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B7: Quiz 13 – Answers
B7: Quiz 13 – Answers
1)
a) Monoculture is the growing of a single crop in a given area
b) These strips of land and hedge rows increase the biodiversity of an area because the strips of land and hedge rows can support a greater number and variety of organisms compared to the number of organisms that would be supported in a monoculture crop field
c) The paying of farmers and monitoring of farmers to ensure that they are actually doing what they should be doing costs money. This money could be spent elsewhere, such as on education, healthcare or to fund tax cuts (opportunity cost)
2) Greenhouse gases cause the greenhouse effect/ climate change. Climate change is causing temperatures to rise and the conditions in habitats to change, which puts the organisms that live in these areas at risk of their populations declining or becoming extinct. For example, the land where polar bears live is decreasing because increasing temperatures are causing the ice caps to melt, and this will cause polar bears to become endangered and maybe even extinct. By taxing activities that produce large quantities of greenhouse gases, we can reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced and slow the effects of climate change, which will hopefully maintain biodiversity.
3) Breeding programs involve the breeding of certain organisms in captivity. The breeding of the animals in captivity ensures that there will still be some of a species in the world even if the population of them falls in the wild. Zoos undertake this for endangered animals (and we keep seeds in seed banks for plants). Animals that are bred in zoos are protected from hunting and habitat destruction. Sometimes the organisms that have been breed in captivity will be released into the wild if it is deemed appropriate
4) By recycling, less waste goes to landfill so less land needs to be cleared for landfill. Also, less new resources need to be used, so less land needs to be cleared to obtain the raw materials for these resources. Both of these effects mean that the land/ ecosystem is maintained, thus meaning that the organisms that live there are undisturbed. Furthermore, less energy is needed to make a product out of recycled material compared to making a product out of new materials. This energy is usually obtained from sources that emit greenhouse gases, so fewer greenhouse gases are emitted when we recycle, which reduces the negative effects of climate change on ecosystems
5) Any 2 from:
6) The deforestation of land for raw materials, cash crops and cattle creates jobs both during the deforestation and after the deforestation. This helps to increase the economic activity of an area, which in turn increases the quality of life of residents in an area especially if the country is a developing country. If the government of a country banned deforestation, the economy would not develop as quickly and the quality of life of the residents will decrease
7) The two issues are:
8) Farmers often undertake actions that reduce the number of crops that are lost to pests, which increases the yields of their crops, thus increasing the profit that the farmers make. The farmers control these pests by spraying insecticides to kill insects and herbicides to kill weeds. These chemicals reduce the number of plants and insects, thus reducing biodiversity
a) Monoculture is the growing of a single crop in a given area
b) These strips of land and hedge rows increase the biodiversity of an area because the strips of land and hedge rows can support a greater number and variety of organisms compared to the number of organisms that would be supported in a monoculture crop field
c) The paying of farmers and monitoring of farmers to ensure that they are actually doing what they should be doing costs money. This money could be spent elsewhere, such as on education, healthcare or to fund tax cuts (opportunity cost)
2) Greenhouse gases cause the greenhouse effect/ climate change. Climate change is causing temperatures to rise and the conditions in habitats to change, which puts the organisms that live in these areas at risk of their populations declining or becoming extinct. For example, the land where polar bears live is decreasing because increasing temperatures are causing the ice caps to melt, and this will cause polar bears to become endangered and maybe even extinct. By taxing activities that produce large quantities of greenhouse gases, we can reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced and slow the effects of climate change, which will hopefully maintain biodiversity.
3) Breeding programs involve the breeding of certain organisms in captivity. The breeding of the animals in captivity ensures that there will still be some of a species in the world even if the population of them falls in the wild. Zoos undertake this for endangered animals (and we keep seeds in seed banks for plants). Animals that are bred in zoos are protected from hunting and habitat destruction. Sometimes the organisms that have been breed in captivity will be released into the wild if it is deemed appropriate
4) By recycling, less waste goes to landfill so less land needs to be cleared for landfill. Also, less new resources need to be used, so less land needs to be cleared to obtain the raw materials for these resources. Both of these effects mean that the land/ ecosystem is maintained, thus meaning that the organisms that live there are undisturbed. Furthermore, less energy is needed to make a product out of recycled material compared to making a product out of new materials. This energy is usually obtained from sources that emit greenhouse gases, so fewer greenhouse gases are emitted when we recycle, which reduces the negative effects of climate change on ecosystems
5) Any 2 from:
- Protecting an area of land and having an organisation responsible for managing the area. For example, we have the forestry commission that is responsible for managing forests in the UK. The forestry commission will cull organisms that are posing a threat to the stability of the ecosystem
- Governments can promote the regeneration of a rare habitat, which provides the perfect environment for organisms to live. They can encourage farmers/ landowners to plant trees, undertake programmes to restore coral reefs etc.
- We can maintain biodiversity by making sure that no invasive species get introduced into an area. This is because the invasive species may outcompete a native species and affect a whole ecosystem. For example, the introduction of the grey squirrel in the UK has caused a huge decrease in the population of red squirrels.
6) The deforestation of land for raw materials, cash crops and cattle creates jobs both during the deforestation and after the deforestation. This helps to increase the economic activity of an area, which in turn increases the quality of life of residents in an area especially if the country is a developing country. If the government of a country banned deforestation, the economy would not develop as quickly and the quality of life of the residents will decrease
7) The two issues are:
- It is extremely hard to get countries to agree to these international agreements
- It is very hard to police the international agreements and check that all countries are doing what they agreed to do
8) Farmers often undertake actions that reduce the number of crops that are lost to pests, which increases the yields of their crops, thus increasing the profit that the farmers make. The farmers control these pests by spraying insecticides to kill insects and herbicides to kill weeds. These chemicals reduce the number of plants and insects, thus reducing biodiversity
Questions
1) Farmers that grow monoculture crops are sometimes paid to keep a strip of land wild or for having hedge rows.
a) What does monoculture mean?
b) Discuss how paying farmers to leave a strip of land wild or for having hedge rows increases biodiversity.
c) Why might taxpayers be annoyed with a program like this?
2) The government taxes activities that produce large quantities of greenhouse gases. Explain how this could help to maintain biodiversity.
3) Explain what a breeding program is and explain how a breeding program can increase biodiversity.
4) Explain how recycling can help maintain biodiversity.
5) Give and briefly explain two other ways that governments can protect biodiversity. Do not give any of the methods that have been looked at in the previous questions.
6) Why might some developing countries be unwilling to introduce policies that prevent deforestation for raw materials, cash crops or cattle?
7) Give two issues with international agreements for cutting emissions or maintaining biodiversity.
8) Discuss how some of the crop farming practices can decrease biodiversity. Think about the chemicals that the farmers spray on their crops.
1) Farmers that grow monoculture crops are sometimes paid to keep a strip of land wild or for having hedge rows.
a) What does monoculture mean?
b) Discuss how paying farmers to leave a strip of land wild or for having hedge rows increases biodiversity.
c) Why might taxpayers be annoyed with a program like this?
2) The government taxes activities that produce large quantities of greenhouse gases. Explain how this could help to maintain biodiversity.
3) Explain what a breeding program is and explain how a breeding program can increase biodiversity.
4) Explain how recycling can help maintain biodiversity.
5) Give and briefly explain two other ways that governments can protect biodiversity. Do not give any of the methods that have been looked at in the previous questions.
6) Why might some developing countries be unwilling to introduce policies that prevent deforestation for raw materials, cash crops or cattle?
7) Give two issues with international agreements for cutting emissions or maintaining biodiversity.
8) Discuss how some of the crop farming practices can decrease biodiversity. Think about the chemicals that the farmers spray on their crops.