Agricultural Impacts Quiz

Vegetation is usually cleared to facilitate agriculture. Which TWO impacts are identified here?

• Global Warming

• Pollution

• Deforestation

• Land Development

Industrialized agriculture is often referred to as "high input" because it requires a great deal of:

• pesticides
• fertilizers
• fossil fuels
• all of these 

Repeated application of irrigated water in dry climates leads to...

• a drop in productivity of the land by more than 10%, leading to desertification
• a build up of nutrients, leading to increased levels of erosion
• a build up of salts in the soil, leading to salinization
• decreased phosphorus and nitrogen, leading to eutrophication

The use of synthetic fertilizers can increase crop yield, but also

• destroy nitrifying bacteria in the soil
• increase nutrient runoff into nearby surface waters
• slow the release of organic nutrients from compost
• increase fish populations in nearby streams

All of the following are disadvantages of raising animals in feedlots, EXCEPT

• less land use
• uses more water
• produces large amounts of animal waste
• increased antibiotic use

Which of the following are harmful effects of agriculture?

• Algal blooms due to fertilizer runoff
• Climate change associated with methane emissions from livestock and rice paddies
• Pesticide residue in food, water, and air
• All of the above

Which of the following best describes a genetically modified organism (GMO)?

• An organism that has been selectively bred for the best traits
• An organism that contains foreign DNA
• An organism that is produced after exposure to a mutagen.
• An organism that has been cloned

All of the following are benefits of pesticide use EXCEPT

• disease control
• crop protection
• genetic resistance
• lower food costs for consumers

The development of dangerous strains of bacteria is a result of which agricultural practice...

• using herbicides in large scale grain farming

• growing crops that are genetically modified for increased yields

• increasing the use of legumes into crop rotation protocols

• incorporating the use of antibiotics into the feeding regimes of densely concentrated livestock

When toxic chemicals end up on the land or in water, they can be absorbed by producers. When these chemicals are passed through the trophic levels of a food chain, the chemicals become more concentrated. This describes which of the following?

• Biomagnification

• Invasive Species

• Eutrophication

• Urban Sprawl