Why does farming affect the environment

Agriculture is the industry with the largest water consumption. It takes a tremendous amount of freshwater to grow crops and feed for other animals that we consume. Sometimes we use too much water and sometimes we try to grow plants in environments that aren't suited for them, using more water than we would if we had grown them in an environment more like what that crop would typically be found in.

How does agriculture affect the environment? Kate M. Feb 24, Explanation: Agriculture affects the environment in multiple ways. What is subsistence farming?

The impacts are:- 1. Degradation of Land 2. Deforestation 3. Biodiversity 4. Pest Problem 5. The degradation of land in one form or the other is matter of serious concern endangering sustainability of agriculture. Landslides caused by rains and flowing water in hilly areas and deforestation, overgrazing and faulty cultural practices in the forest and other plain areas expose the soil to water and wind erosions.

As may be seen from Table. The waterlogging due to rising water table, particularly along the rivers, rendering soil unfit for cultivation, covers 8. Similarly, increased dependence on intensive agriculture and irrigation also resulted in salination, alkalination and water logging in the some irrigated area of the country. As the human population continues to grow, so too has the amount of space dedicated to feeding it.

According to World Bank figures, in , more than million hectares 1. In the coming decades, however, meeting the demand for accelerated agricultural productivity is likely to be far more difficult than it has been so far. The reasons for this have to do with ecological factors.

Global climate change is destabilizing many of the natural processes that make modern agriculture possible. Yet modern agriculture itself is also partly responsible for the crisis in sustainability. Many of the techniques and modifications on which farmers rely to boost output also harm the environment.

Below are brief descriptions of three ways intensive agriculture threatens the precarious balance of nonagricultural ecosystems. Irrigation Worldwide, agriculture accounts for 70 percent of human freshwater consumption.

A great deal of this water is redirected onto cropland through irrigation schemes of varying kinds. Experts predict that to keep a growing population fed, water extraction may increase an additional 15 percent or more by Irrigation supports the large harvest yields that such a large population demands.

Researchers and farmers alike are becoming increasingly aware of the consequences of this large-scale diversion of freshwater. One of the most obvious consequences is the depletion of aquifers, river systems, and downstream ground water. However, there are a number of other negative effects related to irrigation. Areas drenched by irrigation can become waterlogged , creating soil conditions that poison plant roots through anaerobic decomposition. Where water has been diverted, soils can accrue too much salt, also harming plant growth.

Irrigation causes increases in water evaporation, impacting both surface air temperature and pressure as well as atmospheric moisture conditions. Recent studies have confirmed that cropland irrigation can influence rainfall patterns not only over the irrigated area but even thousands of miles away. Irrigation has also been connected to the erosion of coastlines and other kinds of long-term ecological and habitat destruction. Livestock Grazing A huge amount of agricultural territory is used primarily as pasture for cattle and other livestock.

In the western United States, counting both federally managed and privately owned grazing lands, hundreds of millions of acres are set aside for this purpose—more than for any other type of land use. Just think about how many thousands of farms there are across the globe…. It is more than clear that industrial agriculture needs to stop. Here are a few simple things you can do that make a huge impact:.

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