SWES 210: EXAM 1
46 Cards in this Set
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What does it mean to live sustainably?
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Living in a way that leaves the world as rich and full as it is now for out children and grandchildren. Requires maintaining the ecological systems. Developing solutions that work in the long term.
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What are natural resources and natural services? Give some examples
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Natural resources: substances and energy sources we take from the environment and that we need in order to survive. Trees, ground water, and soil
Natural (ecosystem) services: normal functioning of natural systems and not meant for our benefit, but we cant survive without them. Water and…
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Which resources are renewable, which are non-renewable?
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Renewable: sunlight, wind energy, wave energy, geothermal. Resources replenished after short amounts of time
Non-renewable: finite supply and are formed much slower then we use them, crude oil, natural gas, coal, copper, aluminum, other metals
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Where is Easter Island? What happened there? How did a flourishing society collapse?
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An island in the Pacific Ocean outside of South America
People colonized there for a while but then their civilization collapsed
It collapsed due to depletion of resources or rat infestation
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What are the differences in the 4th and 5th editions of the Withgott textbook regarding the likely cause of the deforestation that occurred on Easter Island?
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V
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What does the term "tragedy of the commons" mean? What are the "commons"? What is the tragedy described by Hardin in his 1968 article?
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Commons are everything that we share on the planet.
Tragedy of the commons is the depletion of resources because they use it all up without letting it renew, acting in own interest
FISH?
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How much of the Earth's land surface is covered by forests?
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How much of the Earth's land surface is covered by forests? 31%
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What is the climate like in the tropical rainforest? What is the average rainfall per year? How does that compare to Tucson?
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Hot, humid, and wet, 250 cm per year, a lottttt more then Tucson
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Why is biological diversity important?
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Boosts ecosystem productivity, each species plays an important role. Provides natural services to everyone
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What is photosynthesis? Write a chemical equation for photosynthesis
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The chemical process in plants when plants absorb and release carbon dioxide
6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2
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Which ecosystems have the highest net primary productivity per area? Which ecosystems have the highest net primary productivity overall?
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Area: swamps/marshes, estuaries, tropical rain forests
NPP overall: open ocean, tropical rain forests
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What is the difference between primary forest and secondary forest?
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Primary forest: natural forest uncut by humans
Secondary forest: trees that have sprouted and grown to partial maturity after old growth trees were cut. Generally have smaller trees and they are markedly different from the primary trees they replaced
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Why is Borneo losing tropical rainforest so fast? For what reason? What are they growing there?
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Because it is being cut down for palm tress that produce oil that can be used for bio fuel and food ingredients
Illegal logging is involved
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what was the goal of Thomas Lovejoy's work in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil?
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To test how well forest fragmentation worked, how to apply island biogeography to fragmented land
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12. What does the term "SLOSS" mean?
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Single Large or Several Small. Has to do with the size of the fragments
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What is the relationship between island biogeography and forest fragmentation?
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They are making islands in the fragments of the forests to try and preserve species and allow them to have their habitats in a more civilized and agricultural place
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Who was Norman Borlaug and how did he affect agriculture?
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He cross bread wheat to create a kind that was pretty much perfect and immune to diseases like rust. He made it possible to grow a lot of food at one time.
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Has global food production kept pace with population growth so far?
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Yes it has surpassed it
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What was the Green Revolution? Where did it start?
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Series of research, development, and technology increases, that increased agricultural production world wide particularly in developing worlds. 1940-1960
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What was the plant breeding strategy that allowed farmers to quadruple yields in wheat and other grains in the 20th century?
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Cross breeding
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What is monoculture farming?
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When farmers only focus on planting one plant
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What causes eutrophication and the formation of dead zones in aquatic systems?
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The nitrogen from soil fertilizer
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How do these dead zones form? What is out of balance?
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The soil runs off and erodes and it washes into he ocean, algae grows in the ocean and when it dies it takes up the oxygen making other animals suffocate
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What are the 16 elements that are essential for plant growth?
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C, O, H, N, K, Mg, S, Ca, Zn, Fe, Mn, Mo, Cu, B, Cl
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Photosynthesis only involves C, H and O, why are N and P necessary?
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Because they are limiting nutrients
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What does it mean for a nutrient to be limiting?
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It means that a plant cannot grow with out that nutrient in the soil
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What are uses for DDT and glyphosate? What are differences in toxicity, and potential for contaminating the environment?
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They are pesticides, DDT is way more toxic, and more easy to contaminate because it bio accumulates
Microorganisms break down Glyphosate
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What is evolution
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Genetic change in a population over time
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What is genetic variation?
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Genetic diversity in a population or species as a result of new gene combinations
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How do pests (weeds and insects) evolve resistance to pesticides (herbicides and insecticides)?
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genetic mutations
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What are Round Up ready seeds? How has palmer amaranth developed resistance to glyphosate?
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Through genetic variations and mutations, because produce a lot of seeds and grow quickly
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What are Bt crops? What is the purpose of this genetic modification?
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Soil bacterium that kills pests naturally
can take toxicity from the soil and use it as a natural pesticide
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What is biocontrol?
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Uses a pest's predator to control pests
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Describe the methods used in Integrated Pest Management
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Biocontrol, chemicals if necessary, population monitoring, crop rotation, alternative tillage methods
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What is a soil?
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A natural body resulting from biogeochemical supporting land system
Complex plant supporting system
Unconsolidated mineral or organic material that is used to grow plants
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Soil as a system, what does soil consist of?
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Minerals, matter, air, and water
Microorganisms, humus, bacteria/ algae
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V
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Climate, Organisms, Relief (land surface and exposure to elements), Parent (what started as), Time
ClORPT
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How does soil form? Is it a fast or soil process?
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Weathering, slow process
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What is the difference between physical and chemical weathering
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Physical interactions: wind and water, chemical reaction w/ surface
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What is a soil horizon
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Layer of soil with similar characteristics
O- top layer, made of debris and humus
A- top soil, has the plant roots, dark colored, made of humus and minerals
E- leaching, light color, sand and silt, water drips through
B- subsoil, clay and minerals, water drips from the layer above
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Know what characteristics are used to classify soil, and be able to define them, for example color.
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Color- composition and fertility
Texture- proportions of sand silt and clay
Structure and pH
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List the 3 particle sizes from largest to smallest.
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sand, silt, clay
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What is land degradation? What are the primary causes of land degradation?
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Decrease in productivity and biodiversity
Over grazing, deforestation, crop land agriculture
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How does the Dust Bowl relate to land and soil degradation?
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Soil had a lot of clay and silt, they farmed and took out the native plants, they had lots of erosion and droughts caused many dust storms making the land not very livable or farmable
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What are agricultural practices that are currently being used to limit soil loss and land degradation?
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Contour plowing
No-till farming
Crop rotation
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Define desertification. How does climate change and desertification relate to land degradation?
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Soil that loses 10% or more of its productivity
When the soil isn't productive then nothing can be grown on it, which decreases biodiversity and productivity because nothing can grow
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SWES 210: Final Exam