4.

1: Engineered Ecosystems and Modern Agriculture

Engineered ecosystems such as farmland and cities make up large portions of the Earth’s land
area.

Modern Agriculture – Unlike other animals, humans obtain very little of their food from natural
ecosystems. Instead, most of our food is produced on large agricultural farms

Agroecosystem – ___________________________________________
Natural Ecosystems vs. Agroecosystems:

Natural Ecosystem Agroecosystem

•Many species interact (high biodiversity) • Lower biodiversity

• Natural cycles are maintained • Cycles are altered by

• Sustainable humans

• Not sustainable

(humans must maintain them)

• Uniform abiotic features

Monoculture: ________________________________________________________________

Most monocultures are not ___________________________________________________. For

example tomatoes are from Central America.

Pest: _________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________
Since monocultures produce a single plant in high density, they are prone to pests that feed on
the crop.

4.2 – Managing the Soil – Controlling the Flow of Nutrients and Water

Soil is a mixture of ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Importance of soil - Provides ______________________________________________________,

and provides, __________________________________________________________________
to plant roots. It also provides a habitat for many microorganisms, fungi and burrowing animals.

Soil is critical to our survival. It provides nutrients and water for plants to grow. Plants form the
bottom of food webs.

Managing Soil Nutrients:

- In Agroecosystems natural nutrient and water cycles are disrupted.
- During farming, crops grow and take up the nutrients from the soil to make plant tissue.
When they are harvested, the nutrients contained in the plants are removed from the
ecosystem. If the farmer does not return nutrients to the farmland, then it will
eventually be depleted of nutrients.

Adding Nutrients Back to Farmland: Fertilizers

Natural Fertilizers – __________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Synthetic Fertilizers – _________________________________________
Synthetic fertilizers are more concentrated, and therefore there is an increased chance of over-
fertilizing.

Environmental Impacts of Fertilizers:

Rain runoff can cause
excess nitrogen to be
dumped into lakes etc:

4.4 Pests and Poisons

Monocultures attract pests. In order to maximize growth of the desired crop, farmers attempt
to eliminate pests. There are no pests in nature, and the term pests is used only in reference to
human wishes.
Examples: Plant pest = weeds (dandelions etc)
Insect pest = Colorado potato beetle, caterpillars
 Rodent pest = mice
Fungal pests = target spot on tomatoes, root rot on beans

● Although pests are a problem for farmers, they are also a concern in forestry. For
example, spruce budworm, the gypsy moth, and
Asian long-horned beetle are examples of tree
infesting/damaging species.

Pesticides: ____________________________________
● Pesticides are classified according to the
pest they control:

Characteristics of Pesticides:
Pesticides can vary greatly in how long they persist in nature and in the number of species they
affect:
● Pesticides that are
_________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Examples:

- ____________was once a widely used synthetic insecticide, and is toxic to most insect species

-______________ is a modern pesticide derived from bacteria, and is highly toxic to caterpillars,
beetle larvae, and fly larvae. It is non-toxic to most beneficial insects.

4.5 Issues with Pesticides

In order to maximize growth of the desired crop, farmers attempt to eliminate pests using
pesticides. A Pesticides is a poison used to kill pests.
Problems with pesticides:

1) _______________________________________________ – disrupting the entire food web

● The pesticide may kill a beneficial predatory species that consumes the target pest. The
pesticide may kill other beneficial species like honeybees. Honeybees are essential in pollinating
crops. As
a result, less fruit will be produced.

● DDT use

3) Bioamplification and bioaccumulation: Some pesticides are long lasting, and fat soluble. This
means they dissolve in fat tissues of the body and remain there for a long period of time.

Bioaccumulation: ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Bioamplification occurs because pesticides have a tendency to accumulate in individual

organism.

Bioamplification: _______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

● A pesticide may accumulate to toxic levels, producing adverse effects.

● In birds, toxic concentrations of DDT interfered with their ability to produce strong
eggshells. As a result, these bird populations decline.

4) Pesticide Resistance: _________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________
● When a pesticide is applied, some individuals are more resistant. These individuals can
survive, reproduce, and pass on their resistance to their offspring.
● The result is a new generation, all of whom are more resistant to the pesticide than the
previous generation.
● To combat this new generation, a farmer must apply a greater concentration of pesticide to
have the same effect.
Practice: Read chapter 4.5 (page 135 - 140) and complete questions 2, - 7 and 9