AP Human Geography Unit 5 Vocabulary

Agribusiness

Commercial agriculture characterized by the integration of different steps in the food processing industry, usually through ownership by large corporations.

Agricultural revolution

The time when human beings first domesticated plants and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering.

Agriculture

The deliberate effort to modify a portion of earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain.

Aquaculture/aquafarming

The cultivation of seafood under controlled conditions.

Cereal grain

A grass that yields grain for food.

Commercial agriculture

Agriculture undertaken primarily to generate products for sale off the farm.

Crop

Any plant gathered from a field as a harvest during a particular season.

Crop rotation

The practice of rotating the use of different fields from crop to crop each year to avoid exhausting the soil.

Dairy Farm

A form of commercial agriculture that specializes in the production of milk and other dairy products.

Desertification

Degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily due to human actions, such as excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting.

Dietary energy consumption

The amount of food that an individual consumes, measured in kilocalories.

Double cropping

Harvesting twice a year from the same field.

Fishing

The capture of wild fish and other seafood living in the waters.

Food security

Physical, social, and economic access at all times to safe and nutritious food sufficient to meet dietary needs.

Genetically modified organism (GMO)

A living organism that possesses a novel combination of genetic material obtained through modern biotechnology.

Grain

Seed of cereal grass.

Green revolution

Rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers.

Horticulture

The growing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

Intensive subsistence agriculture

A form of subsistence agriculture characterized by high effort to produce maximum yield from a parcel of land.

Milkshed

The area surrounding a city from which milk is supplied.

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming

Commercial farming characterized by integration of crops and livestock.

No tillage

A farming practice that leaves all of the soil undisturbed and the residue of the previous year’s harvest untouched.

Overfishing

Capturing fish faster than they can reproduce.

Paddy

A flooded field for growing rice.

Pastoral nomadism

A form of subsistence agriculture based on herding and domesticating animals.

Plantation

A large farm in tropical and subtropical climates that specializes in the production of one or two crops for sale.

Prime agricultural land

The most productive farmland.

Ranching

A form of commercial agriculture in which livestock graze over an extensive area.

Ridge tillage

A system of planting crops on ridge tops to reduce costs and promote soil conservation.

Sawah

A flooded field for growing rice.

Shifting cultivation

A form of subsistence agriculture where people shift activity from one field to another.

Slash-and-burn agriculture

Shifting cultivation, where fields are cleared by slashing and burning.

Subsistence agriculture

Agriculture designed primarily to provide food for direct consumption by the farmer and their family.

Swidden

A patch of land cleared for planting through slashing and burning.

Transhumance

The seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pastures.

Truck farming

Commercial gardening and fruit farming.

Undernourishment

Dietary energy consumption that is continuously below the minimum requirement for maintaining a healthy life.

Wet rice

Rice planted on dry land in a nursery and then moved to a flooded field.

Biotechnology

The use of living organisms or biological systems to develop agricultural products.

Chaff

The husks of grains separated from the seed during threshing.

Combine

A machine that harvests, threshes, and cleans grain crops in one operation.

Conservation agriculture

Farming practices aimed at conserving soil, water, and energy.

Enclosure System

The consolidation of small landholdings into larger farms in England during the 18th century.

First Agricultural Revolution

The transition from hunting and gathering to settled agricultural practices.

Feedlot

A confined area where livestock are fed and fattened for slaughter.

Hull

The outer covering of a seed or grain.

Hunting and Gathering

A subsistence lifestyle relying on hunting and gathering for food.

Intertillage

The practice of planting different crops in the same field to reduce soil erosion and maximize land use.

Long Lot Survey System

A land division system that creates long, narrow plots of land.

Metes and Bounds System

A land surveying method that uses natural landmarks and measurements.

Monoculture

The agricultural practice of growing a single crop over a large area.

Organic farming

Farming that avoids synthetic chemicals and emphasizes natural processes.

Pasture

Land covered with grass and other plants suitable for grazing animals.

Polyculture

The practice of growing multiple crops in the same space.

Primary economic activity

Economic activities involving the extraction of natural resources.

Reaper

A machine used to cut and gather crops during harvest.

Rectangular Survey System

A land division system that divides land into rectangular parcels.

Sauer, Carl (cultural landscape)

A geographer who emphasized the interaction between humans and their environment in shaping cultural landscapes.

Second Agricultural Revolution

A period of agricultural innovation during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Sedentary

A lifestyle characterized by permanent settlement in one location.

Shifting agriculture

A farming method where fields are cultivated temporarily and then abandoned.

Specialty farming

The production of crops that are in high demand but limited in geographic distribution.

Spring Wheat

Wheat planted in the spring and harvested in late summer.

Sustainable Agriculture

Farming practices that meet current food needs without compromising future generations' ability to produce food.

Threshing

The process of separating grain from the husks and straw.

Township and Range System

A land division system that divides land into square townships and sections.

Urban subsistence farming

Small-scale farming in urban areas to provide food for local consumption.

Vertical integration

A business model where a company controls multiple stages of production.

Winnowed

The process of separating lighter chaff from heavier grain by blowing air through it.

Winter Wheat

Wheat planted in the fall and harvested in early summer.