Chapter 12:

Food & Soil Resources

The three systems humans depend on
for their food supply
• Croplands (77%) – land used for planting crops;
vegetables, fruits, and grains
• Rangelands (16%)- Land used for grazing
livestock; meat products
• Ocean fisheries (7%) - shellfish/fish (6% of
protein in human diet)
 Human
Food
Supply

Croplands Fisheries
Rangelands

Major increase in food production post-1950

Tractors Feedlots High-Tech

Farm Equip. i Feed Pens Gear &
Electronics
n
Growth
Irrigation p
Hormones Aquaculture
u
Fertilizers t Careful
Pesticides Breeding
 Human Population Growth and Food
Production
• 9 billion humans by 2054
– More food than has been produced in last 10k
yrs
• Is current technology capable?
• Environmental degradation?
– Pollution
– Water supply (irrigation)
– Overgrazing
– Overfishing
– Ecological services (matter; energy)
 Lack of Diversity in Food
30,000
edible
3 grain crops that plant
provide “more
than ½ of the
species
calories people
consume”.

But 90% of all food only comes from

15 plants [esp. wheat, rice, corn] and
8 animals- [esp. beef, pork, chicken]

Fish-
1% energy
6 % protein
 Major Types of Agriculture
• Traditional subsistence (20%, 44% pop.)
– Low-input, human labor, "just enough"
– Shifting cultivation; nomadic livestock
• Traditional intensive
– Higher input, "more than enough"
• Plantation
– Monoculture cash crops (bananas, coffee,
sugarcane, etc)

• Industrialized (high-input)
– 25% of all cropland, developed nations
 Industrialized agriculture Plantation agriculture

Shifting cultivation Nomadic herding

Intensive traditional agriculture

Fig. 12.2, p. 263
No agriculture
The Green Revolution
increased production of food per unit of area of cropland;
planting monocultures, increase use of pesticides, water,
fertilizers, etc.
Since 1950
• Develop & plant monocultures (ie. corn)
• Input fertilizer, pesticides, water
• Multiple cropping on plot of land

Since 1967
• Fast growing dwarf varieties of rice and wheat
• More food on less land
• Increase use of fossil fuels, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation

Age of Genetic Engineering

• >2/3 of products on U.S. grocery store shelves contain ingredients from
GE crops!
 Green-Revolution- increasing global
food production…
Farm more land =
Increase crop yield / land area

High-yield
selective breeding
monoculture = genetic engineering (GMO’s)
s

high energy input (8% world oil)

High Input = fertilizers, pesticides, water

High intensity
dwarf varieties- 3-5x yield
frequency of
cropping
= multicropping (2-3/year)
Monocultures
• Intensified agriculture meant monocultures, vast
spreads of a single crop.

• This is economically efficient, but increases risk

of catastrophic failure (“all eggs in one basket”).

Wheat monoculture in Washington Figure 9.4a

Green revolution: Environmental impacts

• Intensification of agriculture causes environmental

harm:

• Pollution from synthetic fertilizers

• Pollution from synthetic pesticides
• Water depleted for irrigation
• Fossil fuels used for heavy equipment

• However, without the green revolution, much more land

would have been converted for agriculture, destroying
forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems.
First green revolution Second green revolution
(developed countries) (developing countries)

Major International agricultural

research centers and seed banks
 Energy Use in Food Production:
Industrial Agriculture
(United States)
Since1940’s: 2x production on the same amount of land
Agribusiness- big companies and large family farms own 75% of US
food production
- 2% pop.= farmers; 9% pop.= involve in production
- Agriculture provides18% US GNP; 19% jobs (private sect); 0.3% world's
labor
- 17% of world’s grain is produced in the US; ½ the world’s corn & soybean
exports

• Putting food on the table utilizes 17% of US commercial energy,

mostly from oil
• Food production uses 3 units of fossil fuel energy for 1 unit of food
energy obtained. Units of energy take in to account the energy
used to grow, store, process, pack, process, refrigerate, and cook
❖ Plants involve > energy out than in; Livestock involve > energy in,
than out.
 Energy Use in Food Production:
Traditional and Traditional Intensive

• 20% of world food on 75% cultivated land

• Most traditional farmers use INTERPLANTING - growing
several crops on a single plot of land.

Types of interplanting-
1. Polyvarietals - varieties of 1 crop
2. Intercropping - 2+ different on same plot (legumes/grain)
3. Agroforestry/alley cropping - crops/trees together
4. Polyculture - many plants maturing at different times on same
plot

Advantages include: < energy input, erosion/weather protection,

pest/herbicides not needed
I
nt
er
cr Polyculture
o
p
pi
n
g

Polyvarietals

A
g
r
o
Soil Erosion and Degradation
Causes: water, wind, and people

• Land degradation- when natural or human

induced processes reduce the future ability of
land to support crops, livestock or wild species.
(i.e. soil erosion due to flowing water or wind)

• Erosion of topsoil leads to loss of soil fertility and

increase sediment in nearby surface waters which can
block sunlight, kill fish, and clog irrigation ditches,
channels, etc.
Causes of soil degradation

Most soil degradation

is caused by:
• livestock
overgrazing
• deforestation
• cropland agriculture

Figure 8.2
Types of soil erosion
Splash
erosion

Rill erosion

Gully
erosion
Sheet erosion
Figure 8.11
Desertification
A loss of more than 10% productivity due to:
• Erosion
• Soil compaction
• Forest removal
• Overgrazing
When severe,
• Drought there is expansion
• Salinization of desert areas, or
• Climate change creation of new
• Depletion of water resources ones, e.g., the
Middle East,
formerly, “Fertile
Crescent”.
The Dust Bowl

• Drought and degraded farmland produced

the 1930s Dust Bowl.

• Storms brought dust from the U.S. Great

Plains all the way to New York and
Washington, and wrecked many lives.

Figure 8.14
 Desertification

Causes Consequences

Overgrazing Worsening drought

Deforestation Famine

Erosion Economic losses

Salinization Lower living

standards
Soil compaction
Environmental
Natural climate refugees
change
Preventing soil degradation

Several farming strategies to prevent soil

degradation:
• Crop rotation
• Contour farming
• Intercropping
• Terracing
• Shelterbelts
• Conservation tillage
Soil conservation
As a result of the Dust Bowl, the U.S. Soil
Conservation Act of 1935 and the Soil
Conservation Service (SCS) were created.

• SCS: Local agents in conservation districts

worked with farmers to disseminate scientific
knowledge and help them conserve their soil.
Crop rotation
• Alternating the crop planted (e.g., between
corn and soybeans) can restore nutrients to soil
and fight pests and disease.

Figure 8.16a
Contour farming
• Planting along contour lines of slopes helps reduce
erosion on hillsides.

Figure 8.16b
Intercropping
• Mixing crops such as in strip cropping can provide
nutrients and reduce erosion.

Figure 8.16c
(c) Alley cropping
Terracing
• Cutting stairsteps or terraces is the only way to
farm extremely steep hillsides without causing
massive erosion. It is labor-intensive to create, but
has been a mainstay for centuries in the Himalayas
and the Andes.
Shelterbelts
• Rows of fast-growing trees around crop plantings
provide windbreaks, reducing erosion by wind.

Figure 8.16e
 Conservation tillage is not a solution
Conservation for all crops everywhere.
tillage • It often requires more chemical
herbicides (because weeds are not
No-till and reduced-tillage plowed under).
farming leaves old crop residue • It often requires more fertilizer
on the ground instead of (because other plants compete
plowing it into soil. This covers with crops for nutrients).
the soil, keeping it in place.

Here, corn grows up out of a

“cover crop.”

But legume cover crops can keep

weeds at bay while nourishing
soil, and green manures can be
used as organic fertilizers.
Figure 8.16f
 Trade-Offs

Conservation Tillage
Advantages Disadvantages

Reduces erosion Can increase

herbicide use for
Saves fuel some crops
Cuts costs

Holds more soil

water Leaves stalks that
can harbor crop
Reduces soil pests and fungal
compaction diseases and
increase pesticide
Allows several crops use
per season

Does not reduce

crop yields Requires
investment
Reduces CO2 in expensive
release from soil equipment
Central Case: No-Till Agriculture in Brazil

• Southern Brazil’s farmers were suffering falling yields,

erosion, and pollution from agrichemicals.
• They turned to no-till farming, which bypasses plowing.
• Erosion was reduced, soils were enhanced, and yields rose
greatly. No-till methods are spreading worldwide.
 Irrigation
• The artificial provision of water to support agriculture

• 70% of all freshwater used by humans is used for

irrigation.

• Irrigated land globally covers more area than all of

Mexico and Central America combined.

• Irrigation has boosted productivity in many places

… but too much can cause problems.
Waterlogging and salinization
• Overirrigation can raise the water table high enough to
suffocate plant roots with waterlogging.

• Salinization (buildup of salts in surface soil layers) is a more

widespread problem. Salt in soils decreases the osmotic
potential of the soil so that plants can't take up water from it.
The salts can also be directly toxic, but plant troubles usually
result primarily from inability to take up water from salty soils

• Evaporation in arid areas draws water up through the soil,

bringing salts with it. Irrigation causes repeated evaporation,
bringing more salts up.
 Solutions

Soil Salinization

Prevention Cleanup

Reduce irrigation Flushing soil

(expensive and
wastes water)

Not growing crops

for 2-5 years

Switch to salt-
tolerant crops
(such as barley, Installing under-
cotton, sugar beet) ground drainage
systems (expensive)
Global fertilizer usages
• Fertilizer use has risen dramatically in the past
50 years.

Figure 8.19b
 Trade-Offs
Inorganic Commercial Fertilizers

Advantages Disadvantages
Easy to transport Do not add humus to soil

Reduce organic matter

Easy to store in soil

Reduce ability of soil to

Easy to apply hold water

Lower oxygen content of

Inexpensive to produce soil

Require large amounts of

Help feed one of every energy to produce,
three people in the transport, and apply
world
Release the greenhouse
gas nitrous oxide (N2O)
Without commercial
inorganic fertilizers, Runoff can overfertilize
world food output could nearby lakes and kill fish
drop by 40%
Overgrazing

• When livestock eat too much plant cover on

rangelands, impeding plant regrowth.

• The contrast between ungrazed and overgrazed land on

either side of a fenceline can be striking. Figure 8.22
Overgrazing

• Overgrazing can set in motion a series of positive

feedback loops. Figure 8.21
Global food production
World agricultural production has risen faster
than human population.

Figure 9.1
Global food security

• However, the world still has 800 million hungry

people, largely due to inadequate distribution.

• Considering soil degradation, can we count on

food production continuing to rise?

• Global food security is a goal of scientists and

policymakers worldwide.
Nutrition
• Undernourishment =
too few calories (especially
developing countries)

• Overnutrition =
too many calories (especially
developed world)

• Malnutrition = lack of
nutritional requirements
(causes numerous diseases,
esp. in developing world)
Figure 9.2
Food Production, Nutrition and
Environmental Effects

• ~ 1 in 6 people in developing nations are chronically

undernourished or malnourished

Common nutritional deficiency diseases:

Marasmus and Kwashiorkor
• M = diet low in calories and protein
• K = severe protein deficiency
 Decreased High death
Poverty Malnutrition resistance rate for
to disease children

Decreased Decreased Shortened

Decreased
ability ability life
energy
to learn to work expectancy

Feedback loop

Fig. 12.9, p. 269

 Environmental effects of food production

Biodiversity Loss Soil

Loss and degradation of habitat from Erosion
clearing grasslands and forests and
draining wetland Loss of fertility
Fish kills from pesticide runoff
Salinization
Killing of wild predators to protect
livestock Waterlogging

Loss of genetic diversity from Desertification

replacing thousands of wild crop
strains with a few monoculture strains
 Air Pollution Water
Water waste
Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil Surface and groundwater
Fuel issue pollution from pesticides
Aquifer depletion
and fertilizers
Other air pollutants from fossil fuel use Increased runoff and Overfertilization of lakes
flooding from land cleared and slow-moving rivers
Pollution from pesticide sprays to grow crops from runoff of nitrates
and phosphates from
Sediment pollution from fertilizers, livestock
erosion wastes, and food
processing wastes
Fish kills from pesticide
runoff
 Human
Health
Nitrates in drinking water

Pesticide residues in drinking water,

food, and air

Contamination of drinking and

swimming water with disease
organisms from livestock wastes

Bacterial contamination of meat

Pesticide use
• Pesticide use is still rising sharply across the world,
although growth has slowed in the U.S.
– 1 billion kg
(2 billion lbs.)
of pesticides are
applied each year in
the U.S.

Figure 9.5
Biological control
• Synthetic chemicals can pollute and be health hazards.

• Biological control (biocontrol) avoids this.

• Biocontol entails battling pests and weeds with

other organisms that are natural enemies of those
pests and weeds.

• (“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”)

Biological control
• Biocontrol has had
success stories.

• Bacillus thuringiensis
(Bt) = soil bacterium
that kills many
insects. In many Cactus moth, Cactoblastis
cases, seemingly safe cactorum (above), was used
and effective. to wipe out invasive prickly
pear cactus in Australia.
Figure 9.7
But biocontrol is risky
• Most biocontrol agents are introduced from
elsewhere.
• Some may turn invasive and become pests
themselves!
• Cactus moths brought to the Caribbean jumped
to Florida, are eating native cacti, and spreading.
• Wasps and flies brought to Hawaii to control
crop pests are parasitizing native caterpillars in
wilderness areas.
Integrated pest management (IPM)

• Combines biocontrol, chemical, and other methods

May involve:
• Biocontrol
• Pesticides
• Close population monitoring
• Habitat modification
• Crop rotation
• Transgenic crops
• Alternative tillage
• Mechanical pest removal
Genetic modification of food
• Manipulating and engineering genetic
material in the lab may represent the best
hope for increasing agricultural production
further without destroying more natural
lands.

• But many people remain uneasy about

genetically engineering crop plants and other
organisms.
Some GM foods
Golden rice:
Enriched with
vitamin A. FlavrSavr tomato:
But too much Better taste?
hype? But pulled from market.

Ice-minus strawberries:
Frost-resistant bacteria Bt crops:
sprayed on. Widely used on
Images alarmed public. U.S. crops.
But ecological
concerns?

Figure 9.12
Prevalence of GM foods

Figure 9.13
Scientific concerns about GM organisms
• Are there health risks for people?
• Can transgenes escape into wild plants, pollute ecosystems, harm
organisms?
• Can pests evolve resistance to GM crops just as they can to
pesticides?

• Can transgenes jump from crops to weeds and make them into
“superweeds”?
• Can transgenes get into traditional native crop races and ruin their
integrity?
Socioeconomic and political
concerns about GM products
• Should scientists and corporations be “tinkering
with” our food supply?
• Are biotech corporations testing their products
adequately, and is outside oversight adequate?
• Should large multinational corporations exercise
power over global agriculture and small farmers?
Europe vs. America
• Europe: has followed precautionary principle in
approach to GM foods. Governments have listened to
popular opposition among their citizens.

• U.S.: GM foods were introduced and accepted with

relatively little public debate.

• Relations over agricultural trade have been uneasy, and

it remains to be seen whether Europe will accept more
GM foods from the U.S.
 Trade-Offs
Genetically Modified Food and Crops
Projected Projected
Advantages Disadvantages
Need less fertilizer Irreversible and
unpredictable genetic
Need less water and ecological effects

More resistant to insects, Harmful toxins in food

plant disease, frost, and From possible plant
drought cell
Mutations
Faster growth
New allergens in food
Can grow in slightly salty
soils Lower nutrition

Less spoilage Increased evolution of

Pesticide-resistant
Better flavor Insects and plant
disease
Less use of conventional
pesticides Creation of herbicide-
Resistant weeds
Tolerate higher levels of
pesticide use Harm beneficial insects

Higher yields Lower genetic diversity

Preserving crop diversity

• Native cultivars of crops are important to

preserve, in case we need their genes to
overcome future pests or pathogens.

• Diversity of cultivars has been rapidly

disappearing from all crops throughout the
world.
Seed banks preserve seeds, crop
varieties
– Seed banks are living museums
of crop diversity, saving
collections of seeds and growing
them into plants every few years
to renew the collection.

• Careful hand pollination

helps ensure plants of one
type do not interbreed with
plants of another.

Figure 9.14
Animal agriculture: Livestock and poultry

• Consumption of meat has risen faster than

population over the past several decades.
Figure 9.15
Feedlot agriculture
• Increased meat consumption has led to animals
being raised in feedlots (factory farms), huge
pens that deliver energy-rich food to animals
housed at extremely high densities.

Figure 9.16
Feed lots
• More production of livestock in smaller, condensed
spaces; Produce more using less space and energy
• Increases need for antibiotics due to enclosed
spaces; leads to issues of cruelty to animals
• Hormones given to produce larger animals for more
meat= more $!
Feedlot agriculture: Environmental impacts

• Immense amount of waste produced,

polluting air and water nearby

• Intense usage of chemicals (antibiotics,

steroids, hormones), some of which persist in
environment

• However, if all these animals were grazing on

rangeland, how much more natural land
would be converted for agriculture?
Food choices = energy choices
• Energy is lost at each trophic level.

• When we eat meat from a cow fed on grain,

most of the grain’s energy has already been
spent on the cow’s metabolism.

• Eating meat is therefore very energy

inefficient. - Hence, the “Eating Green”
Challenge! Feb. 28- March 7
Grain feed input for animal output

• Some animal
food products
can be produced
with less input of
grain feed than
others.

Figure 9.17
Land and water input for animal output

• Some animal
food products
can be
produced with
less input of
land and water
than others.

Figure 9.18
Aquaculture
• The raising of aquatic organisms for food in
controlled environments

• Provides 1/3 of world’s fish for consumption

• 220 species being farmed

• The fastest growing type of food production

Benefits of aquaculture
• Provides reliable protein source for people,
increases food security
• Can be small-scale, local, and sustainable
• Reduces fishing pressure on wild stocks, and
eliminates bycatch
• Uses fewer fossil fuels than fishing
• Can be very energy efficient
Environmental impacts of aquaculture

• Density of animals leads to disease, antibiotic use, risks to food

security.
• It can generate large amounts of waste.
• Often animals are fed grain, which is not energy efficient.
• Sometimes animals are fed fish meal from wild-caught fish.
• Farmed animals may escape into the wild and interbreed with,
compete with, or spread disease to wild animals.
Catching and Raising More Fish
Fisheries
Fishing methods (See Fig. 14-24 p. 299)
Sustainable yield
Overfishing- decreased biodiversity; affects aquatic
food chains; bycatch; loss of food
Commercial extinction
Aquaculture- collectively involves fish farming and ranching;
salmon and shrimp
Environmental impacts of aquaculture

• Transgenic salmon (top) can compete with or

spread disease to wild salmon (bottom) when they
escape from fish farms.
Figure 9.20
 aquaculture

3 methods used to catch fish:

trawl bag

drift net

purse-seine
 Trade-Offs
Aquaculture
Advantages Disadvantages

Highly efficient Large inputs of land, feed,

And water needed
High yield in small
volume of water Produces large and
concentrated outputs of
Increased yields waste
through cross-
breeding and genetic Destroys mangrove forests
engineering
Increased grain production
Can reduce over- needed to feed some
harvesting of species
conventional fisheries
Fish can be killed by
Little use of fuel pesticide runoff from
nearby cropland
Profit not tied to price
of oil Dense populations
vulnerable to disease
High profits
Tanks too contaminated to
use after about 5 years
 Solutions

More Sustainable Aquaculture

• Reduce use of fishmeal as a feed to reduce depletion of

other fish

• Improve pollution management of aquaculture wastes

• Reduce escape of aquaculture species into the wild

• Restrict location of fish farms to reduce loss of mangrove

forests and other threatened areas

• Farm some aquaculture species (such as salmon and

cobia) in deeply submerged cages to protect them from
wave action and predators and allow dilution of wastes
into the ocean

• Set up a system for certifying sustainable forms of

aquaculture
Sustainable agriculture
• Agriculture that can practiced the same way far into the
future
• Does not deplete soils faster than they form
• Does not reduce healthy soil, clean water, and
genetic diversity essential for long-term crop and
livestock production

• Low-input agriculture = small amounts of pesticides,

fertilizers, water, growth hormones, fossil fuel energy,
etc.
• Organic agriculture = no synthetic chemicals used.
Instead, biocontrol, composting, etc.
Organic farming
• Small percent of market, but is growing fast

– 1% of U.S. market, but growing 20%/yr

– 3–5% of European market, but growing 30%/yr

Organic produce:
• Advantages for consumers: healthier; environmentally
better

• Disadvantages for consumers: less uniform and

appealing-looking; more expensive
Conclusions: Challenges
• Chemical pesticides pollute, and kill pollinators,
and pests evolve resistance.
• GM crops show promise for social and
environmental benefits, but questions linger about
their impacts.
• Much of the world’s crop diversity has vanished.
• Feedlot agriculture and aquaculture pose benefits
and harm for the environment and human health.
Conclusions: Challenges
• Organic farming remains a small portion of agriculture.
• Human population continues to grow, requiring more
food production.
• Soil erosion is a problem worldwide.
• Salinization, waterlogging, and other soil degradation
problems are leading to desertification.
• Grazing and logging, as well as cropland agriculture,
contribute to soil degradation.
Conclusions: Solutions
• Biocontrol and IPM offer alternatives to pesticides.
• Further research and experience with GM crops may
eventually resolve questions about impacts, and allow us
to maximize benefits while minimizing harm.
• More funding for seed banks can rebuild crop diversity.
• Ways are being developed to make feedlot agriculture and
aquaculture safer and cleaner.
Conclusions: Solutions
• Organic farming is popular and growing fast.
• Green revolution advances have kept up with food demand so far.
Improved distribution and slowed population growth would help
further.
• Farming strategies like no-till farming, contour farming, terracing,
etc., help control erosion.
• Government laws, and government extension agents working with
farmers, have helped improve farming practices and control soil
degradation.
• Better grazing and logging practices exist that have far less impact
on soils.
 Solutions
Sustainable Agriculture
Increase Decrease
High-yield polyculture Soil erosion

Organic fertilizers Soil salinization

Biological pest control Aquifer depletion

Integrated pest Overgrazing

management
Overfishing
Irrigation efficiency
Loss of
Perennial crops biodiversity

Crop rotation Loss of prime

cropland
Use of more water-
efficient crops Food waste

Soil conservation Subsidies for unsustainable

farming and fishing
Subsidies for more
sustainable farming and Population growth
fishing
Poverty
 What Can You Do?

Sustainable Agriculture

•Waste les food

•Reduce or eliminate meat consumption

•Feed pets balanced grain foods instead of meat

•Use organic farming to grow some of your food

•Buy organic food

•Compost your food wastes

REVIEW QUESTIONS!
QUESTION: Review
Integrated pest management may involve all of the
following EXCEPT… ?

a. Close population monitoring

b. Biocontrol
c. Exclusive reliance on pesticides
d. Habitat modification
e. Transgenic crops
QUESTION: Review
What do seed banks do?

a. Lend money to farmers to buy seeds

b. Pay farmers to store seeds
c. Buy seeds from farmers
d. Store seeds to maintain genetic diversity
e. None of the above
QUESTION: Review
Which is NOT a benefit of aquaculture?

a. Provides a reliable protein source

b. Reduces pressure on natural fisheries
c. Produces no waste
d. Uses fewer fossil fuels than commercial fishing
e. All of the above are benefits
QUESTION: Weighing the Issues
Can we call the green revolution a success?

a. A huge success; it has saved millions from

starvation because it increased food production
to keep pace with population growth.
b. Not a success; its environmental impacts have
outweighed its claimed benefits.
c. A success; its environmental impacts are
balanced by the fact that it saved huge areas
from deforestation.
QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and Data
With 500 kg of water, you could produce … ?

a. 2 kg of protein
from milk
b. Protein from 50
chickens
c. 750 kg of protein
from beef
d. 15 eggs
Figure 9.18b
QUESTION: Viewpoints
Should we encourage the continued development of
GM foods?

a. Yes; they will bring many health, social, and

environmental benefits.
b. No, we should adopt the precautionary
principle, and not introduce novel things until
we know they are safe.
c. Yes, but we should proceed cautiously, and
consider each new crop separately.
QUESTION: Review
Which statement is NOT correct?

a. Soil consists of disintegrated rock, organic

matter, nutrients, and microorganisms.
b. Healthy soil is vital for agriculture.
c. Soil is somewhat renewable.
d. Soil is lifeless dirt.
e. Much of the world’s soil has been degraded.
QUESTION: Review

The A horizon in a soil profile… ?

a. Is often called the “zone of accumulation.”

b. Is often called “topsoil.”
c. Contains mostly organic matter.
d. Is the lowest horizon, deepest underground.
QUESTION: Review
Erosion occurs through… ?

a. Deforestation.
b. Excessive plowing.
c. Overgrazing rangelands.
d. Two of the above.
e. All of the above.
QUESTION: Review
Drip irrigation differs from conventional
irrigation in that … ?

a. It is much less efficient.

b. It can cause salinization.
c. Water is precisely targeted to plants.
d. About 40% is wasted.
QUESTION: Weighing the Issues
You are farming an extremely steep slope that is sunny and
very windy. What strategies would you consider using?

a. Crop rotation
b. Contour farming
c. Intercropping
d. Terracing
e. Shelterbelts
f. No-till farming
QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and Data

Grain produced per person has… ?

a. Risen steadily
b. Fallen
sharply
c. Increased
since 1983
d. Decreased
since 1983
Figure 8.3