AP HuG Vocab Unit 5.3

rectangular survey system

also called the public land survey, the system was used by the US Land Office Survey to parcel land west of the Appalachian Mountains

township-and-range system

a rectangular land division scheme designed by Thomas Jefferson to disperse settlers evenly across farmlands of the US Interior; see also rectangular survey system

metes and bound survey

a system of land surveying east of the Appalachian Mountains; system that relies on descriptions of land ownership and natural features such as streams or trees; because of the imprecise nature of metes and bound system, the US Land Office Survey abandoned the technique in favor of the rectangular survey system

long-lot survey system

distinct regional approach to land surveying found in the Canadian Maritimes, parts of Quebec, Louisiana, and Texas whereby land is divided into narrow parcels stretching back from rivers, roads, or canals

primogeniture

system which the eldest son in a family - or, in exceptional cases, daughter - inherits all of a dying parent's land

gathering industries

primary activities involving the harvesting of renewable natural resources of land or water; commercial gathering usually implies forestry and fishing industries

extractive industries

primary activities involving the mining and quarrying of nonrenewable metallic and nonmetallic mineral resources

maximum sustainable yield

the maximum rate at which a renewable resource can be exploited without impairing its ability to be renewed or replenished

tragedy of the commons

the observation that in the absence of collective control over the use of a resource available to all, it is to the advantage of all users to maximize their separate shares even though their collective pressures may diminish total yield or destroy the resource altogether

aquaculture

producing and harvesting of fish and shellfish in freshwater ponds, lakes, and canals or in fenced-off coastal boys and estuaries; fish farming

commercial agriculture

term used to describe large-scale farming and ranching operations that employ vast land bases, large mechanized equipment, factory-type labor forces, and the latest technology

monoculture

dependence on a single agricultural commodity

Koppen climate classification system

a system of classifying the world's climates on the basis of temperature and preciptation

climatic regions

areas of the world with similar climatic characteristics

plantation agriculture

production system based on a large estate owned by an individual, family, or corporation and organized to produce a cash crop; in recent decades, many have been divided into smaller holdings or reorganized as cooperatives

luxury crops

non-subsistence crop such as tea, cacao, coffee, and tobacco

livestock ranching

the raising of domesticated animals for the production of meat and other products such as leather and wool

Mediterranean agriculture

specialized farming that occurs only in areas where the dry-summer climate prevails

agribusiness

general term for the business that provide the vast array of goods and services that support the agriculture industry