Food Production

• To cope with growing population , farmers must increase crop yield
• Fertillisers provide chemicals (nitrate) needed to increase crop yield
• Pesticides are used to kill organisms that reduce crop yeild such as plants that compete with crops and animals that eat them
• When crops are harvested nirtate is taken out the soil and needs to be replaced using artificial fertilisers, compost, manure
• GM crops are Genetically modified
• GM crops can be used to reduce the use of fertillisers
• Nirtates dissolved in soil water are absorbed into plants to make amino acids which are used to make plant proteins
• Animals feed on plants or other animals to obtain amino acids for protein synthesis
• Decomposers : bacteria and fungus
• Bacteria and Fungi use dead plants or animals as a energy source. In doing so, the release nutrients back into the ecosystem
• On farms, animals do not die and decompose like they would naturally. Plants are harvsested to be sold. This reduces nirtate levels in soil
• Fertillisers can leach into fresh water which increases nurtient content. This will increase the algal populations which can cause an algal bloom to form. Algal blooms reduce how much light enters the water which kills aquatic plants. The dead plants and algae provide more food for bacteria which increases the number. The bacteria decrease the oxygen concentration reducing how much is avalible for other organisms. This causes a decrease in biodiversity.
• Many pesticides are toxic chemicals that dont break down in the environment
• The toxic build up of chemicals in pesticides is called bioaccumulation
• Biological control is the control of a pest by the introduction of a natural enemy or predator
• Defoestation decreases biodivesity
• Invasive species decrease biodiversity
• Earthquakes decrease biodiversity
• Pollution is anything added to an ecosytem that causes harm and it may decrease biodiversity