AP®︎ Environmental Science: Topic 5.3 Flashcards

Mid-20th-century shift to high-yield crops, mechanization, synthetic fertilizers, irrigation, pesticides, and later GMOs that increased food production but also increased resource use and environmental harm

Amount of crop harvested per unit of land, unlike total production, which is the total mass harvested

Father of the Green Revolution who helped develop high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties in Mexico and received the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize

Crop strain bred to produce more harvestable food under favorable conditions, usually with sufficient fertilizer, water, and pest control

Short, sturdy crop variety that directs more growth into grain and is less likely to fall over when heavily fertilized

Falling over of crop stems, especially when tall plants grow heavy after abundant fertilization

Agriculture that applies large amounts of energy, water, nutrients, chemicals, machinery, or capital per unit of land to obtain high output

Harvesting more than one crop from the same land during a single year

Selective breeding crosses chosen parents through sexual reproduction; genetic engineering directly alters DNA and may add genes from unrelated organisms

Organism whose DNA has been altered through genetic engineering to express desired traits such as pest resistance or herbicide tolerance

Replacement or supplementation of human and animal labor with farm machinery, increasing efficiency and potential profit but increasing fossil-fuel reliance

Application of manufactured plant nutrients, commonly nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, to increase growth and yield; unused nutrients can become pollutants

Artificially supplying crops with water to increase and stabilize production, with possible costs including water depletion, salinization, and waterlogging

Accumulation of dissolved salts in soil as irrigation water evaporates

Saturation of soil by excessive irrigation or a raised water table, limiting oxygen available to plant roots

Substance used to kill or control harmful organisms, protecting crop yields but potentially harming nontarget species and selecting for resistant pests

Reliable access to enough safe and nutritious food; greater production can improve it but cannot eliminate hunger caused by poverty, conflict, or unequal distribution