AP Environmental History & Human-Nature Interactions Flashcards
6 cards from real AP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 AP Environmental History & Human-Nature Interactions flashcards as text
The introduction of New World crops—especially potatoes and maize—to Europe and Asia after 1500 had what primary demographic effect?
Answer: Fueled significant population growth by providing high-calorie, adaptable food sources
Calorie-dense New World crops supported population explosions in Europe, China, and Africa, helping global population grow from roughly 500 million to over 1 billion by 1800.
What term describes the process by which European colonizers transformed colonial landscapes by introducing their familiar plants, animals, and farming practices?
Answer: Ecological imperialism
Historian Alfred Crosby coined 'ecological imperialism' to describe how European biota—weeds, pests, livestock—accompanied colonizers and transformed colonial environments.
The near-extinction of the American bison in the 19th century was primarily caused by:
Answer: Commercial hunting to supply hides and bones to Eastern markets, often with government encouragement to undermine Plains Indians
Commercial hunters slaughtered an estimated 30–60 million bison between 1870 and 1890, with US government support intended to destroy Plains Indian subsistence.
Which environmental consequence was most directly associated with sugar plantation agriculture in the Caribbean after 1500?
Answer: Widespread deforestation to create plantation fields and supply fuel for sugar processing
Sugar plantations required clearing forests for fields and enormous amounts of wood to boil cane juice, stripping Caribbean islands of their original forest cover.
The Irish Potato Famine (1845–1852) illustrates which environmental history concept?
Answer: The dangers of monoculture agriculture and crop genetic uniformity
Ireland's dependence on a single potato variety (Lumper) left its food supply vulnerable to the Phytophthora infestans blight, causing mass starvation and emigration.
China's 'Great Leap Forward' (1958–1962) is an example of environmental history because it:
Answer: Caused massive environmental destruction through forced collectivization and deforestation for steel production, contributing to famine
Policies like cutting forests for backyard furnaces, sparrow extermination campaigns, and forced cropping quotas damaged ecosystems and contributed to a famine killing 15–55 million.