第二章农业生态系统精品.pptVIP

PESTICIDES ·Pests tend to be r-selected species with rapid growth rates. They therefore tend to evolve resistance very quickly. Most important insect pest species have evolved resistance to all major insecticides. The same has happened for weeds and herbicides. This leads to the pesticide treadmill. (resistance is not the same as immunity) Temporary solution: transfer genes from weeds to crops. This exacerbates the pesticide treadmill in the long run. Predatory animals are more K-selected, and cannot evolve resistance to pesticides quickly enough. Toxins accumulate at each level in the food chain, and thus have a large effect on predators. This is the reason for the decline of birds of prey. Pesticides are present in rainfall samples wherever they have been measured. Pesticide in rain is a negligible direct health risk for humans, but the effects on the ecosystem are unknown. There is great promise in controlling pests by biological and cultural (physical) controls. The problem is that such controls are more information-intensive. Agriculturalists must study the life histories of all beneficial and harmful species. Extension agents must know population biology and community ecology. FERTILIZER Because of this, humans control more than half of all nitrogen fixation. Anthropogenic nitrogen fixation is extremely energy intensive, thus affecting the carbon cycle through fossil fuel use. Nitrates escaping into groundwater have serious health effects (blue babies) Nitrogen is the most limiting nutrient in most agroecosystems. Runoff of N and P into streams causes eutrophication. Fertilization by N, P, and K causes higher yields, but when plants are removed, many cations (esp. Ca and Mg) are removed. This increases the acidity of the soil (big problem in OK). SOIL EROSION Exposing bare soil to the elements and decreasing infiltration rates causes wind and water erosion. Conservation Reserve Programs, low-till techniques, increasing organic matter, and plant