DP Environmental Systems and Societies Questionbank

The soil system includes storages of inorganic nutrients.

Identify two inputs to these storages.

The soil system includes storages of inorganic nutrients.

Identify two outputs from these storages.

State the soil texture that has the following composition: 20 % clay; 55 % silt; 25 % sand.

Describe how the addition of sand to a silty clay loam could alter its characteristics for healthy plant growth.

Draw a flow diagram to show the flows of leaching and decomposition associated with the mineral storage in the “A” horizon in Figure 2(b).

Identify one other input to the mineral storage in the “A” horizon in Figure 2(b).

Identify one other output from the mineral storage in the “A” horizon in Figure 2(b).

Outline one climatic and one edaphic (soil) factor which affect the final climax community in an ecosystem.

Outline how soil can be viewed as an ecosystem.

Outline two reasons why loam soils are the most productive for plant growth.

Outline two ways in which the soil quality in the pioneer stages of the succession model shown in Figure 1 will differ from that in the climax ecosystem.

Identify one example of an output to the atmosphere from the soil system.

Describe two characteristics of soil with high primary productivity.

With reference to four different properties of a soil, outline how each can contribute to high primary productivity.

Outline the processes involved in the formation of fertile soils from bare rock.

Describe the relationship between harvested area and grain production as shown in the resource booklet, Figure 8.

With reference to Figure 8, outline two reasons for the relationship between the area used for grain production and the quantity of grain produced.

Identify two strategies that could be used to grow crops in areas of high water stress.

The provision of food resources and assimilation of wastes are two key factors of the environment that determine its carrying capacity for a given species.

To what extent does the human production of food and waste each influence the carrying capacity for human populations?

With reference to Figures 4(a), 4(b) and 4(c), outline two reasons why a change from tavy agriculture to agroforestry may be more sustainable.

Quantitative models are frequently constructed to show the flow of energy and cycling of matter in natural systems.

To what extent can these models be useful in assessing the sustainability of named food production systems?

Explain how organic waste may be an effective fertilizer in terrestrial systems but a source of pollution in aquatic systems.

Explain two examples of soil degradation and the appropriate soil management strategies from a named farming system.

Evaluate the proposal to convert an area of tropical rainforest into agricultural use.

Explain how the inequitable distribution of natural resources can lead to conflict.

Discuss strategies that can be used to improve the sustainability of food production systems.

Discuss the consequences of changing global per capita meat consumption on the conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity.

Outline one advantage for local populations within the Coral Triangle in harvesting their food from terrestrial agriculture.

Climate can both influence, and be influenced by, terrestrial food production systems.

To what extent can terrestrial food production strategies contribute to a sustainable equilibrium in this relationship?

Technocentrists may support the belief that technological development has always been able to overcome limits to human population growth.

To what extent do the patterns of growth and development in human populations, as demonstrated in the Demographic Transition Model, support this claim?

To what extent is pollution impacting human food production systems?

With reference to Figures 3(c) and 3(d), outline how Hurricane Maria has reduced Dominica’s food availability.

Discuss the effect of hurricanes on the social and ecological development of Dominica.

Discuss how human activities impact the flows and stores in the nitrogen cycle.

Compare and contrast the impact of two named food production systems on climate change.

With reference to Figures 1(a) and 1(b) state the food that has the highest environmental impact.

With reference to Figures 1(a) and 1(b) state the food that has the highest recommended consumption.

Describe the relationship between both pyramids in Figures 1(a) and 1(b).

Identify two environmental impacts associated with producing the foods near the base of the recommended consumption pyramid (Figure 1(a)).

Describe how foods high on the environmental impact pyramid, shown in Figure 1(b), are likely to affect the ecological footprint of global food production.

Outline two reasons why the composition of a typical diet in other regions of the world may differ from the Western European diet shown in Figure 1(a).

With reference to Figures 8(a), 8(b) and 8(c), suggest how urban agriculture could be used to increase the carrying capacity of London.

To what extent is London a sustainable city? 

To what extent can the different environmental value systems improve the sustainability of food production?

With reference to named examples, discuss the significance of diversity in the sustainability of food production systems.

Outline reasons for the changes in the forested areas over the period shown in Figure 7(a).

Explain how the production of cash crops (such as pineapples) may have an environmental impact on soil.

Explain how the production of cash crops (such as pineapples) may have an environmental impact on lakes or rivers.

With reference to Figure 8(c), identify where most of the additional land for growing crops came from between 1986 and 2011.

With reference to the information in the resource booklet, to what extent has Costa Rica’s aim to become carbon neutral led to a more environmentally-sustainable nation?

Solid domestic waste may contain non-biodegradable material and toxins that have the potential to reduce the fertility of soils.

Explain how strategies for the management of this waste may help to preserve soil fertility.

With reference to Figures 6(c), 7(a) and 7(b) explain the problems associated with land restoration in Iceland.

To what extent might Iceland be viewed as a role model for sustainability by other countries?

Outline why leaving arable farmland fallow (unused) between growing seasons could lead to soil degradation.

Quantitative models are frequently constructed to show the flow of energy and cycling of matter in natural systems.

To what extent can these models be useful in assessing the sustainability of named food production systems?

Explain how organic waste may be an effective fertilizer in terrestrial systems but a source of pollution in aquatic systems.

Explain two examples of soil degradation and the appropriate soil management strategies from a named farming system.

Discuss strategies that can be used to improve the sustainability of food production systems.

To what extent is pollution impacting human food production systems?

With reference to Figures 3(c) and 3(d), outline how Hurricane Maria has reduced Dominica’s food availability.

Figure 3(d) shows a landslide caused by heavy precipitation on a steep slope. Outline one technique that could be used by farmers in Dominica to reduce soil erosion.

Discuss the effect of hurricanes on the social and ecological development of Dominica.

Runoff from agricultural land can result in excess nutrients entering water bodies. State one management strategy that could control the release of agricultural runoff.

Identify two environmental impacts associated with producing the foods near the base of the recommended consumption pyramid (Figure 1(a)).

Explain how acid deposition falling on a forest may impact a nearby aquatic ecosystem.

Explain how deforestation in the taiga may impact the world’s oceans.

To what extent can the different environmental value systems improve the sustainability of food production?

Explain how the production of cash crops (such as pineapples) may have an environmental impact on soil.