AP Human Geography - Unit 5 Agricultural Patterns & Processes

Vocab flashcards

Agriculture

The planting and harvesting of domesticated plants and the raising of domesticated animals for food

Domesticated plant

A plant that is deliberately planted, protected, cared for, and used by humans and is genetically distinct from its wild ancestors

Domesticated animal

An animal that depends on people for food and shelter and is different from its wild ancestors in looks and behavior as a result of close contact with humans

Farmers

Individuals who practice agriculture by growing crops, raising animals, or some combination of the two

Physical geography

The study of Earth’s physical characteristics and processes: how they work, how they affect humans, and how humans affect them

Nutrients

Components of topsoil (such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) necessary for plants to survive, grow, and reproduce

Topography

The arrangement of shapes on Earth’s surface

Climate

The average pattern of weather over a 30-year period for a particular region

Weather

The day-to-day atmospheric conditions that affect daily decisions

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

Seasonal 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 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain annually that can support farming

Moderate climate

A climate with an average 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 climate

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 coastal regions

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 [50–150 centimeters] annually), and cold winters with precipitation falling as snow

Humid cold climate

A climate with frigid temperatures nearly year-round; found in northern reaches of the continental climate zone and often described as subarctic

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

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 landholding devoted to capital-intensive, specialized production of a single tropical or subtropical crop for the global marketplace

Mixed crop / livestock agriculture

A diversified system of agriculture based on the cultivation of cereal grains and root crops (such as potatoes and yams) and the

rearing of herd livestock

Root crops

Vegetables that form below ground and must be dug at maturity, such as cassava, potatoes, and yams

Cash crops

A crop raised to be sold for profit rather than to feed the farm family and the livestock; common cash crops are cotton, flax, hemp, coffee, and tobacco

Paddy rice farming

A system of wet rice cultivation on small level fields bordered by impermeable dikes; the fields (paddies) are flooded with 4–6 inches (10–15 centimeters) of water for about three-quarters of the growing season

Grain farming

A highly mechanized commercial farming system that specializes in the production of cereal grains; requires large farms and widespread use of machinery, synthetic fertilizer, pesticides, and genetically engineered seeds

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

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

Extensive agriculture

Crop cultivation and livestock rearing systems that require little hired labor or monetary investment to successfully raise crops and animals

Shifting cultivation

The cultivation of a plot of land until it becomes less productive, typically over a period of about three to five years; when productivity drops, the farmer shifts to a new plot of land that has been prepared by slash-and-burn agriculture

Slash & burn 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 crops together in the same clearing

Nomadic herding

A system of breeding and rearing herd livestock, such as cattle, sheep, or goats, by following the seasonal movement of rainfall to areas of open pasturelands

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

Rural area

Area located outside of towns and cities; all the space, population, and housing not included in an urban area

Rural settlement

Small group of people living outside of an urban area

Agricultural landscape

The visible imprint of agricultural practices

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

Settlement patterns

The ways in which people organize themselves on the land

Clustered settlement / farm village

A tightly bunched farm settlement that has anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred inhabitants

Farmstead

Center of farm operations, which includes the farmhouse, barns, shed, livestock pens, and family garden

Dispersed settlement / isolated settlement pattern

A settlement pattern in which families live relatively distant from one another

Linear settlement pattern

A settlement pattern in which buildings are arranged in a line, often along a road or river; limited to areas where legal systems dictated that property lines must be rectangular

Cadastral survey

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

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 square-shaped townships with 6-mile sides

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 long-term process through which humans selectively breed, protect, and care for individuals taken from populations of wild plant and animal species to create genetically distinct species, known as domesticates

1st 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

Biodiversity

The variety and variability among species and ecosystems

Colombian 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

2nd 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

Agrichemicals

Chemical compounds obtained from petroleum and natural gas for use in agriculture; agrichemicals include fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides

Synthetic fertilizer

Industrially manufactured nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, made from petroleum by-products; contains higher concentrations of nutrients for plants than natural fertilizers

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 of unwanted plants (weeds) that compete with crops

Nutrient pollution

Consequence of overuse of fertilizer; occurs when excess nutrients seep down into ground-water 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 increased the productivity of cereal crops and accompanying agricultural technologies for transfer to less developed countries

Double cropping

Planting another crop on the same plot of land as soon as the first crop has been harvested

Multicropping

Planting two or three crops per year on the same land

Endemic

Native to or characteristic of a certain environment

Environmental contamination

Chemical residue that builds up with each application of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides

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 expenditures

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 decrease as its distance from the central business district increases

Central business district (CBD)

A dense cluster of offices and shops located at a 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

Mono cropping (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

In agriculture, a primary product that can be bought and sold, such as coffee, rice, or milk

Commodity chain

A series of links connecting a commodity many places of production, distribution, and consumption

Agribusiness

Large corporation that provides a vast array of goods and services to support the agricultural industry

Concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO)

Animal rearing system that confines livestock (like cattle, sheep, turkeys, chickens, and hogs) in high-density cages only large enough to allow the animal’s body to grow and to accommodate equipment for feeding and waste removal

Von Thunen Model

A geographical theory that explains how agricultural activities are spatially organized around a central market

Hinterland

Area surrounding a city

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 and entirely owned by a company

Subsidies

Guaranteed prices for staple food crops

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

The process of draining land inundated with either fresh water or salt water to increase areas for agricultural production

Irrigated agriculture

Farming that relies on the controlled application of water to cultivated fields

Water mining

The use of deep-well drilling technology and powerful industrial pumping systems to remove water in the ground

Aquifer

Underground water deposited hundreds of thousands of years ago

Biofuel

A fuel derived from organic wastes or plant materials

Biodiesel

Fuel made from vegetable oils

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 organism (GMO)

A living organism, including crops and livestock, that is produced through genetic engineering