topography
the arrangement of shapes on Earth's surface
tropical wet climate
a climate located along the equator that experiences rain every day of the year
tropical wet and dry climate
a climate located along the equator that has a dry season with little to no rain, usually in the winter; is often subject to monsoons
monsoon
season reversal of winds with a general onshore movement in summer and a general offshore movement in winter; onshore winds bring monsoon rains
monsoon rains
long periods of heavy rains every day at the end of a short dry season
arid climate
a climate that receives less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain annually
semiarid (steppe) climate
a climate that receives about 10 to 25 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain annually that can support farming
moderate climate
year-round temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius); found north and south of the equator on the edges of tropical climates
humid subtropical climate
A climate with long, hot summers and short, mild winters with variable precipitation; found on east coasts of continents
marine west coast clime
a climate found along western coasts of continents closer to the poles; characterized by moderate temperatures during long summers and cool winters
mediterranean climate
a climate with winter precipitation, unusually mild winters, and clear skies with abundant sunshine; found along the Mediterranean Sea and a few western coastal regions (California, Chile, Australia)
West coasts of continenets
continental climate
a climate that has a large range of temperatures and moderate precipitation; found in the interior of continents, north of the moderate climate zones
humid continental climate
A climate with a wide range of temperatures, moderate precipitation, and four distinct seasons; experiences warm to hot summers, moderate to abundant rainfall (20-50 inches annually), and cold winters with precipitation falling as snow
humid cold climate
a climate with frigid temperatures nearly year-round temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit; found north and south of the equator on the edges of tropical clilmates
intensive agriculture
Crop cultivation and livestock rearing systems that use high levels of labor and capital relative to the size of the landholding
subsistence agriculture
food production mainly for consumption by the farming family and local community, rather than principally for sale in the market
commercial agriculture
farming oriented exclusively toward the production of agricultural commodities for sale in the market
market gardening
a small-scale farming system in which a farmer plants one to a few acres that produce a diverse mixture of vegetable and fruits, mostly for sale in local and regional markets
Warm mid-latitude climate (not too hot/cold, not too wet/dry); mediterranean, moderate climate
Intensive Agriculture
Requires capital investments of greenhouses and fertilizers
Small farms dispersed in suburban area
truck farm
A scaled-up version of market gardening, with more acreage, less crop diversity, and a stronger orientation toward more distant markets
plantation
large-scale farm that produces one or more cash crops on a large piece of land.Replaced subsistence agri under colonialism
Intensive
Large amount of land
Labor and capital intensive
Tropical/subtropical climate
Vast, flat areas near coastal regions; linear patterns
mixed crop/livestock agriculture
A type of intensive agriculture that involves both crops AND animals being cultivated together
Can be commercial OR subsistence
Primarily MDCs, some LDCs
Cold and Warm Mid-Latitude Climate
cereal grains
Seeds that come from a wide variety of grasses cultivated around the world, including wheat, barley, sorghum, millet, oats, and maize (corn)
millet
a fast-growing cereal plant that is widely grown in warm countries and regions with poor soils
cash crop
a crop raised to be sold for profit rather than to feed the farm family and the livestock; common cash crops are cotton, sugar, coffee, and tobacco
paddy rice farming
a method of cultivating rice in flooded fields, also known as paddies
Intensive ag
Terraced hillsides, dikes, levees, canals, drainage channels; works w the environment
grain farming
A type of intensive commercial agriculture that is highly mechanized and specializes in the production of cereal grains (usually wheat); requires large farms and widespread use of machinery, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and genetically engineered seeds
Can be intensive and extensive
Spring Wheat - Planted in early spring, harvested in early Autumn, grown in colder regions
Winter Wheat - Planted in the fall and harvested in early summer. It is grown in warmer regions such as Kansas, Oklahoma, and Europe
Cold mid-latitude climate
livestock fattening
An intensive system of animal feeding utilizing fenced enclosures to fatten livestock, mostly cattle and hogs, for slaughter and processing for the market
feedlot
A fenced enclosure used for intensive livestock feeding that serves to limit livestock movement and associated weight loss
dairying/dairy farming
A farming system that specializes in the breeding, rearing, and utilization of livestock (primarily cows) to produce milk and its various by-products, such as yogurt, butter, and cheese
Intensive, commercial agriculture
extensive agriculture
a type of agricultural production that involves the use of relatively low levels of inputs, such as labor, capital, and chemicals, in order to produce crops or livestock.
shifting cultivation
Cultivation of a plot of land until it becomes less productive (3-5 years), then shift to new plot after prepped by slash and burn
Subsistence ag
Extensive
Allows for intercropping
Climate: Tropical
Small clearings around villages in tropical areas
Benefits → Adds nutrients to soil
Consequences →
Ecosystems can’t always recover, loss of old-growth forestland, pollutes air with smoke/ash, soil erosion = desertifications
slash-and-burn (swidden) agriculture
Agriculture that involves cutting small plots in forests or woodlands, burning the cuttings to clear the ground and release nutrients, and planting in the ash of the cleared plot
intercropping
the farming practice of planting multiple (different) crops together in the same clearing at the same time
nomadic herding (nomadic pastoralism or pastoralism)
subsistence agriculture and extensive farming practice in which herders and their livestock move seasonally to areas with water and grazing land
Vertical shift - lowlands in winter to highlands in summer
Horizontal shift - follow seasonal movement of rainfall
Climate: Drylands
Associated with ethnic and indigenous tribal culture - type of livestock and herding = cultural identity & dependent on climate
tundra
the vast, flat, treeless arctic region of Europe, Asia, and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen
livestock ranching
the practice of using extensive tracts of land to rear herds of livestock to sell as meat, hides, or wool
Extensive
Climate: Drylands
agricultural landscape
the visible imprint of agricultural practices
grain elevator
large storage facility for grain
suitcase farm
in U.S. commercial grain agriculture regions, a farm on which no one lives; planting and harvesting are done by hired migratory crews
survey methods
the methods used to lay out property lines
cadastral survey
a systematic documentation of property ownership, shape, use, and boundaries
metes and bounds
survey system that uses natural features such as trees, boulders, and streams to delineate property boundaries; uses natural features such as trees, boulders, and streams to delineate property boundaries; creates irregular lines
Metes - used for short distances
Bounds - Covered larger areas
township and range
Land survey system created by the U.S. Land Ordinance of 1785, which divides most of the country's territory into a grid of squares with 6-mile sides, which are then divided into smaller squares and rectangles
Common in Midwestern US
Creates dispersed rural settlement pattern separating everyone
long-lot survey system
A unit-block surveying system whose basic unit is a rectangle that is typically 10 times longer than it is wide
domestication
the process by which a plant or animal is tamed by human society so that that plant or animal can be reliably utilized to provide for human sustenance
First Agricultural Revolution
period during which the early domestication and diffusion of plants and animals and the cultivation of seed crops led to the development of agriculture
hearth
a center where innovations or new practices develop and from which the innovations or new practices spread or diffuse
Fertile Crescent
Area in Southwest Asia that includes the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates; the earliest center of domestication of seed plants
Indus River Valley
Area along the Indus River that flows from the highlands of Tibet and continues down along the border between present-day Pakistan and India; a site of the earliest domestication of plants and herd animals
Columbian Exchange
the interaction and widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, disease, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
Second Agricultural Revolution
period that brought improved methods of cultivation, harvesting, and storage of farm produce that began in the late 1600s and continued through the 1930s; used the innovations of the Industrial Revolution in England to increase food supplies and support population growth
Mechanization
Synthetic Fertilizers
Agrichemicals (herbicides and pesticides)
Select breeding
Irrigation improvements
Crop rotation
Improvements in canning, storage, and transportation - food lasted longer and could travel farther = more people could eat
agrichemicals
Chemical compounds obtained from petroleum and natural gas for use in agriculture; include fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides
pesticide
material used to kill or repel animals or insects that can damage, destroy, or inhibit crop growth
herbicide
pesticide designed to kill or inhibit the growth or unwanted plants (weeds) that compete with crops
nutrient pollution
consequence of overuse of fertilizer; occurs when excess nutrients seep down into groundwater or are carried into nearby waterways as runoff
runoff
the flow of rain or irrigation water over land
Green Revolution
the U.S.-supported development of high-yield seed varieties that increase the productivity of cereal crops and accompanying agricultural technologies for transfer to less developed countries; part of Third Agricultural Revolution
Development of high-yield seeds
Crossbreeding
Increased use of synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides
High input costs for high profit - poor cant use
Increased irrigation and mechanization
GMOs
Increased yield, resistant to disease, and could withstand the chemicals used to kill weeds and pests
double-cropping
Planting another crop on the same plot of land as soon as the first crop has been harvested
multi-cropping
planting two or three crops per year on the same land
endemic
native to or characteristic of a certain environment
soil salinization
The concentration of dissolved salts in the soil
soil salinity
a measure of the concentration of dissolved salts in the soil; high soil salinity results from poor irrigation practices
capital expenditure
assets that cost money, such as land, machinery, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, seeds, and livestock feed
bid-rent theory
explains how the demand for and price of land decreases as its distance from the CBD increases
Central Business District (CBD)
a dense cluster of offices and shops located at the city's most accessible point, usually its center
large-scale commercial operation
A large-scale farm oriented exclusively toward the production of agricultural commodities for sale in the market
Done through monocropping/monoculture
Monocropping (monoculture)
the cultivation of a single commercial crop on extensive tracts of land
agricultural cooperative
An organization where farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity such as services or production; services or production resources are provided to individual farm members
family farm
A farming operation wholly owned by a family or family corporation that sells its products to some defined market, either directly or through a cooperative
commodity chain
a series of links connecting a commodity's many places of production, distribution, and consumption
agribusiness
large corporation that provides a vast array of goods and services to support the agricultural industry
Can involve various steps in production in the food-processing industry, such as research and development, processing and production, transportation, marketing, and retail of goods
concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO)
Animal rearing system that confines livestock (such as cattle, sheep, turkeys, chickens, and hogs) in high-density cages only large enough to allow the animal's body to grow and accomodate equipment for feeding and waste removal
cool chain
The system that uses refrigeration and food-freezing technologies to keep farm produce fresh in climate-controlled environments at every stage of transport from field to retail grocers and restaurants
hinterland
the area surrounding a city
global supply chain
agribusiness, organized at the global scale; encompasses all elements of growing, harvesting, processing, transporting, marketing, consuming, and disposing of food for people
contract farming
Arrangement between an independent farmer and an agribusiness company to produce a crop; the agribusiness provides the farmer with all the supplies needed to produce a crop in exchange for a guaranteed price and buyer
proprietary seeds
seeds that are developed an entirely owned by a company
export commodity
a good or product that a country produces primarily for export to other countries, rather than for domestic consumption
subsidies
guaranteed prices for staple food crops
famine
extreme scarcity of food
dead zones
Sections of a body of water where there is very little aquatic life
desertification
the process by which once-fertile land becomes desert as a result of climate variation or human activities
water control land reclamation (draining wetlands)
the process of draining land inundated with either fresh or salt water to increase areas for agricultural production. Effects:
Loss of biodiversity
More greenhouse gasses
No more local water supply
No averting flood damage by holding and then slowly releasing water
irrigated agriculture
farming that relies on the controlled application of water to cultivated fields
aquifer
underground water deposited hundreds of thousands of years ago
sustainable agriculture
a commitment to satisfying human food and textile needs and to enhancing the quality of life for farmers and society as whole, now and in the future; it requires a balance among feeding the growing population, minimizing environmental impacts, and ensuring social justice
genetically modified organisms (GMO)
living organisms, including crops and livestock, whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering
aquaculture
the cultivation and harvesting of aquatic organisms under controlled conditions
mariculture
the farming of saltwater species such as shrimp, oysters, and marine fish
urban farming
The practice of growing fruits and vegetables on small private plots or shared community gardens within the confines of a city
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
A producer- consumer partnership -= farmers are guaranteed buyers for their produce at guaranteed prices and consumers receive fresh food directly
Ensures consumers a local supply of fresh products
Farmer gets revenue throughout the season, rather than only at the end
Consumers → Appreciation/involvement if production process
Producer understands consumer wants
farmer's market
A venue (ranging from a few stalls in the street to covered enclosures extending a few city blocks) in which farmers sell their produce directly to consumers
organic farming
The production of crops and livestock using ecological processes, natural biodiversity, and renewable resources rather than industrial practices and synthetic inputs
conventional agriculture
farming that depends on manufactured synthetic inputs, GMO seeds, and other industrial practices
value-added specialty crops
a crops whose physical state or form has been changed and it's value has increased because of this change; a crop or agriculture product that is rare or has some special quality
Ex:
Organically grown crops/meats
Rare subtropical plants (passion fruit, star fruits, etc)
Grass-fed beef and free-range chickens and eggs
Grapes → wine
Milk → cheese
Fruits → jams + jellies
fair trade
a certification program that supports good crop prices for farmers and environmentally sound farming practices; promotes higher incomes for producers in LDC’s instead of transnational corps and more sustainable farming practices; people will pay more for fair trade products for social cause
Principles:
Fair price paid to farmers by importers and pay workers a fair price
Decent work conditions - safe, no child labor
Environmental sustainability - Safe practices and no GMOs
slow-food
Movement that resists fast food by preserving the cultural cuisine and the associated food and farming practices of an ecoregion
locavores
people who dedicate themselves to slow-food diets and to obtaining as much of their nutrition as possible from local farmers
food desert
area with limited access to fresh, nutritious, and affordable foods; typically in low income/high poverty area. Causes/Reasons:
Too far from grocery store
Poor areas only have smaller stores with bad foods bc larger stores ones know they wont get as much profit
People don’t have cars or can’t afford public transport
food security
According to the United Nations, the situation in which all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to enough sage and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life