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Core 3 - patterns in environmental quality and sustainability
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- 1soil degradationthe physical loss (erosion) & reduction in quality of topsoil associated with nutrient decline & contamination
- 2soil profilethe vertical variations that occur in the characteristics of a soil from the surface to the underlying rock
- 3biological soil degradationthe loss of humus and plant/animal life
- 4physical/mechanical soil degradationloss of structure & changes in permeability
- 5chemical soil degradationacidification, declining fertility, changes in pH, salinization and chemical toxicity
- 6soil leechingmovement of water through the soil ‘leeches’ the top soil nutrients downwards (out of plants’ reach), reducing the fertility of the soil
- 7physical water scarcitywhen water is physically absent in an area due to climatic/geological reasons, and doesn't meet the requirements of the population
- 8human water scarcitywhen the water available in an area does not meet the requirements of the population because it is not clean & safe
- 9economic water scarcitywhen the water available in an area is potentially unaccessible by the population because of lack of investment to make it potable, or poor infrastructure to distribute it
- 10deforestationthe process of destroying a forest and replacing it with something else, e.g. agricultural system
- 11overgrazingthe grazing of natural pastures at stocking intensities above the livestock carrying capacity
- 12acidificationthe change in the chemical composition of soil, which may trigger the circulation of toxic metals
- 13salinizationthe condition in which the salt content of soil accumulates over time to above normal levels; can occur where water containing high salt concentration evaporates from fields irrigated with standing water
- 14soil aggregatessoil particles that are closely found together are called peds or aggregates
- 15desertificationthe gradual transformation of habitable land into desert
- 16dust stormssevere windstorms that sweep clouds of dust across extensive areas, especially in an arid region
- 17soil buffering capacitythe capacity of soil to absorb contaminants
- 18carbon farmingusing plants grown on a farm to 'harvest' carbon from the atmosphere and return it to the soil
- 19perennial cropscrops that do not die off once harvested, existing from years before reseeding may be required
- 20afforestationplanting seeds/trees to make a forest on land that has not been a forest recently or has never been a forest
- 21reforestationre-establishing a forest after its removal
- 22sustainable agricultureagricultural systems emphasizing biological relationships and natural processes, which maintain soil fertility thus allowing current levels of farm production to continue indefinitely
- 23sustainabilityusing resources without jeopardizing future capacity to use those resources
- 24human causes of soil degradationagriculture mismanagement (overgrazing, over-cultivation, monoculture, fertiliser & pesticide use, HYV & GM crops, unsustainable water use) ,deforestation, overpopulation, industrial pollution, toyotarization (increased use of 4x4s damaging top soil), conflict
- 25physical causes of soil degradationrising temperatures, falling rainfall, flash floods, wind, topography(if land is flat then it is less vulnerable to water erosion but more to wind erosion & vice versa)
- 26impacts of soil degradation on the environmentland becomes less stable, loss of fertility, desertification, loss of ecosystems & biodiversity, water supply decreases, water & carbon cycles disrupted, climate change
- 27solutions to soil degradationchange crop production, livestock management, forestry management, water & land management, socio-economic factors
- 28how is changing crop production a solution to soil degradation?diversifying crops, organic fertilizers, increase resistance to drought, improve irrigation systems
- 29how is livestock management a solution to soil degradation?improve quality of animals (disease control, selective breeding), reduce livestock populations to not exceed carrying capacity, improve rangelands by allowing regeneration
- 30how is forestry management a solution to soil degradation?protect existing trees, manage fuelwood forests, reduce wood consumption, introduce other energy sources e.g. solar and wind power
- 31how is water & land management a solution to soil degradation?improve irrigation, increase water harvesting by e.g. setting up lines of stones, increase incidence of windbreaks
- 32how are socio-economic factors a solution to soil degradation?guarantee tenure/land ownership, educate people to increase local awareness of desertification and to inform people of the skills to combat it, provide buffer stocks of food & resources to reduce people involved in schemes that may short-term reduce the output of the land, improve health services
- 33case study examples for soil degradationplanting acacia trees in West Africa (Sahel region) e.g. Kenya, Somalia and India (stabilized 600km2 of sand dunes since 1980); building walls of stones to prevent soil being washed away in Burkina Faso (increase crop yield by 50% since 1990); building the 'Great Green Wall' in China to hold off the advancing Ghobi desert (protects 80000km2 of valuable crop land, and increased crop yield by 13% in 1990)
- 34physical causes of water scarcityarid regions (high atmospheric pressure), rain shadows (air rises and cools when reaches a mountain and rains on one side, leaving the other side dry), climate change & variability (droughts, severe flooding)
- 35human causes of water scarcitypopulation growth, land use (e.g. deforestation for food production/resource use), pollution of water (e.g. contamination due to industry/agriculture/sewage)
- 36methods to deal with human water scarcityLIFESAVER® system, managing wastewater & pollution control (not dumping in areas where it cannot be reused, using for agriculture, primary & secondary treatment removing 85% of suspended solids and some of organic matter/life), desalinization of sea water, case study: Bangladesh (community education & training in proper education and soil management, helping small-scale farmers, piping water to domestic households using the community for manual labor, etc.)
- 37methods to deal with physical water scarcitywater conservation, transferring water from water-rich to water-scarce basins, case study: Las Vegas & the Great Basin Aquifer
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- Fichas sobre Core 3 - patterns in environmental quality and sustainability, creado por linda_rousseva el 08/04/2014.
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