Food and the Future Environment

Summative Assessment

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Drivers and Feedbacks in the Development of Food Systems

Instructions

Download the worksheet to understand and complete the assessment. You will submit the answers from worksheet to the Module 2 Summative Assessment in Canvas.

The first part of the worksheet presents a more detailed version of the interaction of human and natural systems at the onset of agriculture at the end of the last ice age, presented at the end of Module 2.1. This is to provide you an example in the use of these diagrams to think about changes in food systems over human history, and it is shown below here as well.

human and natural system drivers of domestication
Fig. 2.2.3. Example of human and natural system drivers around domestication in human food systems, to guide responses in the two other examples in the assessment.
Credit: Steven Vanek, adapted from the National Science Foundation
Click for a text description of the image
Heading at the top says, Human to natural drivers and feedbacks: Human system causes changes in the natural system and strengthens existing changes. At the bottom is the heading Natural to Human drivers and feedbacks: Natural system causes change in the human system and strengthens existing changes. From Human System on the left, an arrow leads to the following items: Humans settle near to water sources in higher population densities, Increase in social complexity, Humans notice and make use of large-seeded wild plants and animals near water for domestication, Increased need for food, Deforestation and disturbed soils. From Natural system, an arrow flows to the following items: Warmer/drier climates with more seasonal precipitation, Larger seed size in wild plants, Potential domesticated animals drawn to water sources near to humans, Good niches for crops aroud human settlements. The arrows represent a continuous flow between Human and Natural systems.

Further instructions for the assignment are given in the worksheet. You will need to fill in four questions on the worksheet, some of which have multiple parts.

Submitting Your Assignment

Please submit your assignment in Canvas using the Module 2 Summative Assessment or take the summative assessment quiz (on-line class).

Grading Information and Rubric

Your assignment will be evaluated based on the following rubric (hybrid class). The maximum grade for the assignment is 24 points.

Rubric (hybrid class)
Description Possible Points
Question 1: Correct explanation of drivers acting as positive feedbacks (2 examples) 6 points
Question 2: Correct placement of drivers into the diagram (partial credit allowed)
6 points
Question 3: Correct explanation of drivers acting as positive feedbacks in Figure 2 based on expansion of agriculture to colonies 4 points
Question 4: Explanation of terms of spatial diffusion and niche construction.
4 points
Overall style, completeness of answers, grammar, and spelling 4 points