Environment and Sustainability
Domain 8: Environment and Sustainability
This domain tests how farming affects land, water, air and biodiversity, and how practices can remain productive without degrading resources. Expect questions on conservation, climate-smart agriculture, pollution and sustainable land use.
Core rules and concepts
- Sustainability: meeting present production needs without reducing the resource base for future use. It is not the same as low input or no chemicals.
- Soil conservation: maintain cover, reduce slope length, trap sediment and add organic matter. Practices include mulching, contour farming, terraces, agroforestry and cover crops.
- Nutrient management: combine organic and mineral sources; match supply to crop demand to reduce leaching and greenhouse gas losses.
- Water and pollution: avoid pesticide drift, protect wetlands and stream banks, and manage manure to prevent nutrient runoff.
- Climate-smart agriculture: increases productivity, builds resilience and reduces emissions where possible; examples include drought-tolerant varieties, early planting and water harvesting.
Worked example
A farmer applies 5 tonnes of compost per hectare containing 1% nitrogen. Nitrogen supplied = 5,000 kg × 0.01 = 50 kg N/ha. The reasoning: convert tonnes to kilograms and the percentage to a decimal. This is the total nitrogen, not all of it available in the first season; organic nitrogen mineralises slowly, so do not assume 50 kg is immediately available.
Traps that cost marks
- Equating sustainability with abandoning fertilizer.
- Ignoring off-site pollution from eroded soil and manure runoff.
- Assuming all manure nitrogen is available in year one.
- Treating climate-smart agriculture as only tree planting.
- Overlooking biodiversity and wetland protection.