APHG Ch 11 Vocab: Agriculture

organic agriculture

organic agriculture

approach to farming and ranching that avoids the use of herbicides, pesticides, growth hormones and other synthetic inputs

agriculture

purposeful tending of crops and livestock in order to produce food and fiber

econmic activity

five types of economic activity that contribute to an overall economy:

1. primary

2. secondary

3. tertiary

4. quaternary

5. quinary

primary

economic activity concerned with the direct extraction of natural resources from the environment; ex mining, fishing, lumbering, and especially agriculture

secondary

processing raw materials and their transformatoin into finished industrial products (manufacturing sector)

tertiary

provision of services; transportation, banking, retailing, education and routine office based jobs

quaternary

collection processing and manipulation of information and capital; finance, admin, insurance and legal services

quinary

service sector industries that require high level of specialized knowledge or skill; typically only found in core countries

plant domestication

genetic modification of plants such that its reproductive success depends on humans; made to be more useful through breeding

root crops

crop that is reproduced by cultivating the roots of or the cuttings from the plants

seed crops

crop that is reproduced through culitivating seeds of plants

First Agricltural Revolution

dating back 10000 years achieved plant and animal domestication

animal domestication

genetic modification of animals so that they are more beneficial to humans

subsistence agriculture

self-sufficient agriculture that is small scale and low technology, emphasizes food production for local consumption NOT trade

shifting cultivation

cultivatioon of crops in tropical forest clearings in which forest vegetation has been removed by cuttting and burning; usually abandoned after a few years in favor of newly cleared forestland

Second Agricultural Revolution

witness improved methods of cultivation, harvesting and storage of farm produce; occured alongside Industrial ev

von Thunen Model

model that explains the location of agricultural activities in a commericial, profit making economy; process of spatial competition allocates various farming activities into rings around a central market city, with profit earning capability the determining force in how far a corp locates from the market

Third Agricultural Revolution

currently in progress, development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

biotechnology

technology designed to manipulate seed varieties to increase crop yields

Green Revolution

successful development of higher yielding fast growing varieties of rice and other cereals in certaind evloping countries, lead to increased product per unit area and a dramatic narrowing of the gap between population growth and food needs

genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

crops that carry new traits that have been inserted through advanced genetic engineering methods

rectangular survey system

also called Public Land Survey; system used by US land Office Survey to parcel land west of the Appalachin Moutains; system divides land into a series of rectangular parcels

township and range system

a rectangular land division scheme designed by Thomas Jefferson to disperse settlers evenly across farmlands of the US interior

metes and bounds system

system of land surveying east of the Appalachian Moutains; relies on descriptions of land ownership and natural features such as streams or trees; because of inprecise nature of metes and bounds abandoned the technique in favor of the rectangular survey system

long lot survey system

distinct regional approach to land surveying found in the Canadian Maritimes parts of Quebec, Louisiana and Texas whereby land is divided into narrow parcels stretching back from rivers roads or canals

primogeniture

system where the eldest son in a family or sometimes daughter inherits all the dying parent’s land

commerical agriculture

term used to describe large scale farming and ranching operations that emply vast land bases, alarge mechanized equipment, factory type labor forces and the lastest technology

monoculture

dependence on a single agricultural commodity

Koppen Climate Classification System

system for classifying world’s climates on the basis of temperature and precipitation

climate regions

areas of the world with similar climatic characteristics

plantation agriculture

production system based on a large estate owned by an individual family or corporation organized to produce cash crops; almost all plantations established in tropics

livestock ranching

raising of domesticated animals for the production of meat and other byproducts

Mediterranean agriculture

specialized farming that occurs only in areas where dry summer Mediterranean climate prevails

cash crops

crops made explicitly for mass production and trade (tobacco, corn, cotton)

luxury crops

non-subsistence crops such as tea, cacao, coffee and tobacco

agribusiness

general term for the businesses that provide the vast array of goods and services that support the agriculture industry

food desert

an area characterized by a lack of affordable, fresh and nutritious food