Question

Agriculture is one of the most primitive activities of human which has transformed humans from hunter and food gatherer to a settled cultivator. How this activity has affected the environment?

Answer 1

Land reclamation:

 

The oceans and forests have been cleared out to create more land, so more production can be done. This has resulted in the extinction of many animals, plants and resources. This is simply habitat destruction. The natural eco system has been disrupted due to this. Water resources have declined cause of this.

 

Salinization of soil:

 

By using the excess water in irrigation and land clearing, the level of salt has been raised. This high salted water effects the growth of the plants. This also causes a change in taste of the crops. People also suffer by the improper taste and quality of water and with that the infrastructure gets effected too by using high salted water in production.

 

Deforestation:

 

Government has cleared up much forest area to increase the clear land for ariculture purposes. This has disturbed the life of living organisms. Many animals got extinct, many died and the whole food chain has got affected.

 

Soil pollution:

 

The excess use of chemicals and fertilizers has caused the pollution of soil. The nutrition of soil has been drained and the crops produced in this type of soil merely causes diseases and problems to human beings.

 

Water-logging:

 

The saturation of soil with water has affected the growth of plants, as they do not get enough oxygen. This logging is the another result of salinization of soil. For good crop production, water logging must be reduced.

 

Soil exhaustion:

 

In greed of getting more production from the same soil, the soil gets so poor managed that it results in the exhaustion of soil and it is no longer able to hold an support the crops. So when the crops grow it get destroyed by a little ran or wind.

 

Eutrophication:

 

By the excessive use of fertilizers and chemicals, it starts flowing in the nearby water bodies and results in high nutrition in water resulting in abundant growth of plants in water. These abundant growth uses up the oxygen supply in water and ultimately results in the death o aquatic life.

 

Biomagnifications:

 

Due to clearance of oceans, forest and eutrophication, one species gets more and the other gets less. This results in the disturbance of a whole food chain. So specie that is in abundant do not get enough food to live on and in the end it dies too.

 

Unhealthy environment:

 

All the pollution and low nutritional food results in the diseases in humans and animals who lives on this food.  Artificial fertilization affects the health of human by the ruminant of fertilizer absorbed by the plants

Answer 2

Answer:

★ The development of a society in terms of its primary means of subsistence can be divided into the following stages: Hunter-gatherer, Pastoral,Horticultural, Agrarian, Industrial, and Post-industrial.

• For pastoral societies, the primary means of subsistence are domesticated livestock.
• Pastoralists are nomadic. They can develop surplus food, which leads to higher population densities than hunter-gatherers, along with social hierarchies and more complicated divisions of labor.
• In horticultural societies, the primary means of subsistence is the cultivation of crops using hand tools.
• In agrarian societies, the primary means of subsistence is the cultivation of crops through a combination of human and non-human means, such as animals and/or machinery.
• In industrial societies, the primary means of subsistence is industry, which is a system of production based on the mechanized manufacturing of goods. In post-industrial societies, the primary means of subsistence is service-oriented work, rather than agriculture or industry.
• For horticultural societies, the primary means of subsistence is the cultivation of crops using hand tools.
• For agrarian societies, the primary means of subsistence is the cultivation of crops through a combination of human and non-human means, such as animals and/or machinery.
• In industrial societies, the primary means of subsistence is industry, which is a system of production that is based on the manufacturing of goods.
• In post-industrial societies, the primary means of subsistence is based on service-oriented work, rather than agriculture or industry.
• Changes in the primary means of subsistence can have implications for other aspects of society, leading to developments, such as an increasing degree of specializiation, a greater use of technology and a higher prevalence of inequality.