Environmental Protection

1. Environmental Protection Agriscience II

2. TERMS soil quality water quality land quality air quality air transport water transport Grassed waterway biota drift loess volatilization topography combustion fossil fuel particulates soluble BMP buffer zone cover crop corridor

3. Major Environmental Impacts of Agriculture Soil Quality Water Quality Air Quality

4. Threats to Soil Quality erodibility nutrient supply moisture balance salinity

5. Threats to Water Quality - Groundwater contamination by nitrates and pesticides nutrient runoff pesticide runoff sediment runoff Leaching

6. Threats to Air Quality emission of odors ammonia gases greenhouse gases

7. Air Transport Water Transport Transport via Biota or Living Things How Chemicals Move Through the Environment

8. occurs just beneath the soil surface Carbon Dioxide emissions and methane gas emissions are of great concern. These come from decomposing plant and animal waste such as crop residue and manure Air Transport

9. Volatilization- when a chemical turns from a solid or liquid to a gas transport of chemicals away from a particular site depends on several factors: soil type soil moisture how soluble the chemical in question is in water topography of the land (grade and vegetation) composition of the chemical and how quickly it breaks down and how likely it is to migrate Air Transport

10. Combustion Fires in dry vegetation; example, burning crop stubble. Fossil fuels; coal, oil, petroleum products; example, SO2, CO2, NO. The particulates in the air that are taken in by plants and animals along with these particulates that attach themselves to water vapor and end up as acid precipitation. Air Transport

11. Drift During application of chemicals. Wind erosion of particulate matter. inadequate cover by crops and potential for wind erosion. loess- soils carried by wind Air Transport

12. Soluble components Natural products in soil such as salts, nitrates and phosphates. Sulfur products found in the runoff from mine causing acidic conditions Applied chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides. Erosion Transport of particulate matter in surface runoff. Non-Soluble components sediments- chemicals that can be transported through dredging, excavating, or flooding Water Transport

13. Plant mechanisms Transported plants or animals may carry chemical residues (could be carried by machinery) Bacterial and algal spores; air transport and mechanically, on feed (birds). Insects Flying insects. Transported with agricultural products. Stowaways in the transportation system. Transport via Biota or Living Things

14. Vertebrate animals. In moving from place to place animals may transport diseases (insects, parasites), weed seeds, and chemical residues. This may be short term transfer (as the contents of the intestinal tract), or long term contamination possibility (as with chemical residues stored in tissues, or animals acting as secondary hosts to disease). Transport via Biota or Living Things

15. Fish and aquatic mammals in long range migratory movements. The 3,000 mile sweep of Columbia River Salmon in the Pacific Ocean. Birds in seasonal migration Annual movement of osprey from South America and Caribbean to New Jersey, New England. Mammals. Vertical migration of deer and elk in the Rocky Mountains. Transport via Biota or Living Things - Vertebrates

16. Transport via Biota or Living Things Harvested raw agricultural products Animal feeds; including those of fish, poultry, livestock. Supplies for man; including foods, fibers, and structural materials.

17. Man as transport system Concentration of wastes to locally damaging environmental levels. Having resistance or tolerance for all taken in with foods, use of municipal sewer systems may concentrate chemical residues to harmful levels in the effluent. Harvesting raw agricultural products. Supplemental chemicals not always removed from air and water effluents. Manufacturing and power development. Chemicals not always removed from air/water effluents. Transport via Biota or Living Things

18. Using Best Management Practices To Reduce Potential Effects from Point and Nonpoint Source Pollution

19. Soil Quality Buffer zones- physical separation between a crop and body of water .Keep the soil on site by preventing erosion and other means riparian buffer zones Cover crops and minimal tillage will help keep soil at the original site. They also protect the soil from erosion and reduces sedimentation. Filters runoff waters to reduce pesticide and nutrient loss and helps to maintain organic matter. Using Best Management Practices

20. Water quality reduce the rate of runoff when draining water off of crops in order to reduce sediment that leaves a field and deposited into local waterways. install monitoring wells at discharge points as well as sediment traps to test and determine if chemicals are leaving the application area and in what amounts minimizing overhead spray irrigation will minimize the amount of evaporation that occurs with water loss Using Best Management Practices

21. Air Quality monitoring stations are needed to evaluate the concentration of gasses such as CO2 , methane, and nitrogen that is being emitted. The majority of the percentage of all of these gasses are created naturally. Using Best Management Practices

22. CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS What role can you, the student, play in minimizing your impact on the environment? Is it a good management practice to kill all vegetation with Roundup?

23. REVIEW/SUMMARY Soil, land, water, and air are all effected positively and negatively by their use. As a result systems are forms to reduce the harmful effects. One of the most important points of evaluating any system is its effect on the surrounding environment. What is the environmental impact? Always think about soil, air, and water. Think about the chemicals that you apply to the soil, air, and water and its effects on the surrounding environment. Many systems are established to keep a healthy environment.

24. Application Select one or more of the articles that you believe provides a balanced picture of agriculture and the environment. Explain why. Select one or more articles you believe is not well-balanced. Explain why. Be prepared to discuss your answers in class.

25. What do you believe to be the most important impact agriculture has on the environment in your local area? Be prepared to discuss in class.

26. Experiment: Gather mason jars with various soils. Pour water contaminated with food coloring over the soil. See how long it takes for the soil to leach through the soil.

27. Identify a LOCAL environmental concern you believe will result in a public issue debate. What "characteristics" cause it to be a public issue? Who are the "stakeholders" in the issue? Write a statement that "frames" the issue clearly.