aphug unit 5 key terms

Agriculture

The practice of cultivating plants and raising animals for food fiber and other products

Arable land

Land suitable for farming especially growing crops

Domestication

The selective breeding of plants and animals to make them more useful to humans

Subsistence agriculture

Farming in which food is produced mainly for the farmer’s family not for sale

Commercial agriculture

Farming in which food is produced primarily for sale and profit

Neolithic Agricultural Revolution

The transition from hunting and gathering to settled agriculture that began about 10,000 years ago

First Agricultural Revolution

Early domestication of plants and animals that allowed permanent settlements

Second Agricultural Revolution

Improvements in farming during the 1700s that increased food production such as crop rotation and new tools

Green Revolution

The development of high-yield crops chemical fertilizers and modern farming techniques to increase food production especially in developing countries

Shifting cultivation

A farming system where land is cleared farmed briefly then abandoned to regain fertility

Slash-and-burn agriculture

A type of shifting cultivation where vegetation is cut and burned to clear land

Pastoral nomadism

A form of subsistence agriculture where herders move livestock from place to place to find grazing land

Intensive subsistence agriculture

Farming that uses a lot of labor on small plots of land to grow food mainly for local use

Wet rice cultivation

Growing rice in flooded fields common in East and Southeast Asia

Plantation agriculture

Large-scale farming that specializes in one crop grown for sale often in tropical regions

Mixed crop and livestock farming

Commercial farming where crops and animals are raised together often in developed countries

Dairy farming

Commercial farming focused on milk and dairy products usually near urban markets

Grain farming

Large-scale production of cereal grains like wheat mainly for sale

Livestock ranching

Raising animals for meat on large areas of land especially in dry regions

Mediterranean agriculture

Farming that grows fruits vegetables olives and grapes in regions with mild wet winters and hot dry summers

Crop rotation

The practice of planting different crops each season to maintain soil fertility

Monoculture/Monocropping

The practice of growing a single crop over a large area

Fallow

Leaving land unplanted for a period to restore soil nutrients

Terracing

Cutting steps into hillsides to prevent erosion and allow farming

Irrigation

The artificial watering of land to support agriculture

Von Thünen Model

A model explaining how agricultural land use varies with distance from a market

Bid rent theory

The idea that land closer to the market is more expensive and used for products that spoil quickly

Agribusiness

Large-scale industrial farming operations including production processing and distribution

Value-added specialty crops

Crops that are processed or branded to increase their market value

Sustainability

The use of resources in a way that does not harm future generations

Organic agriculture

Farming that avoids synthetic chemicals and uses natural processes

Overfarming

Excessive farming that damages soil and reduces productivity

Desertification

The process by which fertile land becomes desert due to overuse or climate change

Food desert

An area with limited access to affordable and nutritious food

Carrying capacity

The maximum population an environment can support sustainably

Food insecurity

Lack of consistent access to enough nutritious food

Malthusian Theory

The idea that population grows faster than food supply leading to shortages