Chapter 5 Exercise questions: Answers
5.1 Soil
Soil can be considered an open system as there are flows of energy and matter across
its boundaries.
There are four main components of soils: particulate (mineral) matter, organic matter, air
and water.
Transfers are the movement of a substance from one location to another, but the
substance stays the same, e.g., the movement of silicate clays down the soil profile.
Transformations refer to a change in nature of a substance, e.g., from water to ice, or the
decay of organic matter to humus and minerals.
Soil salinization occurs in relatively hot, dry areas where water in the soil or from
irrigation is drawn up to the surface, evaporates and leaves behind soluble salts. These
salts become concentrated at or near the surface and can form a toxic, saline crust.
Advantage: fertilizers add nutrients to the soil and encourage plant growth.
Disadvantage: some fertilizers contains acids which can kill off microorganisms that are
essential for healthy soils.
A 60% clay, 20% sand, 20% silt; B 20% clay, 10% sand, 70% silt; C 10% clay, 70%
sand, 20% silt.
Gersmehl’s nutrient cycle shows that there are two sources of nutrients, atmospheric (in
rainfall) and sedimentary (in weathered rock). There are also two main losses – in runoff
(overland flow) and in leaching. Most nutrients are (re)cycled (between soil, plants and
animals) and then as litter, which is degraded and decomposed to put nutrients back into
the soil.
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Rates of erosion are highest in semi-arid areas because there is discontinuous
vegetation cover and irregular rainfall. Rates are lowest in arid areas because rainfall is
very low and in humid areas because vegetation cover is complete. However, when
vegetation cover in humid areas is removed, erosion rates increase dramatically.
Under forest cover, rates of soil erosion remain low. However, with arable farming,
erosion rates rise dramatically to about 250–300 t/ha, as some of the land is left bare for
part of the year. In contrast, when the land is used for grazing, soil erosion is reduced to
about 200 t/ha. The highest rates of soil erosion occur during the construction (house-
building) phase, when much of the land is bare, vegetation has been removed, and there
is compaction by heavy machinery. In contrast, when urbanisation has occurred, soil
erosion rates decrease as there is an increase in the amount of vegetation (gardens,
trees, parks, etc.) and less bare ground.
5.2 Agriculture and food
a) A system is comprised of a set of interacting flows (inputs and outputs) and storages
of energy and matter. The flows are processes that are either transfers or
transformations. The system may be open or closed.
b) Farming can be broken down into inputs (factors affecting farming), processes (what
happens on a farm) and outputs (what is produced); e.g., for dairy farming: inputs
are, e.g., grass, calves, bulls; processes are, e.g., milking, calving, harvesting
hay/making silage; outputs (products) are, e.g., milk, calves, meat.
Famine refers to the long-term decline in the availability of food in a region. There are
many factors that can cause famine including: drought, poor governance, lack of access
to land and production of food, unemployment and/or lack of entitlement to food, rapid
population growth, civil unrest including war, access to international aid and natural
hazards.
The introduction of HYVs of crops led to increases in inequality initially as it was only the
rich farmers with plentiful money/land that could buy the new seeds and the resources
needed to cultivate them. However, over time, government-backed agricultural policies
allowed a greater proportion of farmers to access HYVs, and so inequalities decreased.
Cover crops help reduce soil erosion by intercepting rainfall, reducing raindrop impact
and through their roots binding the soil together. Contour ploughing ploughs horizontally
around a hill (along the contours) rather than up and down a hill (vertically). Therefore,
the troughs and ridges that are formed by ploughing are at right angles to the
gravitational flow of water and will help prevent the water from flowing downhill. Stone
lines act as barriers to the movement of water and sediment across a surface. They
therefore trap the water and the sediment and allow crop growth and cultivation to occur.
Wind speed can be reduced by planting trees and other vegetation to act as shelter
belts; reduced wind speed means less soil is blown away.
The advantage of no-till farming is that it does not disturb the soil through ploughing. It
can also reduce labour-, machinery- and energy-costs. In some cases, it may allow
farmers to produce a second crop in the year.
In LICs, food waste tends to occur primarily at the farmer–producer end of the supply
chain. Inefficient harvesting, inadequate local transportation and poor infrastructure
mean that produce is frequently handled inappropriately and stored under unsuitable
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farm site conditions. As a result, mould and pests (e.g., rodents) destroy or at least
degrade large quantities of food material. Substantial amounts of foodstuffs simply spill
from badly maintained vehicles or are bruised as vehicles travel over poorly maintained
roads.
In HICs, produce is often wasted through retail and customer behaviour. Major
supermarkets, in meeting consumer expectations, often reject entire crops of perfectly
edible fruit and vegetables at the farm because they do not meet exacting marketing
standards for their physical characteristics, such as size and appearance. Customers
often buy more food than they need and then throw it away instead of eating it.
HL Rewilding refers to conservation efforts to restore and protect wilderness areas and
natural processes. There are many types of rewilding projects that exist, such as release
of captive-bred animals, the removal of dams and bridges, connection of different natural
areas or reintroduction of keystone species.
HL The main principles of regenerative farming are to keep the soil covered, maintain
living roots year-round, minimize soil disturbance, maximize crop diversity and integrate
livestock.
HL Mob grazing is characterized by grazing by a high density of stock for a short
duration, coupled with a long recovery period. In mob grazing, fields are given more time
to rest. This allows livestock farmers the opportunity to improve soil health without having
to drastically change their systems.
HL Vertical farming creates more land in a given area by having stacked layers or
training crops upwards. It can also control environmental conditions such as being soil-
free, making use of artificial LED lighting, irrigation water, fertilizers and climate control.
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Chapter 5 Practice questions: Answers
a) Inputs may include: [2 max]
• nutrients dissolved in rainfall
• nutrients from weathering of rocks
• rainfall
• heat.
Outputs may include: [2 max]
• soil
• nutrients
• heat
• water.
b) Explanation including the following points: [6 max]
• stores are greatest in the biomass; due to the large size of trees and their
long life;
• the biomass store is large, due to year-round growth (high rainfall and
temperatures);
• biomass requires many nutrients for growth/photosynthesis;
• the litter store is limited, due to rapid rate of decomposition;
• the soil store is larger than the litter store, due to rapid turnover from litter to
soil;
• the soil store is larger than the litter store, due to protection from runoff due to
interception by trees.
c) Explanation including the following points: [6 max]
• commercial farming is likely to reduce the store of nutrients in the rainforest;
• nutrients will be removed as food either for humans or for livestock;
• biodiversity will be replaced by a monoculture;
• there will be fewer niches and, therefore, fewer species;
• inputs may include artificial fertilizers;
• losses of nutrients may increase once crops are harvested, due to the
increase in overland flow/less interception.
[Total 16 marks]
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a)
• highest calorie intake is over 3500 kcal, whereas the lowest is less than
1500 kcal; [1]
• highest calorie intakes (≥ 3250 kcal) are found in North America (USA), and in
south and east Asia; [1]
• lowest calorie intakes (≤ 2000 kcal) are mainly found throughout Africa. [1]
b)
(i)
• malnutrition, stunting, wasting/reduced growth; [1]
• increased vulnerability to diseases, e.g., kwashiorkor and marasmus
[1]
(ii)
• Obesity; [1]
• increased risk of diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure,
stroke. [1]
c) Suggestions including some of the following points: [6 max]
• use of high yielding varieties of rice/wheat;
• use of genetic engineering to create frost- or drought-resistant crops, and
faster growing livestock and fish;
• irrigation in dry areas;
• terracing on steep slopes;
• drainage of wetlands;
• intensification of crop and livestock production, e.g., double-cropping;
• greater use of fertilizers;
• use of indigenous species;
• better use of storage/electricity/mechanization;
• more production of food for consumption rather than non-food products, e.g.,
tobacco.
[Total 13 marks]
Answer to include some of the following points: [2 max]
• soil texture is important as it determines the amount of water that a soil can hold; [1]
• and the amount of air that is present; [1]
• e.g., sandy soils hold limited water but are well aerated. [1]
[Total 2 marks]
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Description including some of the following points: [3 max]
• burning the vegetation puts nutrients into the soil, increasing soil fertility;
• over time, as the land is farmed, the soil loses its fertility and the plot is abandoned;
• after the land is abandoned, the soil may regain its fertility but very slowly – this may
take decades to centuries;
• if the land is not left fallow for long enough, there will be a downward trend in
soil fertility;
• in some places, the soil and rainforest may never regain its original fertility
and diversity.
[Total 3 marks]
There must be a named farming system/type. There should be at least one way in which
soils have influenced farming and one way in which climate influences farming, e.g., in
south east Asia, the high summer rainfall allows rice to be grown on the fertile clay soils;
in the mid-west of the USA, there is deep fertile soil with a growing season of 4–6
months for crops in areas with sufficient rainfall, and livestock can be raised in areas that
are too dry for crops. [2 max]
[Total 2 marks]
a) Food security means having access to a sufficient amount of good quality food
at all times. [1]
b) Two reasons why people may experience food security is that they may produce their
own food (food availability) and they can earn enough money to buy sufficient food
(food entitlement). [1]
[Total 2 marks]
HL Answers may demonstrate: [2 max]
• an understanding of concepts and terminology, e.g., regenerative farming, no-till
agriculture, non-commercial cropping, diversity, polyculture, mob grazing;
• breadth in addressing and linking key aspects of regenerative farming, e.g., reducing
the risk of wind- and water-erosion by keeping the soil covered, maintaining living
roots all-year round to help bind the soil together, minimizing soil disturbance, e.g.,
by using no-till farming, integrating livestock to provide a source of manure (and also
a separate income) and maximising crop diversity, e.g., by polyculture, to reduce the
risk of disease spreading;
• examples, e.g., farming systems with crop rotation, rotational grazing, cover-
cropping, no- and low-till farming, agroforestry, agroecology, permaculture and
restorative agriculture;
• balanced analysis evaluating reduction of farm waste, adding composted material to
the soil, increasing species diversity and not harming the environment;
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• a conclusion that is consistent with, and supported by, analysis and examples.
[Total 2 marks]
HL Answers may demonstrate: [2 max]
• an understanding of concepts and terminology, e.g., greenhouse farming,
technology, vertical farming, precision agriculture, hydroponics;
• breadth in addressing and linking economic and environmental advantages and
disadvantages;
• examples, e.g., Almeria, Spain; Fridheimar, Iceland;
• balanced analysis evaluating year-round production, controlled environment (e.g.,
water, temperature, fertilizer), lack of pests and vermin, production of exotic species,
high set-up costs, high energy usage, excessive use of chemical treatments;
• a conclusion that is consistent with, and supported by, analysis and examples.
[Total 2 marks]
HL Answers may demonstrate: [2 max]
• an understanding of concepts and terminology, e.g., leaching, gleying, weathering,
salinization, calcification;
• breadth in addressing and linking climate (e.g., if there is an excess of rainfall over
potential evapotranspiration, the movement of water will be downwards though the
soil, whereas, if potential evapotranspiration exceeds rainfall, water movement will be
upwards towards the surface), rock type (e.g., sandstones and gritstones produce
free draining, coarse textured soils, whereas clays and shales give much finer soils),
aspect, slope angle (susceptibility to soil erosion increases with gradient, and steeper
slopes are associated with thinner soils) drainage, human impact, biota, time;
• examples, e.g., chernozems (black earths), brown earths, gleyed (waterlogged) soils;
• balanced analysis evaluating the role of climate, rock type, aspect, drainage, and,
increasingly, human impact, e.g., agriculture;
• a conclusion that is consistent with, and supported by, analysis and examples.
[Total 2 marks]
HL Answers may demonstrate: [2 max]
• an understanding of concepts and terminology, e.g., food availability, food
affordability, quality and safety of food, food waste;
• breadth in addressing and linking increasing food production, human population
growth, growth of middle-income countries, food security, sustainable food supply,
reducing demand, reducing waste, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and
increasing intensification;
• examples, e.g., plant-based meat substitutes, reducing nitrogen loss to the
atmosphere, growing low-methane rice, reducing the amount of CH4 released by
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animals, producing food with a longer shelf life, genetic modification to increase crop
yields, using solar powered fertilizers;
• balanced analysis evaluating the increasing demand for more (quality) food,
increased population size and wealth, the impact of trying to match supply of food
with demand without harming the environment, improving food supply, reducing food
loss and waste, e.g., by providing more fridges in poorer households, more recycling
of food, more use of waste food, e.g., composting, improvements in food safety and
durability (extending shelf life) and a decrease in offers, such as buy-one-get-one-
free;
• a conclusion that is consistent with, and supported by, analysis and examples.
[Total 2 marks]
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