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APES 2022 FRQ

The document discusses the environmental impacts of agricultural practices and urban development on water bodies, highlighting issues like eutrophication and dead zones caused by nutrient runoff. It also addresses biodiversity on islands, the effects of invasive species, and the benefits of using plant-derived pesticides. Additionally, it covers the consequences of coal combustion on air quality and water contamination, as well as efficient irrigation methods for water conservation.

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8 views

APES 2022 FRQ

The document discusses the environmental impacts of agricultural practices and urban development on water bodies, highlighting issues like eutrophication and dead zones caused by nutrient runoff. It also addresses biodiversity on islands, the effects of invasive species, and the benefits of using plant-derived pesticides. Additionally, it covers the consequences of coal combustion on air quality and water contamination, as well as efficient irrigation methods for water conservation.

Uploaded by

wanniexwj
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1.

(a)
(i) The Mississippi river watershed region uses the least land for urban
development.
(ii) The excessive runoffs the land used for agriculture, including nitrogen and
phosphorus result in too much nutrition in the water bodies, leading to
eutrophication and algal bloom. The algae growths consume a lot of oxygen in
the water bodies and result in low dissolved oxygen level leftover for other
water organisms. The oxygen level will continue to decline, ultimately
resulting in oxygen depletion and dead zones.
(iii) Gasoline and daily litters (leftover food and detergents) contain nitrogen
and phosphorus, leading to eutrophication effect and algal bloom. Ultimately,
excessive algae consume too much oxygen and result in oxygen depletion
and dead zones.
(b)
(i) The dead zones have no dissolved oxygen to support organisms in the
habitat, leading to massive mortality of organisms due to loss of habitat.
(ii) Since the dead zone result in massive mortality of organisms, like
commercial species of fishes, there may be serious recession in fishing
industry. Additionally, the massive deaths of organisms and their
decomposition result in malodor, leading to recession of tourism industry.
(iii) In summer, higher temperature leads to lower level of dissolved oxygen.
As water molecules move more quickly, oxygen escape from water molecules.
(c)
(i) Installation of riparian vegetation buffers decrease the water nutrient
concentration in one year.
(ii) The study sites without riparian vegetation buffers serve as a control in
contrast to the sites with effects of riparian vegetation buffers.
(iii) The researchers can measure the concentration of fecal coliform, a
component that represent presence of organic matters and nutrients.
(iv) There will be considerably higher concentration of nitrogen and
phosphorus present in the site because CAFOS release a lot of organic wastes
like livestock wastes and feeds.

2.
(a)
(i) Clearings and gardens have the greatest number of lizards.
(ii) There is a negative correlation between mongoose population and lizard
population, as evidenced by more lizard population on mongoose free islands.
(b) The islands with the greatest biodiversity are large in area and close to
continents. In this case, there will be more available resources and more
diverse niches accustomed to different organisms on the island.
(c)
(i) The invasive species are typically generalists and R strategists, rapidly
populating the new habitat and consuming most resources (food, water). The
native species cannot compete with invasive species, leading to smaller
population and ultimately disappearance. In essence, invasive species is a
major cause of species diversity loss.
(ii) Using plant-derived pesticides and introducing controlled number of
natural enemies suggest effective and specific solutions to eliminate pest
population while not resulting in environmental external costs.
(iii) The plant-based pesticides add organic content to soil, improving soil
health and fertility.
(d)
(i) The primary forests can provide lumbar used to manufacture refined
furniture and some plant structures can be used as medicine ingredients.
(ii) On mongoose free islands, converting from primary forests to sugarcane
fields increases the population of lizards.
(iii) Due to genetic uniformity, the attacks of pests and pathogens result in
higher mortality rate among the crops.
(e) Legumes are responsible for nitrogen fixation, converting atmospheric
nitrogen into ammonium, consumable form of nutrition for plants.

3.
(a)
(i) Coal combustion releases NOX, a precursor of ground level ozone formed
under ultraviolet radiation. Ground level ozone result in skin irritation like
sunburns and more severe forms like skin cancer.
(ii) This process can lead to leachate contamination of underground water,
mixing underground water with heavy metals like arsenic and mercury.
(c)
(i) 857,425 – 757,278/757,278 = 13.22%
(ii) 70/1.88% = 37.23 (38 years)
(iii) 90gallons/person*841611people= 75,744,990 gallons
(d)
For instance, the farmers can opt drip irrigation instead of furrow and flood
irrigation. Furrow and flood irrigation waste more than 50% water, in contrast
to 5% of drip irrigation.

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