AP Environmental Science Unit 5 - Land & Water Use

AP Environmental Science Land Use Review

Here's an organized outline for AP Environmental Science Unit 5 reviews. This outline has been adapted from the 2019 Course Description published by College Board. You can use this to build an AP Enviro Unit 5 study guide.

Resource Use

Human use of natural resources have disrupted natural ecosystems. 

• The tragedy of the commons suggests that individuals, acting independently according to their own self-interest, behave contrary to the common good of all users, by depleting or spoiling that resource through their collective action.

• The Green Revolution was a large scale shift to new agricultural technologies and practices in order to increase food production.

• The largest human use of freshwater is for irrigation (70%).

• Overfishing and the use of non-sustainable fishing methods have led to the extreme scarcity of some fish species. Great efforts have been made to reduce impact and preserve environments. 

• Ecological footprints compare resource demands and waste production required for an individual or a society. This allows to analyze the impact one person or group of people may have in comparison to another.

• Sustainability is the use of resources without depletion of the resources.

• Integrated pest management (IPM) is a complex set of strategies that aims to minimize disruptions to the environment and threats to human health from agricultural practices.

• In order to mitigate the depletion of fish species, there have been developments of highly efficient and sustainable aquaculture practices. 

• Deforestation is mitigated by using and buying wood that is harvested using sustainable forestry techniques, and reusing wood. 

Unit 5 Vocab

• Agricultural practices
• Aquaculture
• Aquifers
• Biodiversity
• Clearcutting
• Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)
• Deforestation
• Desertification
• Ecological footprints
• Free range
• Genetically modified organisms (GMO)
• Integrated pest management (IPM)
• Methods of irrigation
• Mining operations
• Overfishing
• Overgrazing
• Pest-control methods
• Salinization
• Sustainability
• Sustainable agriculture
• Sustainable forestry
• Sustainable yield
• The Green Revolution
• Tragedy of the commons
• Urban sprawl
• Urbanization
• Water infiltration  

Unit 5 Free Response (FRQ)

Here are some Quizlet decks to help you master the Unit 5 concepts if and when you need to apply them for the written portion of your AP Enviro exam. 

• Unit 5 Quizlet 1
• Unit 5 Quizlet 2
• Unit 5 Quizlet 3