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Chapter 9 (Pages 224-228)

Chapter 9 (Pages 224-228). Antoinette Robustelli Diti Goradia Brianne Kelly Dan Follo. Central Case Study: Iowa Farmers Practice No-Till Agriculture . Paul Schroeder and his brother David plan ways to keep their soil healthy.

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Chapter 9 (Pages 224-228)

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  1. Chapter 9 (Pages 224-228) Antoinette Robustelli Diti Goradia Brianne Kelly Dan Follo

  2. Central Case Study:Iowa Farmers Practice No-Till Agriculture • Paul Schroeder and his brother David plan ways to keep their soil healthy. • These brothers have an extensive history of making bountiful crops of grain. • They realized planting/plowing diminishes topsoil. • Topsoil: valuable resource full of organic matter and nutrients (Withgott, Brennan, 2005, p. 224) • Topsoil is constantly lost due to erosion.

  3. Central Case Study Cont. • Brothers turned to no-till farming. • No-till farming: leave residue of the previous crop on the field and plant new material. • Cut thin into surface when planting new material. • Less soil erodes, leaving behind organic matter. In addition, more water is soaked up by crops. • When tilling is required, use conservation tilling. • Conservation Tilling: tilling as much as necessary. • These brothers also keep track of soil samples, fertilizers used, etc. Others have copied their methods. • Less pollution, better for farmers and the environment.

  4. Soil: The Foundation for Agriculture • Agriculture currently covers 38% of Earth’s land surface. • Agriculture: practice of raising crops and livestock for human use • Rangelands or pastures is land used for grazing livestock. • Soil is more complex than people think • Soil: complex system consisting of disintegrated rock, organic matter, water, gases, nutrients, and microorganisms. It is a renewable resource. (Withgott, Brennan, 2005, p.225) • Room for agriculture is running out.

  5. Soil: The Foundation for Agriculture Cont. • As a planet, we gain 80 million people a year, but lose 12-17 million acres of cropland. (That’s the size of West Virginia!) • Soil degradation is another problem we face. • Soil degradation: soil that has deteriorated in quality and declined in productivity. • By the middle of the century, 2.2 billion more people will be living on Earth. We must find alternative ways to practice agriculture that maintain the integrity of the soil. (Withgott, Brennan, 2005, p.225)

  6. Agriculture Arose 10,000 years ago • Agriculture most likely began as hunter-gatherers retrieved wild fruits,grains and nuts. • Hunter-gatherers of the past only bred plants and animals with desirable traits. This is known as selective breeding. • About 10,500 years ago, the “Fertile Crescent” region first cultivated wheat, barely, peas, rye etc. China followed shortly after 1,000 years later followed by the Americas. • Agriculture led to population increase. This in turn led to commerce, technology, politically powerful elites, and densely populated urban centers. (Withgott, Brennan, 2005, p.226)

  7. Agriculture Arose 10,000 years ago Cont. • The Industrial Revolution dramatically changed the ways of tradition agriculture. Fossil fuel combustion and large-scale mechanization were introduced. • Horses and oxen were replaced. • Irrigation was intensified. • Synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides were introduced. • In order to enhance efficiency monoculture and polyculture were also introduced: • Monoculture: the uniform planting of a single crop • Polyculture: (Native American form of farming) – mixed maize, beans, squash etc. in same field. • The Green Revolution helped spread farming methods among developed to developing countries.

  8. Soil as a System • Soil, derived from rock, is both incredibly complex and incredibly important. • Soil allows for plant growth, contains a large variety of organic components, and supports plant growth exceptionally well. • Soil consists of 50% mineral matter and up to 5% organic matter. • Soil formation is a painfully slow process; soil takes millions of years to form. (Withgott, Brennan, 2005, p.228) • Parent material, like bedrock or lava, is broken down by weathering to form soil. Eventually, the soil is colonized by biotic factors and contributes to the ecosystem

  9. Soil as a System Cont. • Soil first becomes rich in nutrients by the decomposition of organic matter • Usually, the leaves of trees are broken down, which is followed by the waste from animals • Soil with a high humus content—a type of soil riddled with complex organic matter– is excellent for plant life.

  10. References • Brennan, Scott R., Jay Withgott. 2005. Environment: The Science behind the Stories. 4th ed. San Francisco: Pearson/Benjamin Cummings. Print. • Picture 1http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/11/09/no-till-farming-is-on-the-rise-thats-actually-a-big-deal/

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