Detailed Revision Notes for the entire Population and Environment topic of the A-Level AQA Geography course.
The notes include case studies, necessary knowledge and basic bullet pointed essay plans for a wide variety of questions.
The notes are structured as follows;
3.2.4.1 Introductio...
3.2.4.1 Introduction 3
The environmental context for human population characteristics and how
they change 3
Global patterns of population numbers, densities and change rates 3
3.2.4.2 Environment and Population 4
Global and regional patterns of food production and consumption 4
Agricultural systems and agricultural productivity 5
Relationships with key environmental variables - climate and soil 6
Strategies to ensure food security 11
3.2.4.3 Environment, health and well-being 14
Global patterns of health, mortality and morbidity 14
Economic and social developments 15
London case study - Richmond and Tower Hamlets 15
The epidemiological transition 17
Environmental variables and their links to incidence of disease 19
Malaria - The global prevalence and distribution of communicable disease 22
CHD - The global prevalence and distribution of a non-communicable
disease 25
The role of international agencies and NGO’s in promoting health and
combatting disease at a global scale 28
3.2.4.4 Population Change 29
Factors in natural population change: Key vital rates 29
The Demographic Transition Model 31
Models of natural population change and their application in contrasting
physical and human settings 32
Age sex composition 33
Concept of the demographic dividend 33
International migration: refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants 35
Causes of migration 35
Implications of migration 36
,3.2.4.5 Principles of population ecology 37
Population growth dynamics 37
Implications of population size and structure for the balance between the
population and its resources 38
The population, pollution and resources model 39
Contrasting perspectives on population growth 39
3.2.4.6 Global Population Futures 41
Health impacts on global environmental change 41
Prospects for global population change 42
Population-environment relationship 43
4 markers 44
9 markers 46
20 markers 50
,3.2.4.1 Introduction
The environmental context for human population characteristics and how they change
Population characteristics
- Measured in distribution, density, numbers and change
- Population is mainly a ected by physical environmental factors and development processes
- These factors change birth/death rates, age composition and can quicken or slow population
growth
The physical environment
- The physical environment plays a vital role in the population demographic as it holds key
resources for human wellbeing e.g.
- Climate: dictates how many people can be supported in an area as it a ects agriculture,
crops and therefore food. Climate also has impacts on the incidence of disease as they are
spread more easily in hot, humid conditions.
- Soil: The water content, nutrient content and overall soil quality heavily a ects agricultural
productivity.
- Natural Resources: They are needed in order for population to grow and be supported.
They include; clean water supply, minerals for shelter, fuel etc
Development processes (how society changes overtime)
- Developments to food supply;
- The neolithic revolution; 12,000 years ago the shift from hunter-gatherer populations to
agricultural communities. Birth and fertility rates rose and agriculture was able to feed
denser communities meaning a more stable for supply.
- The green revolution: process of using technology and more e cient farming supplies/
practices to maximise yields in the 50’s and 60’s. An estimated 1 billion people are able
to be fed due to the green revolution.
- Developments to society:
- The industrial revolution; at the beginning in the mid 1700’s transition began from
majorly intensive industry to technology manufacturing processes. At the start of the
revolution the population grew by 57%, and 100 years later the population had grown
by 100%.
Global patterns of population numbers, densities and change rates
Global population patterns
- The total world population stayed below 1 billion until 1804, yet to reach 2 billion it only took
100 years
- The global population is described as exponential
- The global population has rapidly increased since the 1960’s where the population doubled
since the start of the 20th century
- The population is estimated to reach 9 billion by 2050
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, Global population density
- Urbanised areas are the most densely populated with 55% of the population living in these
areas - this number is expected to rise further to 2/3 of the population by 2050.
- An estimated 90% of the population live in the northern hemisphere
- Sparsely populated areas include (the Sahara, Canada and central Africa) all of which have
di cult living conditions
- Densely populated areas can produce large amounts of food e.g. Bangladesh due to its
desirable agricultural conditions.
Rate of population change
- Population growth rates have changed rapidly with huge shifts from rapid population growth in
HIC’s to rapid growth in developing LIC’s - The reason for this change is the DTM
- HIC population rate is declining due to; contraception, emancipation of women, urbanisation
and changes to society
- LIC’s are catching up and going through similar trends HIC’s did in the 1990’s
- Overall global population rates are slowing.
e.g.
The Gambia - Birth rate in 2001 = 45.1, 2011 - 43.2, Death rate 2001 = 11.9, 2011 = 10
Mexico - Birth rate in 2001 = 23.6, 2011 - 19.2, Death rate 2001 = 4.6, 2011 = 4.5
UK - Birth rate in 2001 = 11.3, 2011 - 12.8, Death rate 2001 = 10.2, 2011 = 8.7
3.2.4.2 Environment and Population
Global and regional patterns of food production and consumption
Food production and consumption
Production
• Production has tripled globally in the last 50 years, global arable land has increased by 67
million hectares meaning more crops are growing on more land
• Increased due to;
- Increased use of farming machinery meaning crops are collected faster
- Increased use of farming resources such as herbicides and pesticides which increase yield
- Better farming management to maximise yields and create arable farmland
• Wheat and rice production has increased in Asia and North Africa due to multiple high yields
• Maize production has increased in Latin America and Caribbean due to land expansion as a
result of deforestation.
• Food production is unevenly distributed with LIC’s having the least amount of crops and the
richest countries having the largest amounts of food supply.
• Production trends vary crop by crop due to environmental limitations
East Asia, North America and West Europe = consistent high yields due to their vast availability of
resources e.g. Nutrients and Water. Eastern Asia receives high rainfall and the Great Plains in
Central North America produce high yields.
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