Land use and Agriculture in Italy

1. In terms of Italy's land use, about 31% of Italy's land is used for agriculture purposes (23% for arable land, replanted crops and 8% for permanent crops). The other 69% is for the other two, urban and forestry, the percents being about 38% and about 31% respectively.

2. Monoculture

Pros

• Maximium profit from the growing of margin crops

• Reduced plant competiton on nutrients, space and solar radiation

• Control of undesirable organisms

Cons

• Depeltion of nitrogen levels in the soils

• Damage to the environment

• Lower amount of food being produced per acre of land

Slash and Burn Agriculture

Pros

• Source of food and income when used properly

• Ability to farm in place where it usually isn't possible due to dense vegetation or soil infertility

• More useful/less harmful when practiced on a small piece of land

Cons

• Can cause temporary or permanent loss of forest cover

• Can lead to lack of water in the soil which can lead to erosion

• Loss of biodiversity which can make certain species living in those areas become extinct

Polyculture

Pros

• Reduced susceptibility towards diseases (makes pesticides redundant)

• Local biodiversity in the region increases

• Higher amount of food being produced per acre of land

Cons

• Harvests take longer than other methods

• Harder to calculate income and profits gained from results

• Expensive cost of seeds and heavy potential of seed loss, harming profits

3. Italy generally uses the monoculture format in its agriculture. Thanks to the amount of water surrounding the Italian peninsula as well as in the soil itself, Italy is one the leaders in high quality fruit and vegetables, such as tomatoes and apples. Italy's current state of agriculture is still good, but has weakened slightly over the years.

Water use in Italy

1. I found the video that we watched on Wednesday to be quite shocking on how third world countries were being treated by companies like Nestle and Suez. I was  also a bit angry how the people in those countries had to rely on other sources because water from those companies was so expensive. I was also disgusted by the polluted water that these people in these countries were having to drink.

2. Italy main issue with water is the fact that most of the water is polluted with contaminants, which has been an ongoing issue since 1976. This is due to the millions of tons of solid waste that is produced in Italy every year, putting many at risk. It has affected the lakes in Italy as well, such as in the Lagilo beach area, where the bacteria levels are over 65% higher than normal. This means you could attract skin infections and worse by just going for a swim.

Irrigation

From the most common three types of irrigation that farmers use, I believe that farmers should use is the drip irrigation system mainly for its practicality. The drip irrigation system is very good in the double fact that it's portable, and can cover your entire field, where as with certain sprinkler systems only cover the entire area in a circular radius. It is also the best option if you're growing onions or celery. It's downsides however are the fact that they can be difficult to repair.

Land subsistence in the SW USA

a) Land subsistence in the SW US has been getting worse for many reasons. One big reason is their locations, with them not being near lakes and basically being in the desert. This forces them to use the groundwater. Another one is their lack of precipitation. Without much rain, places in those areas don't get lakes or dykes where water will build up. Another one is the growing population in those areas. More people means more water being used. Finally, the water being used is being wasted by silly things like watering your lawn or in the toilet.

b) The impacts of this are pretty worrying. Impacts by this would include change of the elevation in certain areas (ie the land dropping), failure of well casings because of forces by compaction, damage to buildings and damage to other things like roads, bridges, sewers and railroads.

c) Some ways I believe that these areas can lower future land subsistence is by using less water from their aquifers, creating lakes in the not as hot areas of the area, and recycling used water to be used again.

Deforestation in Italy

1. Deforestation has been practiced in Italy since the Roman times, and is widely quoted as a example in man-made deforestation. Sicily is generally the place in Italy where most of the deforestation happens, when it was a agricultural area.

2. Environmentally, deforestation has hit the hardest. The loss of trees in the regions of Italy had dampened the climate, leading to rivers drying up and less rainfall. Less crops were grown in fields and pastures, harming the wild fauna. Socially, this harms the local lumberjacks. With no trees to be cut, they have no job basically.Local farmers also take a hit with crop turnouts lowering. Economically, Italy has to import lumber for their needs since materials in the country are lacking. Sometimes Italy has to import foods in certain areas because of the crop turnout.

3. I find that deforestation is more of a threat in Italy than in Canada because of the amount of trees harvested. Italy has been cutting down trees since the Roman times, meaning a lot more trees have been eliminated than in Canada. Deforestation rates are also higher in Italy than in Canada. Italy also has to rely on imports of lumber due to the amount of deforestation where as Canada does not, in fact, Canada probably supplies Italy with lumber anyway. Finally, Canada is at a less of threat than Italy as it sustains its forests better, with things like replanting trees and keeping other forests out of bounds from cutting.

Aquaculture

1. Aquaculture is the breeding and harvesting of plants and animals aquatic environments such as rivers, lakes, oceans and ponds. There are two main types, marine aquaculture which produces mainly oysters, clams, mussels, shrimp and salmon. It also produces lesser amounts of fish like cod and yellowtail. The other one is freshwater aquaculture, which produces certain species only native to freshwater areas, such as trout and bass. It primarily takes place in ponds.

2. Social

Pros

1) Supplies jobs for many people.

2) Supplies a reliable source of protein.

3) Supplies a global demand for seafood.

Cons

1) Unable to make fish farms in certain spots due to waters not accepting certain species.

2) Noisy area to work at, and to live by in general.

3) Threatens fishermen livelihood.

Environmental

Pros 

1) Reduces pressure on certain species of fish, helping their life cycle.

2) Puts more emphasis on protecting costal waters from pollution.

3) Many species bred on a fish farm stay on the fish farm.

Cons

1) Can cause disease and parasites to transfer from one species to another.

2) Can pollute water systems with things such as chemicals and antibiotics.

3) Can possibly compromise the aesthetic beauty of coastlines.

Economic

Pros

1) Can increase revenue at a city, state/province and national level.

2) It encourages local investment.

3) Reduces the seafood trade deficits than countries have.

Cons

1) Can be an unpredictable enterprise for small communities due to vulnerability to things like severe weather.

2) Some fish farms operate outside legal restrictions.

3) Can be as expensive to run a fish farm in a community.

3. I find that aquaculture in general is a bad thing in my view, from a environmental standpoint mainly. Fish farming is very polluting towards the environment in many spots such as in the waters and coastlines. In fact, it possibly can ruin the aesthetic beauty of coastlines. It is also very expensive to run and can be very unpredictable in its supply. Sure it will give jobs, but many companies may lose money if the weather doesn't cooperate with them. The only thing I could say that maybe ok about aquaculture would be that it protects some species like seaweed and certain fish species, but they may be interbred with other species, causing more problems. All in all, I believe that aquaculture is a bad idea and should be gotten rid of, or changed.