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Question 1
Compare the "O" and the "A" horizon of the temperate deciduous forest, grassland and the tropical forest soil structure.
a) Which soil horizon is called the organic layer and which soil horizon is characteristic of Topsoil?
b) Which of the three soil horizons has the deepest "A" horizon containing the most Topsoil?
c) Tropical forests are viewed as rich in biomass productivity. Currently, much of the trees in tropical forests are being cut down for establishing cattle ranches. How thick or deep is the tropical forest "O" and "A" soil horizons? Give you best explanation of what natural processes are taking place to explain why this is the case.
d) What do think happens to the soils once the trees are removed in tropical forests? What role do you think trees play in soil formation?
e) How might the soil formation process change if the tree were removed?
f) What are the two main types of traditional agriculture?
g) What do all types of conventional crop production depend on?
Answer:
a) The topmost or the O horizon is known as an organic layer and the A horizon is known as the topsoil.
b) Out of the given three, grassland is the one with the deepest topsoil.
c) The “A” and “O” horizons of tropical forests are not very deep. One of the main reasons is the slower formation of humus or slow humification. It is so because the process of humus formation is slow in podsols.
d) The nutrients are tied up with the trees and as soon as a tree dies or leaf falls and decays, the nutrients are quickly absorbed by other trees. Hence, keeping the topmost thin layer nutrient rich but then it is a thin horizon (Ames, 2001).
Trees have an important part to play in holding up the nutrients in topmost layer and keeping the soil fertile and nourished to a certain extent.
e) Some of the ways in which trees are important to soil are:-
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i. Trees keep the soil knitted closely together and the topsoil is not disintegrated quickly.
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ii. Trees intercept and absorb most of the rainwater which falls on the surface and keep the soil fertile.
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iii. It helps in evading soil erosion
f) The two types of traditional agriculture are (Evans, 2010):-
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a. Extensive farming- It involves a big amount of land and also maintains a good balance of soil fertility via methods such as fallow periods and crop rotation instead of products such as fertilizers or soil alterations.
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b. Intensive farming- It is done on a smaller scale and the labor required for this work is quite substantial for applying on a certain piece of land. Soil fertility is maintained under this farming with the help of several soil amendments such as–manure and composts.
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g) Conventional agriculture depends on making agriculture more efficient in different parts and on different types of soils but it is done at the cost of environment and the main goal is to increase the potential yield of various crops.
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Question 2
State your view point whether you promote concentrated animal feeding operations as a method of protein and meat production. In your discussion you must note at least two advantages and two disadvantages of animal feedlots.
Answer:
It is a practice started by the environmental Protection Agency of United States of America (U.S.A). It is a feeding operation for animals which specifically (Nalboh, 2010):-
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i.) Confines the animals for more than a number of 45 days especially during the growing period.
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ii.) Particularly in areas which do not produce any vegetation.
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iii.) And it also meets particular criteria’s of sizes.
According to me, CAFO can lead to a number of problems related to environment and as well as public health issues. Although, CAFO can also be beneficiary if they are operated and maintained properly but for this it is essential for ensuring their scheduled monitoring for avoiding any harm to the neighboring surroundings. They generate tons of manure each and every year and this can be beneficiary for soil. Moreover, it prevents overgrazing of the top soil.
Different states although have differing strategies for regulating CAFOs but there are certain common actions and steps which all the CAFO’s health boards can take or rather should take necessarily which might be ranging from tedious ones like passing certain regulations which are directed at the CAFOs to simpler ones like increasing the number of air and water quality tests in the surrounding areas (Hendrick, N.D.).
Question 3
Assignment Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO)
The assignment consists of data collection activities of CAFO’s in three states: Colorado, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. You will use the form below to compare the density levels of cattle, dairy, hogs, broilers, and layers across in each state.
Start by going to the website: http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/. It contains a map of the United States with counties shown in more detail. The darker the red color the more dense or more animals per area exist on farms.
1) Click on each state: Colorado, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and record the “Average Number of Animals per Site” for the years 1997, 2002, 2007.
NOTE: If tables are blank assume none.
NOTE: If you move the mouse over the chart the actual number pops up.
2) Submit your data in the table and your answers to the following questions:
a. Which state has the highest average number of broilers per site?
b. Which state has the highest average number of hogs per site?
Answer:
State and Meat
1997
2002
2007
Colorado
Cattle
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7,227
7,712
Dairy
1,061
1,321
1,809
Hogs
18,186
28,811
30,819
Boilers
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-
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Northern Carolina
Cattle
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926
Dairy
806
891
1,059
Hogs
6,464
6,982
6,276
Boilers
126,317
126,565
152,256
Rhode Island
Cattle
-
-
-
Dairy
-
-
-
Hogs
-
-
-
Boilers
-
-
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a. It is quite clear from the chart that Northern Carolina has the highest number of broilers per site in all the given years and it is increasing rapidly.
b. On the other hand, Colorado has the highest average number of Hogs per site and it is leading the other given states by quite a big margin.
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1) Ames. (2001). Community trees community tree steward program. Retrieved from http://www.extension.iastate.edu/forestry/publications/pdf_files/ctspsoilstrees.pdf
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2) Arboretum, T. Morton. All about soil. Retrieved January 13, 2016, from http://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-and-plant-advice/horticulture-care/all-about-soil
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3) Evans, A. (2010). The two kinds of agriculture. Retrieved January 13, 2016, from http://www.globaldashboard.org/2010/08/19/the-two-kinds-of-agriculture/
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4) Food& Water watch. Factory farm map -. Retrieved January 13, 2016, from http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/#animal:cattle;location:RI;year:2012
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5) Hendrick, S., & Tassin, L. Concentrated animal feeding operations. Retrieved January 13, 2016, from http://www.ncsl.org/research/agriculture-and-rural-development/concentrated-animal-feeding-operations.aspx
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6) NALBOH. (2010). Understanding concentrated animal feeding operations and their impact on communities. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/docs/understanding_cafos_nalboh.pdf
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7) Online registration & ordering. (2010). Retrieved January 13, 2016, from http://www.franklinswcd.org/2013/01/the-importance-of-trees/
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