Unit 5 Vocab unfamiliar

Pastoral Nomadism

The herding of domesticated animals in dry climates where planting crops is impossible.

Nomadic Herding

The seasonal movement of livestock along routes to regions with available grazing land and water sources.

Monocropping

The practice of growing the same single crop year after year.

Truck Farming

Commercial gardening and fruit farming; named after the Middle English word meaning bartering or the exchange of commodities.

Second Agricultural Revolution

A period that increased productivity through improvements in crop rotation and breeding livestock.

Green Revolution

Rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers.

Conservation Tillage

Methods of soil cultivation that reduce soil erosion and runoff.

No Tillage

A practice that leaves all soil undisturbed and the entire residue of the previous year's harvest untouched.

Ridge Tillage

A system of planting crops on ridge tops.

Fertile Crescent

A region of the Middle East that was particularly fertile several thousand years ago.

Labor Intensive

An industry for which labor costs comprise a high percentage of total expenses.

Capital Intensive

A form of agriculture that uses mechanical goods to produce large amounts of agricultural goods.

Transhumance

The seasonal movement of livestock between mountains and lowland pastures.

Von Thünen Model

A model that describes how the spatial organization of agriculture is influenced by distance from markets.

Bid-rent Theory/Curve

A geographical economic theory about how the price and demand for real estate change with distance from the CBD.

Complex Commodity Food Chain

A linked system of processes that gather resources and convert them into goods for market distribution.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and technology between the Old World and the New World.

Economies of Scale

Cost advantages companies gain when production becomes efficient.

Soil Salinization

Occurs when soil in an arid climate is made available for agriculture using irrigation, leading to salt residues.

Irrigation

A man-made system that spreads water over a large area to aid in agricultural production.

Local Food Movement/Locavore

A movement to connect food producers and consumers within the same geographic region.

Economic Complementarity

When two countries trade different goods or services that each needs but doesn't produce independently.

Indus River Valley

The region around the Indus River in modern-day Pakistan and northwest India.

Monoculture

The agricultural practice of growing only one type of crop or plant species over a large area.

Carl Sauer

Geographer who defined the concept of cultural landscape and its relation to agriculture.