This blog is soley for educational purposes, made only for the ACE Geography girls of PLMGSS. Thank you for your kind cooperation.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Hongkong Wetland Park

Hong Kong Wetland Park is a conservation, education and tourism facility, located at the northern part of Tin Shui Wai, in Yuen Long. It was to be an ecological mitigation area for the wetlands lost due to Tin Shui Wai New Town development. The Hong Kong Wetland Park comprises a 10,000-square-metre (110,000 sq ft) visitor centre, Wetland Interactive World, and a 60-hectare (150-acre) Wetland Reserve. The Wetland Interactive World has themed exhibition galleries, a theatre, a souvenir shop, an indoor play area (swamp adventure) and a resource centre.
In the wetland park, there is a small star there. Pui Pui is a crocodile's name, which is a pun indicating that it came from Shan Pui River and is the apple of the public's eye. On 29 August 2006 she was moved into her landscaped enclosure and can be easily viewed by the public. Pui Pui’s Home was designed to provide the reptile with a healthy and comfortable living environment.
When i went to the HongKong Wetland Park during the March holidays, i felt that the place was quite interesting. Some things i learnt about the mangroves when i was there, is that the mangrove's fruit is pointing downwards. When the fruit drops and the seeds will start growing, the seeds will remain rooted to the ground, therefore the new plant can grow well. The leaves also have waxy surfaces for the water to slide off, like we learnt.
Over there, i also witnessed some cool insects/animals that cannot be found in Singapore, in the exhibition galleries. I felt that the exhibition galleries were filled with interesting information about different animals and insects in the Wetland Park.



Plantation agriculture

Plantation agriculture is a commercial tropical agriculture system which is essentially export-oriented. The local government exploit the natural resources for making profit, usually short-term economic gain. It often involves the deliberate introduction and cultivation of economically desirable species of tropical plants at the expense of widespread replacement of the original native and natural flora. They are often associated with plantation agriculture are widespread modifications or disturbance of the natural landscapes through such artificial practices as the permanent removal of natural vegetation, drainage improvement, soil improvement and application of chemicals, etc.
The inputs of plantation agriculture are that large areas of land are needed for growing, there must be abudant labour, high levels of capital, and supporting facilities aroung the plantation like roads, factories, housing and irrigagtion canals.
The factors that determine the plantation agriculture success or failure are:
1. Natural disasters
- As the crops are grown according to their type in one plot of land, if there are natural disasters, all the crops of that type will die.
The crops are also in a open area, making it more vulnerable.
2.Demand for crop
- Some crops are in higher demand than others, therefore this depends on the consumers preferance.
3. Market and advertising
- Some consumers may not be aware of certain products, and they might not buy them. Therefore, marketing and advertising is important so that the consumers will be aware of new products.



Eutrophication

Eutrophication is the ecosystem response to the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system. One example is the "bloom" or great increase of phytoplankton in a water body as a response to increased levels of nutrients. Negative environmental effects include hypoxia, the depletion of oxygen in the water, which induces reductions in specific fish and other animal populations.

Eutrophication can be human-caused or natural. Untreated sewage effluent and agricultural run-off carrying fertilizers are examples of human-caused eutrophication. However, it also occurs naturally in situations where nutrients accumulate or where they flow into systems on an ephemeral basis. Eutrophication generally promotes excessive plant growth and decay, favouring simple algae and plankton over other more complicated plants, and causes a severe reduction in water.Eutrophication also decreases the value of rivers, lakes, and estuaries for recreation, fishing, hunting, and aesthetic enjoyment.

Monday, March 12, 2012

High Tech Farming

As there is an increase in population, there is also an increase in the demand of food supplies. High tech farming is a commercial farming which means that it is profit motivated. It is to also overcome the problem of a shortage of land for farming and also to not be too dependant on other countries for food. It is found in densely populated areas such as Singapore where there is limited land and costly land.

In high tech farming, computer technology is used to manage water, fertilising and pest control to ensure high quality. It is sold locally and exported. Professionals are employed for this job and computers and automation devices are used to control the temperatures and watering. High tech farming consists of hydroponics and aeroponics.


Factors determining success

As there is high investment cost for high tech farming, high levels of capital are needed to invest in the technological facilities. Also, there will be competition from other imported products. This makes high tech farming a commercial farming that has to compete with other industries. Lastly, though little labour is required for high tech farming, its success will still be affected if there is a large shortage of workers and people who are able to operate the machinery.

Impacts

High tech farming is environmentally friendly. Little or no pesticides are used and it conserves land and water by using suspended troughs and controlling water. As they are located nearer to markets and production monitoring in comparison to those crops planted in soil, there will be lesser wastage and transport.
    
   pictures of crops from high tech farming

Shifting Cultivation

It is also known as “slash and burning farming” where the forest is burned.
Firstly, a suitable site for cultivation is found. Then, wood and weeds are burned to make a clearing. The ash left on the land is used as fertiliser. Simple tools are used to prepare the land for cultivation and after 3-4 years when the soil diminishes in fertility, the farmer then moves to another plot of land

Shifting Cultivation is practiced by primitive tribes in the forested highlands of the Amazon Basin, Congo Basin, Papua New Guinea, etc. While cultivated using shifting cultivation, tropical rainforest nutrient is mainly locked up in the biomass with little nutrient in the soil. Also, the cycling of nutrients is rapid.

The tribe first selects a small patch of rainforest.  To create a clearing on the forest, the tribe selectively slashes the natural vegetation by simple tools and burns the logs, so the nutrients are released as ash which dissolves and is washed by rain into the soil as natural fertilizers.

A variety of food crops are grown on the land such as rice, maize, cassava . The crops grow very quickly, some are ready to harvest after four to six months. After 2 or 3 years, due to decline in soil fertility, the yield of successive crops declines and weeds grows extensively.

Impacts

Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system used in tropical countries, in which a forest is cut, the debris is burned, and the land is then used to grow crops. Shifting cultivation conversions are relatively stable and long-term in nature, and they are the leading cause of tropical deforestation.

Usually, some type of shifting cultivation is used when extensive areas of tropical forest are converted into large scale, industrial agriculture, usually intended to supply commodities for an export market, rather than for local use. Shifting cultivation is also widely used by individual, poor farmers when they develop agricultural land for subsistence farming and to supply cash goods to a local market.

Factors determining success of shifting cultivation

There must be fertile soil that will be able to last for three to four years. As the same plot of land will be used for about four years, the soil fertility must be good. Farmers get their fertilisers from burning the biomass in the forest to get the nutrients. Thus, soil fertility is the key to growing good crops. There should also be enough workers working in the cultivation.

       
  pictures of the burning process.