Environmental Science Land Use and Soil 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is urban heat island effect?
- Higher temperatures in urban areas due to impervious surfaces and waste heat (Correct answer)
- Flooding caused by paved surfaces in cities
- Air pollution trapped over cities
- Increased wind speeds in urban canyons
Correct answer: Higher temperatures in urban areas due to impervious surfaces and waste heat
Urban areas are warmer than surrounding rural areas because paved and built surfaces absorb more heat and lack evaporative cooling.
Question 2: Which conservation tillage practice involves planting directly into previous crop residue without plowing?
- Contour plowing
- Strip cropping
- No-till farming (Correct answer)
- Terracing
Correct answer: No-till farming
No-till farming leaves crop residue on the surface, reducing erosion, improving soil structure, and sequestering carbon.
Question 3: What is a brownfield site?
- Agricultural land left fallow for a season
- Abandoned or underused industrial property with potential contamination (Correct answer)
- A wetland converted to farmland
- A strip-mined area undergoing reclamation
Correct answer: Abandoned or underused industrial property with potential contamination
Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized industrial or commercial properties where redevelopment is complicated by actual or suspected contamination.
Question 4: Which farming system integrates trees and shrubs with crops or livestock for ecological and economic benefits?
- Monoculture
- Hydroponics
- Agroforestry (Correct answer)
- Aquaculture
Correct answer: Agroforestry
Agroforestry combines trees with crops or livestock, improving soil health, water retention, and carbon sequestration.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of the U.S. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)?
- Subsidizing organic farming transitions
- Paying farmers to remove highly erodible land from production (Correct answer)
- Funding irrigation infrastructure
- Protecting wetlands from drainage
Correct answer: Paying farmers to remove highly erodible land from production
CRP pays farmers annual rental payments to take environmentally sensitive land out of crop production and plant conservation cover.
Question 6: What is soil erosion's most significant agricultural impact?
- Increased soil pH
- Loss of nutrient-rich topsoil reducing crop productivity (Correct answer)
- Increased soil water retention
- Improved soil aeration
Correct answer: Loss of nutrient-rich topsoil reducing crop productivity
Topsoil loss removes the nutrient-rich upper layer where organic matter and soil organisms concentrate, reducing agricultural productivity.
Environmental Science Land Use and Soil 2
What is urban heat island effect?