BIO220H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Soil Texture, Crop Rotation, Middle Ages
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BIO220H1 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
Agriculture is a very recent phenomenon-especially in the america"s. Not adapted for eating leaves, heed higher quality foods that are less defended. Great because they are selected for dispersal, so they"re made to be attractive. Seeds and tubers are designed as energy-storage organs. Most of what we eat and harvest are grasses, legumes, and fruits. Net fishing opened up whole new food source. Plows replace digging sticks very late in the game(5500bp) Crop rotation and draft animals caught on by the middle ages. Transformed humans from nomadic life to sedentary, stability, and the rise of cities. Plant ranges of tolerance, soil moisture and fertility, soil exhaustion, build up of pests. Booming populations in the 1950"s and 1960"s, famines occur. Changes in agriculture-sustainability of these changes is up for debate . Growing same crop in same place leads to soil decline. Nutrients removed, then products harvested so they"re not recycled.
