Water Use in Agriculture

What is Drip Irrigation?

Drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation, is an irrigation method that saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone

What is Sprinkler?

A sprinkler is a device that sprays water and used usually used for watering lawns.

What is Surface Irrigation?

The process of surface irrigation can be described using four phases. As water is applied to the top end of the field it will flow or advance over the field length. The advance phase refers to that length of time as water is applied to the top end of the field and flows or advances over the field length. After the water reaches the end of the field it will either run-off or start to pond!

Pros and cons of Drip Irrigation

Benefits:

·         Concentrating your irrigation to specific plants prevents weeds from germinating nearby

·         Retaining the moisture at the soil level also reduces water loss to wind and evaporation

·         Maintain a healthy soil environment for optimal growth

·         With less runoff into local drains, your soil remains full of critical nutrients

Drawbacks:

·         Improper drip irrigation installation often culminates into poor root development

·         Although irrigation filters stop debris from clogging tubes, your system still needs a periodic flushing to remove mineral buildup.

·         Maintain a consistent mulch covering across your tubing 

Pros and cons of Sprinkler

Benefits:

·         Sprinklers can cover large areas

·         Can work at low pressures, saving energy

·         Time saver

·         Automatic sprinklers offer programmable controllers

·         When there’s enough water on the soil from rain showers don’t need use the sprinkler

Drawbacks:

·         Manual sprinklers require people to open the valve and have to manually set it up each time

·         Water can run off into the yard

·         Certain areas in the yard can be missed for watering

·         Equipment is expensive so to ensure it operates efficiently can cost a lot

·         Need to take care in windy conditions 

Pros and cons of Surface irrigation

Benefits

·         Minimal capital investment or energy costs

·         Less affected by climatic

·         Draw backs

·         Tend to be labour intensive

·         Applying light, frequent irrigation early and late in the season is very difficult.

·         Less efficient than other systems

·         Drainage can also be a problem in some circumstances

I believe the farmer should use the sprinkler method. It may be costly but it can water his or her crops at one time. The sprinkler can cover up more areas of crops for watering. And if he or she decides to get an automatic sprinkler he can set up a time for the plants to get watered. That way the plants are never dehydrated. It saves the farmer’s time so he can worry about other things on his land instead of worrying about if his plants are going to survive or not. 

Case Study: Land subsistence in the American Southwest

Using the links provided as well as your own research, answer the following questions in full sentences. 

a) Describe the causes of land subsistence in the American Southwest and explain why it is getting worse over the past few years. (4 marks)

The common causes of land subsidence from human activity are pumping water, oil, and gas from underground reservoirs, collapse of underground mines and drainage of organic soils.

Over drafting of aquifers is the bigger cause of subsidence in the southwestern United States. As ground water pumping continues the land subsidence will also increase. In many areas ground water is pumped from open spaces that are between sand and gravel. If an aquifer has clay the more water that is pumped from that area the lower the clay will fall. The lowering of land surface elevation can be permanent. 


b) Describe the potential impacts of land subsistence. (4 marks) 

Land subsidizing can cause damages to bridges, roads and railroads. It can cause damages to buildings and forces fine grain materials to enter the aquifer systems. The damage it also costs is changing the elevation state of streams canals and drains. 

c) Outline ways to prevent further land subsistence. (This will require you to think on your own) (4 marks)

When planting trees people should be carful and select their area for planting properly. After they planted the trees they should manage the well being of them to reduce the risk of subsiding.

Trees are a common cause of subsidence because they absorb waster from the soil causing clay particles to dry and shrink.

Having proper maintance of gutters and drains prevent leaks and ensure water is safely diverted away from your house and land. 
Educating town’s people about the effects land subsidence has can be an eye opener for the public. It will make them want to learn how to help lower down and prevent land subsidence. They will be more open to trying new ideas to help save their community.

                                                

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China Landslide

How do landslides occur? 

When earthquakes occur in a certain area with steep slopes many times soil slips causing landladies. Otherwise heavy rainfall can start the result of a massive landslide. 

On August 8 a landslide left a huge impact in Zhouqu, China. According to the Xinhua news it had taken about 1030 peoples lives and over a thousand people have been reported missing. 

So what created this landslide?

The construction of hydroelectric power plants, mining, deforestation had started the landslide. In simpler terms it was a man made disaster! Leaving the heavy rainfall to the side the main reason this landslide occurred is because of the construction of the hydroelectric power pants. 

Why was it so devastating? 

This landslide has  killed over 1030 people because the mud and rock flow crushed or braided hundreds of buildings! There was so much buildup building onto the landslide that the landslide triggered from a small heavy rainfall. This huge landslide buried over 300 buildings, left 66% of the country without power and left many people dead!

Could it be prevented?

After this huge deserter media has been having debts if the landslide could have been prevented. SOme say it could have been controlled if illegal mining was stopped and deforestation was kept to a minim. With such heavy rainfall the public could have been warned about a landslide occurring. Some say it could have not been prevented because who would have known that the landslide was going to happen a free days after the rainfall. I think it could have not been prevented however it could have been predicted. Knowing that theres been mining and deforestation happening. The day it started to rain a lot the public should have been told and encouraged to move further away from the area thats been mined. The area in general was looking vulnerable from seeing all the logging and urban planning that has been happening around it.

Was there a way to warn the locals?

The country has a warning system set in place however was failed to warm the locals.  The system ,being told by an expert, was only made to warm about small local landslides not big ones. There is only basic funding for the warning system so there was not a lot of check points to help detect the landslide coming towards the city. The government could have sent out a civil defence alarm to warm the public or had news channels warning the public once they figured out what was happening. 

Waste Management

1) Research the different ways that your country disposes of waste. Do they use landfills? Incinerators? Something different? (5 marks)
What are incinerators?
It is an apparatus for burning waste material until it is reduced to ash. Indonesia does not use incinerators because the residents voiced their negativity on incinerators.
What is a landfill?
A landfill is a place to dispose waste material by burying it and covering the waste with soil. Indonesia uses landfills but use the application called Geographic Information System to analyze suitable landfill locations. Yet these landfills are open to the public and anyone can access them to throw their garbage away.
In indonesia recycling is a big thing! They recently have aimed to reduce the amount of materials that are being used by recycling or reusing. They have built factories which aim to generate less waste than the factories from 2008!


2) What are some of the challenges that your country faces in terms of waste disposal? ie. Size constraints, growing population. (5 marks)

Indonesian cities are facing problems with managing solid waste.The deadly landslide at the Leuwigajah landfill near Bandung, Indonesia struck on February 22, 2005. During the night, some 2.7 million cubic metres of garbage, hazardous waste, and mud swept like an avalanche through the villages of Cilmius and Cireundeu.

The disastrous swath of garbage traveled almost a kilometre. More than 140 people were killed and at least 69 houses  were destroyed.The tragedy at the Leuwigajah landfill is the most spectacular recent example of Indonesia’s challenges in solid waste management.  There is too much waste in the landfills and something has to be done! Because there is so much poverty there is less sanitation and landfills are mainly open dumps where people throw their garbage. In Bali due to the booming tourism industry there is a lot of plastic trash in the waters. The islands refuse collection in disposal services and aren't able to keep up with the volume of waste and illegally dump that waste. The garbage they dump resurfaces sooner or later on the sand in the beaches where tourists come to enjoy a vacation.

3) Describe some ways that you think your country could improve their waste management strategies. If you think they are perfect (hint: no one is) then explain why you think this. This section will require you to think on your own and create your own argument. (10 marks)

I know  Indonesia is not the perfect country but as of now they are trying to help keep the waste to a minimum. I think instead of having open landfills where people can throw their garbage it should be closed and privates. Basically saying instead of having landfills as open dumps have garbage pick up days like in Surrey! So they can take out the grapage which is recyable and just throw away the nessisicites. Educate is also a key aspect to changing their waste management. Educating people on what compost and recycling is and how it is beneficial can help change Indonesia  The towns people would understand what could happen if they still decide not to recycle or keep the environment cleaner. Otherwise Use machineries to squish the garbage so the landfills are not over flooded. Even after using different types of machinery maybe start burning garbage as it'll reduce the garbage in the area. This process is called incinerating; however  we have to keep in thought that burning garbage is not healthy for us! Have organic and recycling  bins in every corner of the city so people can recycle in ease! There is no system in place to sort, recycle, and reuse their garbage but if one was to be put in place it could impact the environment drastically but  of course in a positive manner!  I think there is a lot my country can do to improve on their waste management strategies. If they do not start reducing their garbage and fixing the waste problem they will have a future filled with health concerns and would be living in a dump. Having a clean environment is necessity not just for humans but for other living organisms as-well!

Hurricane Questions

1)    Find a hurricane/tornado that occurred in your country

No major hurricane or tornado has hit Indonesia; however, typhoons occur regularly. A typhoon is a tropical storm that can hit the Islands of the Indonesia between September and December. They can cause rainstorms and heavy winds. However, not every Typhoon that hits Indonesia is a strong one. No major typhoon hit Indonesia however the Haiyan typhoon hit the Philippines which is near Indonesia. This typhoon were one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded.

 
2) Describe the storm in terms of category, when it occurred, wind speed, etc. 

Its highest wind was 230 km/h and was sustained for 10 minutes. The storm surge was six meters tall; however, in certain areas the storm surge was smaller. It was formed on November 3^rd 2013 and dissipated on November 11 2013. It killed 6,340 died because of the devastation and 1,061 bodies are classified missing. The damaged it caused was about 2 billion dollars in USD.

 3) Describe the social (people), economic (money), physical (impact on the environment/nature) of your storm using as many examples as possible.

This typhoon caused catastrophic damages throughout the islands of Leyte. The actual death toll still remains unclear however they got a rough estimate of 6,340 people. The terminal building of Tacloban airport was destroyed by a 5.2 m high storm. Although the wind speeds were extreme the major causes of damages was due to the storm surge. Haiyan has affected over 13 million people because nearly half a million homes were damaged or destroyed. The storm continued on through the Philippines and progressed to China.  The storm left behind uprooted trees and a lot of carbon dioxide was released by the storm when it uprooted the trees and topsoil.  Because of the typhoon the lack of sanitation, skyrocketing prices and a shattered economy resulted. The damage it caused is around two billion dollars and its clear to state typhoons are natural parts of earths continuing climate change. The Philippines islands are located in a region where climate change can alter rapidly because of the weather and sea levels.

Climate controls

            1) Explain how the different climate controls impact your country


With global warming increasing in the past three decades, changes in precipitation and cycles of droughts and floods triggered by the Australasia monsoon. Which also have damaged agricultural production in Indonesia, causing negative consequences for rural incomes. At the same time, rainfall data in most other areas show increasing trends. However, the rainy season has shortened, ending earlier, while the dry season has become longer. As a result, more rainfall is concentrated in fewer days, resulting in increased flooding. Climate change is predicted to have a significant impact on agricultural production in Indonesia, especially food crops. The impact may be direct, for example, there is less agricultural productivity due to increased air temperature and changes in rainfall patterns. Global warming and climate change in tropical regions can reduce corn yields by more than 40 percent and rice yields by 20 percent if temperature increases by 5°C.

       2) Describe the dominant climate of your country/region. You should include temperature and precipitation characteristics.


Indonesia is basically has a topical climate. There are temperature changes from season to season. Cooler temperatures prevail at higher elevations. In general temperatures fall approximately 1 degree per 90-meter increase in elevation starting from sea level.  Around the costal plains the temperature is usually around 28 degrees Celsius. In the inland and mountain areas it’s about 26 degrees Celsius. The higher mountain regions vary around 23 degree Celsius.  In Indonesia there is more perception in the colder months such as December, January and February. There’s less perception around the fall season. The average perception in January and February is 300mm, in March it is 210mm and in May and June it is 100mm. 

3) Include a climograph for a major city in your country/region.

Rain Questions

Research the following for your country: 

1) Dominant Air mass that impacts your country. Think about the different seasons.

The climate of Indonesia is almost entirely tropical. The uniformly warm waters that make up 81% of Indonesia's area ensure that temperatures on land remain fairly constant, with the coastal plains averaging 28 °C, the inland and mountain areas averaging 26 °C, and the higher mountain regions, 23 °C. Temperature varies little from season to season, and Indonesia experiences relatively little change in the length of daylight hours from one season to the next; the difference between the longest day and the shortest day of the year is only forty-eight minutes. The extreme variations in rainfall are linked with the monsoons. Generally speaking, there is a dry season (June to October), influenced by the Australian continental air masses, and a rainy season (November to March) that is caused by Asia and Pacific Ocean air masses. Local wind patterns, however, can greatly modify these general wind patterns, especially in the islands of central Maluku Seram, Ambon, and Buru. This  annual pattern of wind and rain is related to Indonesia's geographical location as an isthmus between two large continents.

2) The Global wind that mainly impacts your country

The trade winds impact Indonesia. Since Indonesia is basically on the equator the trade winds come in to play. It is a wind blowing steadily toward the equator from the northeast in the northern hemisphere or the southeast in the southern hemisphere, especially at sea. 

3) The type of rain most commonly found in your country. Be sure to explain why that is a common rain. Give specific examples from your country.

Convection rain is commonly found in Indonesia. Convection rain is very common in areas where the ground is heated by the sun such as the tropics. Indonesia is in the tropical area. At night the convection is more active over the sea than over the land because the sea is warmer than land. Under the influence of the maritime area the convectional rainfall is able to occur in the early mornings or after twelve o clock local time.