AP Human Geography Chapters 13-14 Vocabulary

Bid-rent theory

Land value decreases as distance from a city center increases.

Feedlots

Confined livestock operations for rapid weight gain.

Location theory

Explains where economic activities are located and why.

Luxury crops

High-value crops grown mainly for profit or export.

Capital-intensive

Farming requiring heavy investment in machinery and technology.

Agribusiness

Large-scale, corporate-controlled agriculture.

Von Thünen model

Farming arranged in rings around a market based on transport costs and land value.

Neocolonialism

Economic control of poorer countries by richer ones.

Labor-intensive

Farming that relies heavily on human labor.

Transnational corporations

Companies operating in multiple countries.

Isotropic plain

Flat, uniform land with no physical barriers.

Fair trade movement

Promotes ethical wages, fair prices, and safe labor for producers.

Factory farming

Industrialized agriculture with high output and confined animals.

Vertical integration

Company controls multiple stages of production, from raw materials to final product.

Horticulture

Growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental plants.

Subsidies

Government payments to support farmers or lower food costs.

Aquaculture (aquafarming)

Raising fish or aquatic organisms in controlled settings.

Economies of scale

Cost advantages gained by producing larger quantities.

Bid-price curve

Graph showing how much land users will pay at different distances.

Infrastructure

Basic systems like roads, electricity, water, and communications.

Double cropping

Harvesting two crops from the same land in one year.

Commodity chain

Steps a product takes from production to consumption.

Free-market economy

Economy with minimal government control, prices set by supply and demand.

Intercropping (multicropping)

Growing multiple crops on the same land at the same time.

Carrying capacity

Maximum population an environment can sustain.

Comparative advantage

Ability to produce a good more efficiently than others.

Monoculture

Growing a single crop species over a large area.

Cool chains

Refrigerated supply chains for perishable foods.

Supply chain

Network that produces, processes, and delivers goods.

Land cover change

Human alteration of Earth's surface (forests → farms or cities).

Slash-and-burn agriculture

Clearing land by cutting and burning vegetation.

Local-food movement

Encourages eating food grown nearby.

Food distribution system

How food moves from farm to consumer.

Desertification

Fertile land turning into desert.

GMOs

Genetically modified organisms designed for desired traits.

Urban farming

Growing food in urban areas (rooftops, lots).

Food processing

Converting raw crops into food products.

Salinization

Salt buildup in soil due to irrigation, reducing fertility.

Community gardens

Shared local spaces for growing food.

Tariff

Tax on imported goods.

Terrace farming

Step-like farming on hillsides to reduce erosion.

Blue Revolution

Expansion of aquaculture to increase fish production.

Vertical farms

Indoor, stacked farming systems using artificial light.

Quota

Limit on imports or production.

Irrigation

Artificial watering of crops.

Over graze

Grazing animals too much, damaging vegetation and soil.

Hydroponics

Growing plants without soil using nutrient-rich water.

Gender inequality

Unequal treatment or opportunities based on gender.

Center-pivot irrigation

Circular irrigation system rotating from a central point.

Organic foods

Foods grown without synthetic chemicals, pesticides, or GMOs.

Community-supported agriculture (CSA)

Consumers buy shares of a farm's harvest in advance.

Gender-specific obstacles

Challenges faced more by one gender (e.g., women lacking land rights).

Wetlands

Water-saturated land important for ecosystems and flood control.

Value-added crops

Crops processed to increase economic value.

Food insecurity

Lack of reliable access to enough food.

Crop gap

Difference between potential and actual crop yield.

Deforestation

Clearing forests for agriculture or development.

Value-added farming

Increasing profit by processing or branding farm products.

Food desert

Area lacking access to affordable, nutritious food.