Discuss some of the ways humans are affecting global soils
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: Soils are at the interface between the lithosphere and biosphere, and is a critical regulator of the hydrologic cycle. The quality and quantity of soil is being transformed by erosion, accelerated by cultivation. Erosion removes the uppermost part of the soil, which is usually the most fertile part. This removes both nutrients and the ability to store them.
In many agricultural regions, topsoil loss has ranged from 1 or 2 inches to 4 inches to a foot or more. Desertification, a process by which semiarid vegetation and soil become more desert-like as a result of human use, has occurred in semiarid lands around the world. As a result, many fewer animals can be supported by the available forage. Even though the climate of these regions has not yet seemed fundamentally altered, the land appears more desert-like than it did before excessive exploitation by humans.
Worldwide, large amounts of organic carbon are stored in soils, but agricultural activities have contributed to the loss of that organic carbon from soils. Some of this carbon has been buried with sediments eroded from farm fields, and some has been broken down and may have contributed to increased atmospheric CO2. Improved farm management practices that conserve soil also help restore soil organic matter, and are being promoted as a way to offset emissions of carbon to the atmosphere.
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Lord Kelvin calculated Earth was 20-400 million years old. Why was he wrong?
a. He didn’t account for the erosion of sediments. b. He didn’t account for the presence of salt deposits. c. He wrongly assumed the oceans were initially fresh. d. His thermometer was incorrectly calibrated.
e. He didn’t know Earth had an internal heat source.According to the UN, Russia's HDI is less than half of that of the U.S
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
What is a structure formed by the upward arching of layers called?
a. monocline b. syncline c. anticline d. Patsycline e. formation
Which of the following is true regarding the depletion of ozone in the ozonosphere?
A) The depletion is restricted to the arctic and antarctic regions. B) It results from chemical reactions with chlorine derived from CFCs. C) It results from the burning of fossil fuels. D) The notion that ozone is being depleted as a result of human activity has little scientific evidence to support it.