Reference no: EM133204533
What is soil? What is it made of? Why is it crucial to terrestrial (land-based) life?
What are the various soil horizons? From which horizon does most of our food come from?
What are threats to soil conservation?
Which agricultural practices led to the "Dust Bowl" in the U.S. in the 1920s and 30s?
What is desertification and what can be done to mitigate it's effects?
What are the risks of over watering?
From the "Exploring Science" section, understand what Terra Preta is and how it was developed in contrast to the surrounding Amazonian soil.
What are some of the prescribed conventional agricultural practices that can be used to increase soil carbon? (page 210)
Understand the differences between fungicide, herbicide, and insecticide. Which of these pesticides is most commonly used now in the U.S.?
How is Darwin and Wallace's idea of Natural Selection related to the use of pesticides in agriculture? Hint, why do pesticides work so well initially and then begin to lose their effectiveness?
What implications do pesticides have for human health?
What does it mean for food to be produced "Organically"?
What are biological control agents? Why might they be preferrable to chemical pesticides?
What role do consumers play in determining which food items are grown commercially and by which processes?