APHUG: Unit 5 Chapter 13 - Vocabulary (Patterns and Practices of Agricultural Production)

Indus River Valley

an ancient civilization located in the northwestern region of South Asia, primarily along the banks of the Indus River

First Agricultural Revolution

the shift from foraging for food to farming about 11,000 years ago, marking the beginning of agriculture

Second Agricultural Revolution

a change in farming practices, marked by new tools and techniques, that diffused from Britain and the Low Countries starting in the early 18th century

Green Revolution

movement beginning in the 1950s and 1960s in which scientists used knowledge of genetics to develop new high-yield strains of grain crops

High-Yield Seed

genetically enhanced seeds designed to produce significantly higher crop yields than traditional varieties

Mechanized Farming

the use of machinery and technology to enhance agricultural production, making processes like planting, harvesting, and processing crops more efficient

Subsistence Agriculture

an agricultural practice that provides crops or livestock to feed one’s family and close community using fewer mechanical resources and more people to care for the crops and livestock

Commercial Agriculture

an agricultural practice that focuses on producing crops and raising animals for the market for others to purchase

Monocropping/Monoculture

the cultivation of one or two crops that are rotated seasonally, the agricultural system of planting one crop or raising one type of animal annually

Bid-Rent Theory

a theory that describes the relationships between land value, commercial location, and transportation (primarily in urban areas) using a bid-rent gradient, or slope; used to describe how land costs are determined

Commodity Chain

a network of people, information, processes, and resources that work together to produce, handle, and distribute a commodity or product

Economies of Scale

cost reductions that occur when production rises

Von Thünens Model

a model that suggests that perishability of the product and transport costs to the market each factor into the location of agricultural land use and activity

Global Supply Chain

a network of people, information, processes, and resources that work together to produce, handle, and distribute goods around the world

Export Commodity

a product that is produced in one country and sold to another country, playing a vital role in the global trade system

Land Cover Charge

the alteration of the physical and biological cover on the earth's surface, which can result from both natural processes and human activities

Desertification

a form of land degradation that occurs when soil to deteriorates to a desertlike condition