The
world's food supply is one potential limiting factor to human
population growth. The per capita food production is dropping
in some areas of the world and the world average per capita
food production is dropping, as well. This means there is
less food available per person than there was just a decade
ago. Many countries, such as China, cannot produce enough
food to keep pace with population growth and increased consumption.
In Chapter 11,
we will discuss agroecosystems, how much land is devoted to
agriculture, how water availability limits food production,
how advances in modern agriculture can improve food production
and how the growth of the human population causes deterioration
of agroecosystems that support that population.
The landscapes
of the arable portions of the Earth have been greatly altered
by agriculture. The Mediterranean, portions of northern Europe
and population centers of east Asia have been drastically
affected by overgrazing and intensive crop production. The
effects of these and other agricultural processes are not
only local but global, as well.
In Chapter 12,
we will look at the environmental impacts of agriculture.
Agriculture is necessary for the survival of human cultures,
but there are environmental effects. One such impact is a
reduction of biodiversity. Ecosystems with a relatively high
biological diversity are replaced with agroecosystems with
a relatively low biological diversity. Other problems such
as a recuction of soil fertility, increased erosion, deforestation,
and pollution also result from some agricultural practices.
As the demands
for agricultural products increase, so to will the stress
on the natural resources. Only through a combination of government
regulation, incentive programs, and personal initiative by
farmers can natural resources be sustained and the environmental
impacts of agriculture be minimized.
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