AQA A-Level Environmental Science 3.5 Biological resources: a complete overview of agriculture, fisheries and forests

What module 3.5 actually demands

Biological resources is about how humans use living things for food and materials, and how to do so sustainably. Module 3.5 runs from agriculture and food production, through aquatic food production and overfishing, to forest resources and deforestation. The examiners reward balanced evaluation of the trade-off between productivity and environmental protection, and precise knowledge of sustainable management methods.

This guide walks through all three topics of the module, then sets out the exam patterns AQA repeats. Each topic has a matching dot-point page with practice questions; this overview ties them together.

Agriculture and aquatic food

Agriculture and food production covers the methods that raise yield (fertilisers, pesticides, irrigation, selective breeding, mechanisation) and their impacts (habitat loss, soil degradation, eutrophication, pesticide harm). You must compare intensive, extensive and organic systems and explain sustainable approaches such as crop rotation and integrated pest management.

Aquatic food production centres on the maximum sustainable yield, the causes and consequences of overfishing, sustainable management (quotas, mesh sizes, closed areas), and the role and impacts of aquaculture.

Forest resources

Forest resources covers the economic and ecological value of forests, the causes and consequences of deforestation, and methods of sustainable forestry such as selective logging and replanting. The link between deforestation and climate change is a recurring theme.

How module 3.5 is examined

A typical AQA profile for Biological resources:

• Recall. Methods of raising productivity, the meaning of maximum sustainable yield, and the values of forests.
• Cause and consequence. Explaining the impacts of intensive farming, overfishing or deforestation.
• Evaluation. Comparing intensive and organic farming, or judging a fisheries or forestry management strategy.
• Extended answers. Discussing how a biological resource can be used sustainably.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall and evaluation questions covering module 3.5. Attempt them under timed conditions, then check against the solutions.

1. State three methods used to increase agricultural productivity. (3 marks)
2. Explain one environmental impact of intensive farming. (2 marks)
3. Explain what is meant by the maximum sustainable yield. (2 marks)
4. State two methods of managing fisheries sustainably. (2 marks)
5. State two environmental impacts of aquaculture. (2 marks)
6. State two ecological values of forests. (2 marks)
7. Explain one consequence of deforestation. (2 marks)
8. Describe one method of sustainable forest management. (2 marks)