1. TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
Agriculture
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS

2. What do you think of when you hear the word… agriculture???

3. TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURE

4. Traditional Agriculture
Agriculture is the practice of growing and raising plants or livestock for food and other human needs
Mechanized agriculture refers to the use of machines that use fossil fuels in order to work
Monoculture is the growth of a single crop on a large area of land
MONOCULTURE
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
Ploughing, fertilizing, applying pesticides and seeding is simpler
Less expensive
Low genetic and biological diversity
Removes soil nutrients
Requires use of synthetic fertilizers
Vulnerable to pests and disease
Require more pesticides and herbicides

5. Synthetic fertilizers
When crops are harvested, the nutrients that have been absorbed by the mature plants are removed from the field with the crop.
These nutrients must be replaced.
The nutrients most often depleted are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
Farmers who use monoculture replace these nutrients with fertilizers.
Scientists estimate that 25% of the world’s food crops are developed because of fertilizers. As the population continues to grow, so will the use of synthetic fertilizers.

6. Effects of synthetic fertilizers
Synthetic fertilizers have a large effect on aquatic ecosystems.
Rainwater dissolves and carry fertilizers to lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water.
Excess nutrients cause algae to grow rapidly causing an algal bloom.
Eventually the algae die and begin to decompose using large amounts of oxygen.
Now there is less oxygen available for other aquatic organisms, such as fish.

7. Synthetic pesticides PESTICIDE PROBLEMS
Pesticides are targeted for one species, but often others are harmed as well (fish, birds, other plants, etc.)
Overtime some pests have become resistant to pesticides
Some pesticides breakdown, but others do not and remain highly toxic
Pesticide drift.
A pesticide is any chemical used to kill or control populations of unwanted organisms (weeds, insects, or fungi).
Synthetic pesticides are man- made.
The goal is to prevent the loss of crops and food supplies to pests or infection.
Pesticides can have a negative effect on the environment.

8. Common Pests in Saskatchewan
Gophers
Grasshoppers
Blackleg (canola)
Smudge (wheat)
Clubroot (canola)
Sclerotinia
Fusarium

9. irrigation Inefficient Inefficient
Irrigation – adding water to an agricultural field to allow certain crops to grow where the lack of water would normally prevent their cultivation.
Canada – 8% of water is used for crops
India – 90% of water is used for crops
Kuwait – 4% of water is used for crops
There are 3 types of irrigation:
1. Surface (flood) Irrigation Spray Irrigation 3. Drip Irrigation
Inefficient
Evaporation
Surface run off
Inefficient
Sprinkler system
Evaporation
Uses pipes with strategically placed openings
Conserves water

10. Genetically modified crops
Genetic engineering involves taking a small section of DNA called a gene from one organism and inserting it into another organism.
An organism with a genetic make-up (DNA) that has been altered by scientists is called a genetically modified organism (GMO)
There are two agricultural methods:
Inserting genes from a bacterium
Kill insects
Called Bt crops
Inserting a gene for herbicide resistance
Crops can be sprayed to kill weeds without damaging the crop

12. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

13. Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is the practice of producing food to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Sustainable agriculture addresses environmental, economic, and social needs throughout the process of food production.

14. Polyculture
Polyculture is an agricultural practice in which diverse species are raised in the same area. This is unlike monoculture, in which only one species is grown in a large area.
Benefits of Polyculture:
Increase biodiversity
Conserve topsoil
Reduced need for water
Less fertilizer and pesticides
Companion planting – planting two or more plant species close to each other so that some benefit occurs
Example: Aboriginal people used the “Three Sisters” (Corn, Beans, and Squash)
The corn provided structure for the beans to grow up; the beans return nitrogen to the soil; and the squash provides dense leaf coverage, which reduces weed growth.

15. Soil conservation
Soil conservation involves reducing soil erosion and maintaining soil fertility
Soil Fertility
Retaining topsoil is the best way to maintain soil fertility
Farmers want nutrient rich soil
Crop rotation is the practice of growing different crops at different times on the same land
Example
Year 1 – grow wheat (removes nutrients)
Year 2 – grow legumes (replaces nutrients)

16. Organic Fertilizers
Compost – produced when microorganisms in soil break down organic matter in the presence of oxygen
Mulch – general term for protective ground cover (manure, wood chips, straw)
Green Manure – produced by growing grasses or legumes on a field and then ploughing it into the topsoil at a later time (this increases the nutrients in the soil for the crop that will be grown next)

17. Integrated pest management
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a system that uses biological organisms, chemical substances, and crop rotation to help keep pest populations under control.
This parasitic wasp is invading the eggs of a European corn borer. The wasp is an example of biological pest control.

18. Sustainable irrigation
Drip Irrigation delivers water directly to the roots of plants.
90% efficiency rate is designed properly.
Reduces fungal diseases because there is less water sitting on the plant leaves.
Drawback – initial cost is greater than other methods.
Recycled water is used in some parts of the world

19. Renewable energy
Another aim of sustainable agriculture is to reduce the use of fossil fuels and replace them with renewable energy sources
Solar power
Wind power
hydropower
Consumers can participate by buying locally grown foods (reduces the amount of fossil fuels used to transport food over large distances)

20. Organic farming
An organic product is one that has been produced without the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, synthetic additives, genetically modified ingredients, or irradiation.
In Canada, organic products must meet strict standards defined by the government.
2% of Canadian farms are certified organic.
It takes 3-5 years for a farmer in Canada to make the change from conventional to organic farming profitable.
Organic foods are becoming increasingly accepted.

21. LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION

22. Methods of Raising Livestock
About 50% of livestock are raised by grazing on rangelands and enclosed pastures
Livestock roam and feed
Grasses, alfalfa, clover, etc.
The other 50% are raised in Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO’s) and feedlots
Industrialized for rapid growth
10,000 hogs, 1 million chickens, 100,000 cattle

23. Advantages and disadvantages of CAFO’s
Increase meat and dairy production
CAFO’s reduce risk of overgrazing
CAFO’s have lower costs
CAFO’s provide employment at the local level
Spread of disease
CAFO’s – animals do not eat their natural foods
CAFO’s – unhealthy living conditions
CAFO’s – require use of antibiotics

24. Raising livestock sustainably
Rotational Grazing – confining animals to a small area of pasture for a short time, before shifting them to a new location.
Mimics the effects of wild herds.
Livestock will feed and fertilize the ground equally.
Smart Pasture Operations (SPO’s) are an alternative to CAFO’s
Animals eat grass, rather than corn and soybean
Less crowded
Less use of antibiotics
Organically raised livestock
Polyculture livestock (rotating between livestock and crops)