Chapter 14

planting a mix of perennial grasses, legumes, sunflowers, grain crops and plants that provides natural insecticides in the same field. (many different plants maturing at various time are planted together.) • less need for fertilizers and water • more protection to the plants from wind and water erosion • little to no need for insecticides and herbicides

plants that have more than a two year life cycle -less labor, reduces soil erosion and less polution

plants that have a one year life cycle

• 80% of world’d food supply • uses large amounts of fossil fuels, water, commercial fertilizers and pesticides to produce a single crop (monocultures) or livestock

• form of industrialized agriculture - used on developing countries growing cash crops (soybeans, coffee, sugarcane, cocoa, vegetables, bananas)

• mostly draft animals and human labor - it only produces enough for a farm family’s survival

-high inputs of human labor, draft labor, water, and fertilizers in order to get a higher yield per area of cultivated land

• 1950 • new management techniques and mechanization as well as more fertilization and irrigation • improved crop varieties and increased food production

• 1967-present day - introducing fast growing varieties of rice and wheat in several developing countries

• growing several different crops on the same plot - reduces the chances of losing food supplies due to pests, bad weather and other misfortunes.

planting a plot with several varieties of the same crop

growing two or more different crops at the same time on a plot

crops and trees are planted in alternate rows

natural or human processes decrease the future ability of land to support crops, livestock or wild species

-the movement of soil components (surface litter or topsoil) from one place to another. main causes: flowing water and wind harmful effects: loss of soil fertility and sediments pollute water

the productive potential of arid or semi-arid land falls by 10% or more because of natural climate change and human activities

• when the small amts. of salts in irrigation water become highly concentrated on the soil surface through evaporation. • stunts crop growth, lowers crop yields and eventually kills plants and ruins the land

when the soil remains under water for a prolonged periods of time, which impairs root growth due to decreased oxygen levels.

-using ways to reduce soil erosion and restore soil fertility

farmers plow the land and then break up and smooth the soil to make a planting surface

the soil is disturbed little or not at all to reduce soil erosion, lower labor costs, and save energy

can reduce soil erosion on steep slope by converting the land into a series of broad, nearly level terraces that run across the land contour

involves plowing and planting crops in rows across the slope of the land rather than up and down

planting alternating strips of a row crop and another crop that completely covers the soil