Human Influences on ecosystems

Q) Describe how humans have increased food production:

 Agricultural machinery to cultivate a large area of land uninterruptedly in comparatively

less time.
 Chemical fertilizers provide minerals and improve yields.
 Insecticides are sprayed onto crops to kill insect pests, that might reduce yields or make
the crop look less appealing.
 Herbicides are used to reduce competition with weeds (plants which compete with the
crop plant for resources like water and minerals)
 Selective breeding to improve production by crop plants and livestock.

Q) Describe the advantages and disadvantages of large-scale monocultures of crop plants:

Advantages:

 Agricultural machinery to cultivate a large area of land uninterruptedly in comparatively

less time.
 Uniform crops are likely to grow at the same height, and ripen at the same time, so can be
harvested uninterruptedly at once using specialized machinery.
 A large area of the crop can be treated with the same herbicides or pesticides in the same
method, ultimately increasing efficiency.
Disadvantages:
Reduction in biodiversity:

 In biodiversity, there are many plants growing in turn supporting many other species living,
but in monoculture only a few species can feed and survive causing many species’ loss of
habitat and making it difficult for other species to find food.
Increase in pests: