, increasing heat absorption, leading to more ice melting.
  • Example of CO2: Increased CO2 causes warming, which melts permafrost, releasing methane—a potent greenhouse gas that further increases warming.

Food Chains

• Producers (plants, algae) - Convert solar energy to chemical energy via photosynthesis.
• Primary Consumers (herbivores) - Eat producers.
• Secondary Consumers (carnivores) - Eat primary consumers.
• Tertiary Consumers - Eat secondary consumers.
• Decomposers (fungi, bacteria) - Break down dead organisms, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.
• First Law of Thermodynamics: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. This applies to the flow of energy in ecosystems through trophic levels.
• Second Law of Thermodynamics: During energy transfer, some energy is lost as heat, reducing efficiency. Energy pyramids show diminishing energy at each level, typically only 10% of energy transfers to the next trophic level.
• Ecosystem boundaries can be defined by geographic, biological, or functional criteria.

Human Influence on Nitrogen Cycle

• Humans influence the nitrogen cycle primarily through agricultural fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes, and wastewater/sewage.

Phosphorus Cycle vs. Nitrogen Cycle

• Phosphorus cycles through rocks, soil, and water; it does not involve a gaseous phase.
• The nitrogen cycle involves atmospheric nitrogen fixation.

Species Interactions

• Mutualism: Beneficial to both species (e.g., bees pollinating flowers).
• Commensalism: Beneficial to one species, no harm to the other (e.g., barnacles on whales).
• Parasitism/Predation: Beneficial to one species, harmful to the other (e.g., ticks on mammals or lions preying on zebras).

Fundamental and Realized Niches

• Fundamental niche: The full range of environmental conditions and resources a species can theoretically use in the absence of competition or other limiting factors.
• Realized niche: The actual range of conditions and resources a species uses in the presence of competition, predation, and other limiting factors, usually narrower than the fundamental niche.

Species Diversity

• Species richness: Total number of species in an area.
• Species evenness: Distribution of individuals across species.
• Diversity indices (e.g., Shannon-Wiener Index, Simpson's Index): Measures species diversity considering richness and evenness.
• Sampling methods (e.g., quadrat sampling, transect surveys, mark-recapture techniques): Used to measure species diversity.

Ecosystem Management

• Ecosystem management is a strategy for the sustainable use and conservation of natural resources that balances ecological, economic, and social goals to maintain ecological integrity while meeting the needs of current and future generations.

The Scientific Method

• A systematic approach to understand natural phenomena with steps including observation, hypothesis, experimentation, data collection, conclusion, and communication.

Ecosystem Management Steps

• Define the geographic boundary of the ecosystem to be managed.
• Understand and assess the ecosystem, including stakeholders, ecological integrity, species at risk, and baseline data collection.
• Develop objectives to balance conservation, resource use, and societal needs.
• Implement strategies and actions to achieve objectives.
• Continuously monitor outcomes and adjust strategies.

Application of Ecosystem Management

• Forestry: Selective logging, restoring degraded areas, and promoting forest conservation.
• Agriculture: Agroecology practices, reducing fertilizer runoff, protecting water bodies, and implementing habitat corridors
• Species at risk and invasive species: Designing and implementing habitat corridors, enforcing conservation plans for critical habitats, and monitoring invasive species

Minimum Viable Population (MVP)

• The minimum viable population (MVP) is the smallest population size at which a species can sustain itself over the long term without facing extinction due to demographic, environmental, genetic, or catastrophic events.

Biosphere Reserves

• Core Zone: Strictly protected area
• Buffer Zone: Allows limited, sustainable activities
• Transition Zone: Promotes sustainable development

Wildlife Corridors

• Designated pathways that connect separate protected areas, allowing the movement of species between them.

Vulnerable Species Characteristics

• Narrow geographic range
• Specialized habitat or diet
• Small population size
• Low reproductive rate
• High sensitivity to environmental changes
• Economic or human exploitation

IUCN and SARA

• IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature): Develops and maintains the Red List of Threatened Species. Provides scientific advice, conservation strategies, and policy recommendations to governments.
• SARA (Species at Risk Act): Protects endangered and threatened species and their habitats in Canada. Aligns with IUCN guidelines.

Invasive Species Characteristics

• Rapid reproduction and growth
• Broad environmental tolerance
• Generalist diet and habitat use
• Lack of natural predators
• Competitive dominance

Impacts of Invasive Species on Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Sustainability

• Biodiversity loss: Displacing or outcompeting native species.
• Ecosystem structure: Altering food webs and nutrient cycling.
• Ecosystem function: Disrupting processes like pollination, soil stabilization, or hydrology.
• Sustainability threats: Affecting agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and economies by increasing management costs and reducing productivity.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

• The electromagnetic spectrum encompasses all types of electromagnetic radiation, classified by wavelength or frequency, with shorter wavelengths having higher energy and longer wavelengths having lower energy. Includes Gamma rays, X-rays, UV light, Visible light, Infrared light, Microwaves and radio waves.
• Factors affecting ecosystem interactions: wavelength/energy, atmospheric filtering, surface properties (albedo), and cloud cover.
• Biological adaptations: Plants utilize specific visible wavelengths for photosynthesis; animals use certain wavelengths for navigation or communication.

Anthropogenic Changes to Electromagnetic Interaction

• Human activities, such as increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, alter how radiation interacts with ecosystems, enhancing the greenhouse effect and leading to global warming.

Albedo

• Albedo is the measure of how much sunlight (solar radiation) a surface reflects back into space. High albedo surfaces reflect most of the sunlight (e.g., ice, snow), while low albedo surfaces absorb more sunlight and reflect less (e.g., forests, oceans, asphalt).
• Albedo plays a crucial role in regulating Earth's temperature by influencing the energy balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing reflected radiation.
• Surfaces with high albedo help cool the planet; low albedo surfaces contribute to warming.
• Changes in albedo due to deforestation, melting glaciers, or desertification affect local and global temperatures.

Heat Islands

• Heat islands are urban areas that experience significantly higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas.
• This is due to decreased vegetation, impervious surfaces (roads, buildings, concrete), low albedo of urban materials, energy use (air conditioning, vehicles), and limited airflow.
• Heat islands cause increased risks of heat-related illnesses (especially for vulnerable populations), increased energy consumption to run air conditioners, effects on water quality (increased water temperatures in nearby waterways), and affect biodiversity.

Mitigation Strategies For Heat Islands

• Increase urban greenery with trees and green roofs to create shade and enhance evapotranspiration.
• Using cool roofs and pavements to reflect heat.
• Urban planning to include open spaces and promote airflow.
• Incorporating water features for localized cooling (e.g., ponds, fountains).
• Reducing energy use and improving energy efficiency in buildings and transportation to minimize waste heat emissions.

Watersheds

• A watershed is an area of land where all precipitation and surface water flow converges into a single outlet (e.g., stream, river, lake, or ocean).
• Watersheds are influenced by surface flow (e.g., streams, rivers, and runoff), groundwater flow (e.g., infiltration, groundwater recharge), drainage divides (ridges or high points), and land use.
• Pollution from diffusive sources (e.g., agriculture or urban areas) can negatively impact water quality within a watershed.
• Point source pollution (e.g., factories or wastewater treatment plants) directly discharges contaminants into a water body within a watershed.

Water Quality

• Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics that determine its suitability for specific uses (e.g., drinking, recreation, agriculture, and sustaining aquatic ecosystems).
• Key aspects of water quality include chemical characteristics (e.g. nutrients, dissolved oxygen, pH, contaminants), physical characteristics (e.g. temperature, turbidity, and suspended solids), and biological characteristics (e.g. microbial load, algae blooms, and biodiversity).

Sediment Pollution

• Excessive soil particles, sand, or other particulate matter in water bodies, often from natural processes or human activities (e.g., agriculture, deforestation, construction, mining).
• Results in reduced water clarity, habitat destruction, transport of pollutants, increased water treatment costs, oxygen depletion, flooding, and changes in hydrology.

Eutrophication

• Excessive nutrients (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus) in water bodies, often from human activities (e.g., agricultural runoff, wastewater discharges, and urban runoff), stimulating the rapid growth of algae and aquatic plants.
• Results in reduced water clarity, oxygen depletion, altered food webs, increased water treatment costs, and biodiversity losses.
• Stages of Eutrophication include: Oligotrophic, Mesotrophic, Eutrophic, and Hypereutrophic.

Mitigation/Prevention of Eutrophication

• Reduce nutrient input (e.g. buffer strips, improved wastewater treatment).
• Control urban runoff.
• Restore aquatic vegetation to absorb nutrients and prevent sedimentation.

Cyanobacteria

• Also known as blue-green algae, are photosynthetic microorganisms that can form harmful algal blooms (HABs) in water bodies.
• HABs pose significant environmental, health, and economic risks due to toxic properties and ecological impacts.
• Conditions favoring cyanobacteria: Warm temperatures, still or slow-moving water, stable water columns, high light intensity, high carbon dioxide availability, and slightly alkaline pH levels.

Harmful Effects of Cyanobacteria

• Production of toxins (affecting humans, animals, and aquatic life in various ways).
• Oxygen depletion (hypoxia) - disrupting aquatic ecosystems and causing fish kills.
• Disruption of aquatic ecosystems (blocking sunlight, inhibiting aquatic vegetation).
• Impacts on drinking water and recreation.
• Economic consequences (affecting tourism, fisheries, water-dependent industries).

Groundwater Recharge

• Groundwater recharge is the process by which water from the surface (e.g., precipitation, stream and river seepage, lakes and wetlands) infiltrates into the ground and replenishes aquifers (underground water-bearing rock or sediment).
• Factors influencing groundwater recharge: Soil permeability, vegetation cover, climate (precipitation and evaporation), and human activities (e.g., urbanization, agriculture).
• Types of groundwater recharge: Natural (infiltration directly from precipitation or surface water) and artificial (techniques like spreading basins or injection wells)

Salinization

• Salinization is the accumulation of water-soluble salts in soil, water, or surface layers of the Earth.
• Causes of salinization: Natural (e.g., geological salt deposits and high water tables) and human-induced (e.g., over-irrigation, deforestation and land clearing, industrial and agricultural runoff, and dryland farming).
• Types of salinization: Soil salinization (salt accumulation in the root zone) and water salinization (increased salinity in rivers, lakes, and groundwater).
• Impacts of salinization: Reduced crop yields, soil degradation, water quality decline, ecosystem disruption, and economic costs.
• Mitigation and management practices: Improved irrigation (drip irrigation), soil management, and efficient drainage systems. Planting salt-tolerant crops, afforestation, and monitoring and policy interventions are also effective.

Genetic Resistance

• Genetic resistance to pesticides is the ability of an organism to evolve and survive exposure to a toxic substance.
• Relevance: Concerns are about increased chemical use, non-target effects, human and animal health risks, and biomagnification of resistant organisms.
• Strategies to combat it include: Integrated Pest Management (IPM), rotation of chemicals, reducing chemical use, employing biopesticides, refuge strategies, genetic engineering, monitoring, and policy regulations.

General Sewage Treatment Steps

• Screening
• Grit removal
• Flow equalization
• Primary treatment (sedimentation)
• Secondary treatment (biological processes like activated sludge or trickling filters)
• Tertiary (advanced) treatment (e.g. filtration, disinfection)
• Sludge treatment and disposal
• Final discharge

Test your knowledge on the environmental impacts of industrial agriculture and the fundamental principles of sustainable development. Explore the differences between industrial and subsistence agriculture, and understand the role of education and resource management in sustainability. This quiz covers key concepts and challenges related to agricultural practices and ecological footprints.