TBLU - Terrestrial Biomes and Land Use Module Overview
Terrestrial Biomes and Land Use
Forests and grasslands cover nearly 60 percent of the global land area. The vast majority of humans live in these biomes, and we obtain many valuable materials from them. Yet, these biomes also are the source of much of the world's biodiversity on which we depend for life-supporting ecological services. How we can live sustainably on our natural resources while also preserving enough nature so these resources can be replenished represents one of the most important questions in environmental science.
Essential Questions
- What are the major threats to a forest ecosystem?
- How should we manage and sustain forests?
- How should we manage and sustain grasslands?
- How should we manage and sustain parks and natural reserves?
- What is the ecosystem approach to sustaining biodiversity?
- Will restoration encourage further destruction and what can you do?
Key Terms
Malnutrition: daily consumption of nutrients is inadequate to maintain health
Undernourishment: people do not consume enough daily nutrients
Over-nutrition: receiving too many calories
Agriculture: growth crops and raising livestock
Traditional agriculture: crops agriculture that used human power, animal power, and simple tools
Subsistence agriculture: enough food is created for the family but not for others
Industrialized or conventional agriculture: agriculture on a large scale, with crop production for many people, and including the use of fertilizer, pesticides, irrigation, seeds, fossil fuels, monoculture, and human power
Desertification: loss of soil productivity that can lead to expansion of deserts and giant dust storms
Green Revolution: more effective farming techniques with the science of newly created crops to increase yields and efficiency.
Monoculture: a field is planted with only one crop
Genetic engineering or genetic modification: changing segments of an organisms' DNA
Genetically modified organisms: in the process of genetic modification, genes from an organism with a desired trait are harvested and spliced into the DNA of an existing organism.
Transgenic organisms: the result of artificially transferring genetic material
Deforestation: the temporary or permanent clearance of large expanses of forests for agriculture or other uses
Salinization: The gradual accumulation of salt in soil, often as a result of improper irrigation methods. Most plants cannot grow in salinized soil.
Drip irrigation or micro-irrigation: A type of water‐conserving irrigation in which pipes with tiny holes bored into them convey water directly to individual plants; also called trickle irrigation
No‐till farming also called conservation tillage: A method of cultivation in which residues from previous crops are left in the soil, partially covering it and helping to hold it in place until the newly planted seeds are established
Crop-rotation: The planting of different crops in the same field over a period of years. Crop rotation reduces mineral depletion of the soil because the mineral requirements of each crop vary.
Intercropping: A form of intensive subsistence agriculture that involves growing several crops simultaneously on the same field
Shelterbelt: A row of trees planted as a windbreak to reduce soil erosion of agricultural land
Organic farming or organic agriculture: Growing crops and livestock without the use of synthetic pesticides or commercial inorganic fertilizers. Organic agriculture makes use of natural organic fertilizers (such as manure and compost) and chemical-‐free methods of pest control
Livestock: The word "livestock" is an umbrella term used for domesticated animals raised in an agricultural environment, with the intent of providing food, textiles, labor, or fertilizer to their owners.
Feedlot: is the final stage of production prior to slaughter with a focus on efficient growth and weight gain of the animals. This is achieved by providing a readily digestible, high-‐energy diet; reducing the amount of energy expended to find food, directing more toward growth, and managing the cattle to minimize stress and health problems.
Timber plantations: Plantation timber production is the cultivation and long-term management of trees on marginal agricultural land. Plantations are generally even-‐aged, planted and managed in rows, consist of a single species (sometimes two or three), and cover a large enough area to provide a suitable return on investment.
Old-growth forest: a forest stand usually at least 180 to 220 years old with moderate-to-high canopy closure; a multi-‐layered, multi-‐species canopy dominated by large overstory trees; high incidence of large trees, some with broken tops and other indications of old and decaying wood (decadence); numerous large snags; and heavy accumulations of wood, including large logs on the ground
Clear-cutting: A forest management technique that involves the removal of all trees from an area at a single time
Shelterwood cutting: A forest management technique in which all mature trees in an area are harvested in a series of partial cuttings over time; typically two or three harvests occur during a decade
Seed-tree cutting method: A forest management technique in which almost all trees are harvested from an area in a single cutting, but a few desirable trees are left behind to provide seeds for the regeneration of the forest.
Rangeland: Land that is not intensively managed and is used for grazing livestock.
Review the terms below.
RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.