APES Chapters 6, 12, 13 vocabulary

Miller Lite 17th Edition textbook

age structure

Percentage of the population (or number of people of each sex) at each age level
in a population

crude birth rate/birth rate

Annual number of live births per 1,000 people in the population of a geographic area at the midpoint of a given year. Compare crude death rate

crude death rate

Annual number of deaths per 1,000 people in the population of a geographic area at the midpoint of a given year. Compare crude birth rate

Cultural carrying capacity

The limit on population growth that would allow most people in an area or the world to live in reasonable comfort and freedom without impairing the ability of the planet to sustain future generations. Compare carrying capacity

Demographic transition

Hypothesis that countries, as they become industrialized, have declines in death rates followed by declines in birth rates

Emigration

Movement of people out of a specific geographic area. Compare immigration,
Migration

Family planning

Providing information, clinical services, and contraceptives to help people choose the number and spacing of children they want to have

fertility rate

Number of children born to an average woman in a population during her lifetime.
Compare replacement level fertility

Immigration

Migration of people into a country or area to take up permanent residence

mortality rate

Number of babies out of every 1,000 born each year who die before their first
Birthday

Life expectancy

Average number of years a newborn infant can be expected to live

Migration

Movement of people into and out of specific geographic areas.
Compare emigration and immigration

Population change

Increase or decrease in the size of a population. It is equal to (Births +
Immigration)

Replacement level fertility

Average number of children a couple must bear to replace themselves. The Average for a country or the world usually is slightly higher than two children per couple (2.1 in the United States and 2.5 in some developing countries) mostly
because some children die before reaching their reproductive years. See also total
fertility rate

total fertility rate (TFR)

Estimate of the average number of children who will be born alive to a woman during her lifetime if she passes through all her childbearing years (ages 15

Agroforestry

Planting trees and crops together.

alley cropping

Planting of crops in strips with rows of trees or shrubs on each side.

animal manure

Dung and urine of animals used as a form of organic fertilizer. Compare green
manure.

Aquaculture/fish farming

Growing and harvesting of fish and shellfish for human use in freshwater ponds,
irrigation ditches, and lakes, or in cages or fenced

arable land

Land that can be cultivated to grow crops.

bioaccumulation

An increase in the concentration of a chemical in specific organs or tissues at a level higher than would normally be expected. Compare biomagnification.

biological pest control

Control of pest populations by natural predators, parasites, or disease causing bacteria and viruses (pathogens).

biomagnification/biological amplification

Increase in concentration of DDT, PCBs, and other slowly degradable, fat soluble chemicals in organisms at successively higher trophic levels of a food chain or web. Compare bioaccumulation.

Chronic malnutrition

Faulty nutrition, caused by a diet that does not supply an individual with enough
protein, essential fats, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients needed for good
health. Compare overnutrition, chronic undernutrition.

Chronic undernutrition/hunger

Condition suffered by people who cannot grow or buy enough food to meet their
basic energy needs. Most chronically undernourished children live in developing
countries and are likely to suffer from mental retardation and stunted growth and to
die from infectious diseases. Compare chronic malnutrition, overnutrition.

Commercial inorganic fertilizer/Inorganic fertilizer

Commercially prepared mixture of inorganic plant nutrients such as nitrates,
phosphates, and potassium applied to the soil to restore fertility and increase crop
yields. Compare organic fertilizer.

Compost

Partially decomposed organic plant and animal matter used as a soil conditioner or
fertilizer.

Conservation tillage farming

Crop cultivation in which the soil is disturbed little (minimum

Contour farming

Plowing and planting across the changing slope of land, rather than in straight lines, to help retain water and reduce soil erosion.

Conventional tillage farming

Crop cultivation method in which a planting surface is made by plowing land,
breaking up the exposed soil, and then smoothing the surface.
Compare conservation

DDT

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, a chlorinated hydrocarbon that has been widely
used as an insecticide but is now banned in some countries.

Desertification

Conversion of rangeland, rain

Domesticated species

Wild species tamed or genetically altered by crossbreeding for use by humans for
food (cattle, sheep, and food crops), as pets (dogs and cats), or for enjoyment
(animals in zoos and plants in botanical gardens). Compare wild species.

Famine

Widespread malnutrition and starvation in a particular area because of a shortage of
food, usually caused by drought, war, flood, earthquake, or other catastrophic events
that disrupt food production and distribution.

Feedlot

Confined outdoor or indoor space used to raise hundreds to thousands of
domesticated livestock.

fertilizer

Substance that adds inorganic or organic plant nutrients to soil and improves its
ability to grow crops, trees, or other vegetation. See commercial inorganic fertilizer,
organic fertilizer.

Fishery

Concentration of particular aquatic species suitable for commercial harvesting in a
given ocean area or inland body of water.

food insecurity

Condition under which people live with chronic hunger and malnutrition that
threatens their ability to lead healthy and productive lives. Compare food security.

Food security

Condition under which every person in a given area has daily access to enough
nutritious food to have an active and healthy life. Compare food insecurity.
fungicide Chemical that kills fungi.

Genetically modified organism (GMO)

Organism whose genetic makeup has been altered by genetic engineering.

green manure

Freshly cut or still

green revolution

Popular term for the introduction of scientifically bred or selected varieties of grain
(rice, wheat, maize) that, with adequate inputs of fertilizer and water, can greatly
increase crop yields.

herbicide

Chemical that kills a plant or inhibits its growth.

Humus

Slightly soluble residue of undigested or partially decomposed organic material in
topsoil. This material helps retain water and water

Hydroponics

Form of agriculture in which farmers grow plants by exposing their roots to a
Nutrient rich water solution instead of soil.

Industrialized agriculture/high input agriculture

Production of large quantities of crops and livestock for domestic and foreign sale

involves use of large inputs of energy from fossil fuels (especially oil and natural gas),
water, fertilizer, and pesticides. Compare subsistence farming.

Insecticide

Chemical that kills insects.

integrated pest management (IPM)

Combined use of biological, chemical, and cultivation methods in proper sequence
and timing to keep the size of a pest population below the level that causes
economically unacceptable loss of a crop or livestock animal.

Intercropping

Growing two or more different crops at the same time on a plot. For example, a
carbohydrate

Leaching

Process in which various chemicals in upper layers of soil are dissolved and carried
to lower layers and, in some cases, to groundwater.

Low

input agriculture

Manufactured inorganic fertilizer

See comercial inorganic fertilizer.

Manure

See animal manure, green manure.

Metabolism

Ability of a living cell or organism to capture and transform matter and energy from
its environment to supply its needs for survival, growth, and reproduction.

Minimum tillage farming

See conservation

Monoculture

Cultivation of a single crop, usually on a large area of land. Compare polyculture.

No till farming

See conservation

Organic agriculture

Growing crops with limited or no use of synthetic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified crops, raising livestock without use of synthetic growth
regulators and feed additives

and using organic fertilizer (manure, legumes,
compost) and natural pest controls (bugs that eat harmful bugs, plants that repel
bugs and environmental controls such as crop rotation). See sustainable agriculture.

organic farming

See organic agriculture and sustainable agriculture.

organic fertilizer

Organic material such as animal manure, green manure, and compost applied to
cropland as a source of plant nutrients. Compare commercial inorganic fertilizer.

Overnutrition

Diet so high in calories, saturated (animal) fats, salt, sugar, and processed foods, and
so low in vegetables and fruits that the consumer runs a high risk of developing
diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and other health hazards.
Compare malnutrition, undernutrition.

Percolation

Passage of a liquid through the spaces of a porous material such as soil.

Pest

Unwanted organism that directly or indirectly interferes with human activities.

Pesticide

Any chemical designed to kill or inhibit the growth of an organism that people
consider undesirable. See fungicide, herbicide, insecticide.

Plantation agriculture

Growing specialized crops such as bananas, coffee, and cacao in tropical developing
countries, primarily for sale to developed countries.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

Group of 209 toxic, oily, synthetic chlorinated hydrocarbon compounds that can be
biologically amplified in food chains and webs.

Polyculture

Complex form of intercropping in which a large number of different plants maturing
at different times are planted together. See also intercropping. Compare monoculture.

Salinization

Accumulation of salts in soil that can eventually make the soil unable to support
plant growth.
Shelterbelt

Slash and burn agriculture

Cutting down trees and other vegetation in a patch of forest, leaving the cut
vegetation on the ground to dry, and then burning it. The ashes that are left add
nutrients to the nutrient

Soil

Complex mixture of inorganic minerals (clay, silt, pebbles, and sand), decaying
organic matter, water, air, and living organisms.

Soil conservation

Methods used to reduce soil erosion, prevent depletion of soil nutrients, and restore
nutrients previously lost by erosion, leaching, and excessive crop harvesting.

soil erosion

Movement of soil components, especially topsoil, from one place to another, usually
by wind, flowing water, or both. This natural process can be greatly accelerated by
human activities that remove vegetation from soil. Compare soil conservation.

soil horizons

Horizontal zones, or layers, that make up a particular mature soil. Each horizon has a
distinct texture and composition that vary with different types of soils. See soil
profile.

soil profile

Cross sectional view of the horizons in a soil. See soil horizon.

Strip cropping

Planting regular crops and close

Subsistence farming

See traditional subsistence agriculture.

Sustainable agriculture

Method of growing crops and raising livestock based on organic fertilizers, soil
conservation, water conservation, biological pest control, and minimal use of
nonrenewable fossil fuel energy.

Terracing

Planting crops on a long, steep slope that has been converted into a series of broad,
nearly level terraces with short vertical drops from one to another that run along the
contour of the land to retain water and reduce soil erosion.

Traditional intensive agriculture

Production of enough food for a farm family's survival and a surplus that can be
sold. This type of agriculture uses higher inputs of labor, fertilizer, and water than
traditional subsistence agriculture. See traditional subsistence agriculture.
Compare industrialized agriculture.

Traditional subsistence agriculture

Production of enough crops or livestock for a farm family's survival
Compare industrialized agriculture, traditional intensive agriculture.

Transgenic organisms

See genetically modified organisms.

undernutrition

See chronic undernutrition.

waterlogging

Saturation of soil with irrigation water or excessive precipitation so that the water
table rises close to the surface.

windbreak

Row of trees or hedges planted to partially block wind flow and reduce soil erosion
on cultivated land.

Aquifer

Porous, water saturated layers of sand, gravel, or bedrock that can yield an economically
significant amount of water.

dam

A structure built across a river to control the river's flow or to create a reservoir. See reservoir.

Desalination

Purification of salt water or brackish (slightly salty) water by removal of dissolved salts.

Drainage basin

See watershed.

Drought

Condition in which an area does not get enough water because of lower than normal
precipitation or higher than normal temperatures that increase evaporation.

Floodplain

Flat valley floor next to a stream channel. For legal purposes, the term often applies to any low
area that has the potential for flooding, including certain coastal areas.

Groundwater

Water that sinks into the soil and is stored in slowly flowing and slowly renewed underground
reservoirs called aquifers, underground water in the zone of saturation, below the water table.
Compare runoff, surface water.

Natural recharge

Natural replenishment of an aquifer by precipitation, which percolates downward through soil
and rock. See recharge area.

recharge area

Any area of land allowing water to percolate down through it and into an aquifer. See aquifer, natural recharge.

reliable runoff

Surface runoff of water that generally can be counted on as a stable source of water from year
to year. See runoff.

Reservoir

Artificial lake created when a stream is dammed. See dam.

Subsidence

Slow or rapid sinking of part of the earth's crust that is not slope related.

surface runoff

Water flowing off the land into bodies of surface water. See reliable runoff.

surface water

Precipitation that does not infiltrate the ground or return to the atmosphere by evaporation or
transpiration. See runoff. Compare groundwater.