ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF Principles of Environmental Science: practice questions

ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) — Environmental Sciences (subject 71) and Agricultural Meteorology (subject 60) · India · National Testing Agency for ICAR

Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papers

6worked here, free

22written to this exam in this subject

11syllabus units

What this subject covers

The map of the whole field: the four spheres, natural resources and their status, human population and consumption, and the main environmental problems an agricultural graduate meets. Compulsory in most undergraduate degrees worldwide and the opening unit of ICAR AICE subject 71.

In the exams: ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF subject 71 Unit 1; ICAR AIEEA-PG 3.6; UGC NET Environmental Sciences Unit 1; CUET-UG Environmental Studies

Scope of environmental science and its links with agriculture
Atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere
Biotic, abiotic and social components of the environment
Natural resources: land, soil, water, forest, mineral and energy
Land degradation and wastelands: extent and reclamation
Human population growth, consumption and the IPAT identity
Ecological footprint and carrying capacity
Food resources and environmental problems of modern agriculture
Environmental effects of mining and large dams
Natural disasters: floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides
Environmental ethics and the role of citizens and NGOs

Where the 22 questions fall

How our questions for ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF spread across the units of Principles of Environmental Science. Difficulty: 0 easy, 0 medium, 22 hard.

Environmental effects of mining and large dams	3
Atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere	2
Biotic, abiotic and social components of the environment	2
Natural resources: land, soil, water, forest, mineral and energy	2
Land degradation and wastelands: extent and reclamation	2
Human population growth, consumption and the IPAT identity	2
Ecological footprint and carrying capacity	2
Food resources and environmental problems of modern agriculture	2
Natural disasters: floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides	2
Environmental ethics and the role of citizens and NGOs	2
Scope of environmental science and its links with agriculture	1

6 practice questions, worked

Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.

1 · Biotic, abiotic and social components of the environment · hard

Sacred groves, found in South Asia, West Africa and the kaya forests of coastal Kenya, are an example of

community conservation of forest rooted in religious values
private gardens owned by temples for selling medicinal plants
government plantations established for commercial timber production
protected areas declared under national wildlife law alone

Answer and working

A. community conservation of forest rooted in religious values

Sacred groves are traditionally protected by communities for religious reasons and conserve biodiversity; they illustrate social components shaping the environment. They are not commercial plantations or statutory protected areas by origin.

Further reading: See the manual sources: standard environmental science textbooks and the UN, FAO, UNCCD and UNDRR documents named in the explanation

2 · Natural resources: land, soil, water, forest, mineral and energy · hard

Which statement summarises Herman Daly's rules for sustainable resource use?

Harvest no faster than regrowth; emit no faster than assimilation
Stop using renewable resources entirely and rely on recycled minerals
Use all resources equally, regardless of their regeneration rates
Use non-renewables as fast as possible before prices rise further

Answer and working

A. Harvest no faster than regrowth; emit no faster than assimilation

Daly's rules: harvest ≤ regeneration; waste ≤ assimilative capacity; deplete non-renewables no faster than renewable substitutes are developed.

Further reading: See the manual sources: standard environmental science textbooks and the UN, FAO, UNCCD and UNDRR documents named in the explanation

3 · Land degradation and wastelands: extent and reclamation · hard

Roughly how much land have countries pledged in total to restore under the UNCCD, the Bonn Challenge and related initiatives?

About 10 million hectares
About 100 billion hectares
About 1 million hectares
About 1 billion hectares

Answer and working

D. About 1 billion hectares

Pledges add up to roughly a billion hectares, though much is not yet under restoration. 100 billion ha exceeds Earth's land area (about 13 billion ha); 1–10 Mha would be a single country's pledge.

Further reading: See the manual sources: standard environmental science textbooks and the UN, FAO, UNCCD and UNDRR documents named in the explanation

4 · Human population growth, consumption and the IPAT identity · hard

Why does a young population keep growing for decades after fertility falls to replacement level?

Replacement fertility means each woman has four children
Death rates always rise sharply when fertility falls
Momentum: large young cohorts keep births high
Migration always adds exactly as many people as births lose

Answer and working

C. Momentum: large young cohorts keep births high

A broad base of young people means more births in total even at replacement fertility, until the age structure stabilises.

Further reading: See the manual sources: standard environmental science textbooks and the UN, FAO, UNCCD and UNDRR documents named in the explanation

5 · Ecological footprint and carrying capacity · hard

Which is a recognised limitation of the ecological footprint?

It is measured in kilograms, so it cannot be compared between countries
It omits toxics and biodiversity loss and rests on assumptions
It was invented by the IPCC and applies only to greenhouse gases
It includes only water use and ignores land and energy

Answer and working

B. It omits toxics and biodiversity loss and rests on assumptions

Footprints aggregate diverse impacts into area, omit some impacts, and rely on assumptions; they are communication tools. They are in global hectares, cover more than water, and were developed by Wackernagel and Rees.

Further reading: See the manual sources: standard environmental science textbooks and the UN, FAO, UNCCD and UNDRR documents named in the explanation

6 · Environmental effects of mining and large dams · hard

How do large dams contribute to the shrinking and subsidence of deltas downstream?

They push groundwater into the delta, causing it to float
They trap sediment that would otherwise rebuild delta land
They raise sea level by storing water in reservoirs
They release excess sediment that buries delta farmland

Answer and working

B. They trap sediment that would otherwise rebuild delta land

Reduced sediment delivery starves deltas, which then erode and subside relative to sea level. Reservoirs slightly lower, not raise, sea level.

Further reading: See the manual sources: standard environmental science textbooks and the UN, FAO, UNCCD and UNDRR documents named in the explanation

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