GCSE Geography | Intensive Farming and the Environment

Geography Quiz - Intensive Farming and the Environment (Questions)

Intensive farming boosts food production, but it can damage the environment. This GCSE Geography quiz explores the benefits, costs, and challenges of farming more from every field.

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Fascinating Fact:

Some intensive systems use a lot of energy, for example in greenhouses, refrigeration, and transport, which can increase greenhouse gas emissions.

In GCSE Geography, intensive farming is studied to understand how high yields are achieved and what this means for soils, water, wildlife, climate change, and the long-term health of rural areas.

Key Terms

Intensive farming: Farming that aims for very high yields per hectare by using more inputs such as machinery, fertilisers, pesticides, and labour.
Greenhouse gas emissions: Gases like carbon dioxide and methane released into the atmosphere that trap heat and contribute to climate change.
Sustainable agriculture: Ways of farming that meet today’s food needs while protecting soils, water, and ecosystems for future generations.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is intensive farming in GCSE Geography?

In GCSE Geography, intensive farming is a system that uses high levels of inputs such as fertiliser, pesticides, technology, and labour to produce very high yields from a relatively small area of land.

How does intensive farming affect the environment?

Intensive farming can cause soil erosion, water pollution from fertilisers and slurry, loss of biodiversity from hedgerow removal and pesticide use, and extra greenhouse gas emissions from energy use and livestock.

How can intensive farming be made more sustainable?

It can be made more sustainable by reducing chemical use, improving slurry and manure management, planting hedgerows, using renewable energy on farms, and adopting methods like precision farming to cut waste.

Try These Related Quizzes

How did the pesticide DDT affect birds of prey?

[ ]	It reduced the amount of prey available, leading to a fall in numbers and fewer offspring
[ ]	It built up in the food chain poisoning the birds of prey
[ ]	The reduction in harmful insects allowed natural areas to flourish, meaning the birds had more prey
[ ]	Ingestion of the pesticide reduced the harmful pathogens in the birds of prey

How does pesticide use impact biodiversity?

[ ]	It reduces biodiversity
[ ]	It only removes harmful pests
[ ]	It increases biodiversity
[ ]	It reduces the number of weeds which are a food source for various harmful insects

How can providing homes for insects reduce the need for pesticides?

[ ]	Providing homes for insects provides homes for the crop pests, stopping them coming into the fields
[ ]	Providing homes for insects gives them better living conditions so they will need to eat less
[ ]	Providing homes for insects allows natural predators of crop pests to thrive to help keep them under control
[ ]	Providing homes for insects draws them to gardens and parks rather than to crops in fields

Hydroponics is often discussed as a viable alternative to other methods of farming. What is Hydroponics?

[ ]	Plants are grown in lakes and streams and left to their own devices
[ ]	Plants are grown in special soils in greenhouses
[ ]	Plants are grown inverted to allow gravity to assist in their growing, meaning that they need less energy to grow stems
[ ]	Plants are grown using water containing the minerals required, rather than in soil

What is battery farming?

[ ]	Farming animals indoors in small spaces, sometimes only conforming to the legal minimum space
[ ]	Putting chickens in cages
[ ]	Allowing animals access to the outside whenever they want
[ ]	Using genetically modified animals

One form of biological pest control is to release a natural predator into the area. Cane toads were released in parts of Australia for this reason and have now multiplied so much that they have become a threat to the original ecosystem. Why have Cane Toads been able to expand like this?

[ ]	People kept the toads as pets, then released them when they were no longer wanted
[ ]	The huge numbers of beetles on sugar cane crops gave the toads an unlimited food supply
[ ]	There was a lack of natural predators for the toads, and plentiful food sources with no defences against them
[ ]	The climate suited the cane toads better than it did the native species

Weeding is often done on organic farms to remove plants that might out compete the crop. What is the disadvantage that means this is impractical on intensive farms?

[ ]	It is too labour intensive
[ ]	No quality control
[ ]	People have to walk on the soil and will damage the crop roots
[ ]	People may remove crops rather than weeds by mistake

What might a fungicide be used for?

[ ]	To remove pests that prey on mushrooms
[ ]	To remove mould
[ ]	To kill insect pests on general crops
[ ]	To remove weeds

Aphids often attack orchards and weaken tress, reducing the fruit crop. Which of the following is a method used to control aphids?

[ ]	Applying a good quality pesticide is the only way to remove the aphids
[ ]	Destroying the trees and burning all affected leaves, or using of powerful pesticides are the only ways to remove the aphids
[ ]	Washing them off the plant, applying a pesticide or releasing more ladybirds
[ ]	Introducing a species of predatory ant, or applying a pesticide

10.

Which of the following is a way that battery farming cattle reduces global warming?

[ ]	By reducing the amount of greenhouse gases released by cows
[ ]	By stopping the destruction of trees and plants by cattle
[ ]	By reducing the need to transport food to the cattle
[ ]	By reducing the amount of energy the cattle use

Geography Quiz - Intensive Farming and the Environment (Answers)

How did the pesticide DDT affect birds of prey?

[ ]	It reduced the amount of prey available, leading to a fall in numbers and fewer offspring
[x]	It built up in the food chain poisoning the birds of prey
[ ]	The reduction in harmful insects allowed natural areas to flourish, meaning the birds had more prey
[ ]	Ingestion of the pesticide reduced the harmful pathogens in the birds of prey

Small birds feeding on crops picked up small doses of DDT, too small to kill them. By catching and eating the small birds, the birds of prey picked up enough small doses to count as a large dose, large enough to be lethal. This is called bioconcentration. DDT was the first chemical to be widely used as a pesticide. However, later tests showed up to 99% of humans had DDT breakdown products in their systems and girls exposed to DDT before puberty were 5 times more likely to develop breast cancer in later life

How does pesticide use impact biodiversity?

[x]	It reduces biodiversity
[ ]	It only removes harmful pests
[ ]	It increases biodiversity
[ ]	It reduces the number of weeds which are a food source for various harmful insects

The use of various pesticides is a suspected reason for colony collapse - a situation in which bee colonies die off. Since a huge portion of the world's food crops rely on bees to pollinate them, without bees there will be a massive reduction in food production

How can providing homes for insects reduce the need for pesticides?

[ ]	Providing homes for insects provides homes for the crop pests, stopping them coming into the fields
[ ]	Providing homes for insects gives them better living conditions so they will need to eat less
[x]	Providing homes for insects allows natural predators of crop pests to thrive to help keep them under control
[ ]	Providing homes for insects draws them to gardens and parks rather than to crops in fields

Hedgerows and insect lodges allow biodiversity which helps natural predators to increase and so reduces the need for pesticides

Hydroponics is often discussed as a viable alternative to other methods of farming. What is Hydroponics?

[ ]	Plants are grown in lakes and streams and left to their own devices
[ ]	Plants are grown in special soils in greenhouses
[ ]	Plants are grown inverted to allow gravity to assist in their growing, meaning that they need less energy to grow stems
[x]	Plants are grown using water containing the minerals required, rather than in soil

Hydroponics and aquaponics are seen as being a practical alternative to growing crops in soil. Without soil, many of the microorganisms that attack plants are removed

What is battery farming?

[x]	Farming animals indoors in small spaces, sometimes only conforming to the legal minimum space
[ ]	Putting chickens in cages
[ ]	Allowing animals access to the outside whenever they want
[ ]	Using genetically modified animals

Farming animals indoors can be done in healthy and humane ways, but there are some serious health and ethical concerns about the space and conditions of battery farming

[ ]	People kept the toads as pets, then released them when they were no longer wanted
[ ]	The huge numbers of beetles on sugar cane crops gave the toads an unlimited food supply
[x]	There was a lack of natural predators for the toads, and plentiful food sources with no defences against them
[ ]	The climate suited the cane toads better than it did the native species

To combat the spread of the cane toads is a massive problem for Australia. There is a call for natural diseases to be released that will reduce cane toad numbers, but these may well harm the native amphibian population

Weeding is often done on organic farms to remove plants that might out compete the crop. What is the disadvantage that means this is impractical on intensive farms?

[x]	It is too labour intensive
[ ]	No quality control
[ ]	People have to walk on the soil and will damage the crop roots
[ ]	People may remove crops rather than weeds by mistake

The cost of the labour to remove the weeds by hand means that organic crops can cost up to eight times as much as non-organic ones

What might a fungicide be used for?

[ ]	To remove pests that prey on mushrooms
[x]	To remove mould
[ ]	To kill insect pests on general crops
[ ]	To remove weeds

When looking at the names fungicide, pesticide or herbicide the name of the target - fungi, pest and herb (plants) - is followed by '-icide'. This means 'to kill' and is also found in other words such as homicide (killing a person) or regicide (killing a king)