Theory question 104
Conservation of Natural Resources(a) Explain the term conservation of natural resources.
(b) (i) List seven methods of soil conservation.
(ii) Name four other natural resources that may be conserved.
(c) State three factors which negatively affect conservation of forest in West Africa.
(d) Describe what happens during the denitrification stage of the nitrogen cycle.
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(a) Conservation of natural resources is the careful management and wise use of resources such as soil, water, forests and wildlife so they are protected from waste and destruction and remain available for future generations.
(b)(i) Any seven: crop rotation; cover cropping; contour ploughing; terracing; mulching; adding manure/compost; strip cropping; afforestation/planting windbreaks; avoiding bush burning; avoiding overgrazing; bush fallowing; building ridges across slopes; avoiding excessive tillage.
(ii) Any four: water; forests; wildlife; minerals; fossil fuels (oil, coal); air; fisheries.
(c) Any three: indiscriminate felling of trees (logging); bush burning; shifting cultivation/farming; urbanisation and road building; overgrazing; mining; fuelwood collection; poor enforcement of forest laws; population pressure.
(d) Denitrifying bacteria (e.g. Pseudomonas, Thiobacillus denitrificans) break down nitrates in the soil.
The nitrates are converted to nitrogen gas, which escapes into the atmosphere.
This happens mostly in waterlogged, poorly aerated soils, and makes the soil lose nitrogen.
Soil conservation: list practical farm methods.