APHuman Unit Five: DePiano

Agribusiness

The integration of agricultural cultivation, processing, and distribution of food within the food-processing industry.

Aquaculture

The practice of raising and harvesting food that lives in water.

Arable Land

Land that is suitable for farming and capable of producing crops.

Bid-Rent Theory

Land costs more when it is in high demand, particularly in areas near a market.

Biodiversity

The variety of life found within the world or a specific habitat.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population an environment can sustainably support

Clustered Settlement

Rural pattern where homes and farm buildings are grouped closely together and surrounded by farmland.

Columbian Exchange

The global movement of plants and animals between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas following 1492.

Commercial Agriculture

When crops are grown strictly for profit rather than personal use.

Commodity Chain

A corporate process for gathering resources, manufacturing goods, and transporting them to consumers.

Community-Supported Agriculture

Land farmed collectively to provide food for the benefit of the entire community.

Crop Rotation

The practice of switching different crops in a field each year to avoid exhausting the soil.

Dairy farming

The practice of raising animals to harvest milk.

Deforestation

The removal of large forest tracts through natural or human-led actions.

Desertification

The process of fertile land transforming into arid desert.

Dispersed Settlement

Rural pattern defined by isolated farms rather than grouped villages.

Distance Decay

The interaction between two places decreases as the distance between them grows.

Domestication

The process of raising plants and animals specifically for human use.

Double Cropping

Planting and harvesting the same land twice within a single year.

Enclosure Acts

British laws that allowed landowners to purchase and fence off previously common land (Community Utilized) .

Extensive Farming

Uses lower inputs of capital and labor relative to the large amount of land being used.

Fair Trade Movement

An effort to increase farmer incomes in developing nations and protect workers' rights.

Feedlot

A concentrated area where livestock are raised quickly on hormones and grains for slaughter.

Fertile Crescent

Agricultural region in the Middle East between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Fertilizer

Natural or chemical substance added to soil to increase its fertility.

Food Desert

A community that lacks access to fresh and affordable food due to a shortage of grocery stores.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Crops with altered genetic structures designed to be more useful for human purposes.

Grain Farming

The cultivation of grains, primarily wheat, for human consumption.

Green Revolution

The development of higher-yielding and faster-growing varieties of grains.

Horticulture

Type of agriculture focused on producing perishable items that must reach the market quickly.

Intensive Farming

Requires high levels of capital and labor relative to the land area being used.

Irrigation

The process of diverting water from its natural source to assist in crop production.

Linear

Pattern where farms are clustered along a road with fields extending behind them.

Long Lot

French survey method using long, rectangular plots along rivers to ensure equal water access.

Luxury Crops

Non-essential products that carry a high profit margin.

Market Gardening

Involves growing fruits and vegetables primarily for the purpose of freezing and canning.

Mediterranean Farming

Practiced in regions with hot, dry summers and mild winters, often in narrow valleys.

Metes + Bounds

Survey method that divides land based on physical features, distance, and direction.

Mixed Crop/Livestock Farming

Integrated system where crops grown on-site are used to feed the farm's livestock.

Monoculture

The agricultural practice of specializing in a single crop.

Neolithic Agricultural Revolution

The origin of farming through the initial domestication of plants and animals.

Organic Food

Food produced without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or other unnatural processes.

Pastoral Nomadism

The movement of animal herds to different pastures within a territory.

Pesticides

Substances used to destroy insects or organisms that harm crops or animals.

Plantation Farming

Large-scale commercial farming specializing in one crop.

Ranching

The commercial grazing of animals within a specifically confined area.

Second Agricultural Revolution

Used Industrial Revolution advances to increase food supplies and support population growth.

Shifting Cultivation

Involves moving crops between fields and clearing land by burning vegetation.

Soil Degradation

Occurs when soil loses its ability to support plants and becomes easily eroded.

Soil Salinization

The buildup of salt residue in arid soil after irrigation water evaporates, eventually causing infertility.

Subsistence Agriculture

Farmers grow food primarily to feed themselves and their families.

Suitcase Farm

A farm where no one lives, and work is done by nearby farmers or migrant workers.

Sustainability

The use of resources in a way that ensures their availability for future generations.

Terrace Farming

Involves building steps into a hillside to create flat surfaces for agriculture.

Third Agricultural Revolution

Began in the 1960s and featured agribusiness models and efficient machinery alongside the Green Revolution.

Township + Range

A survey method that uses latitude and longitude to divide land into squares.

Urban Agriculture

The practice of growing and distributing food within or around towns and cities.

Von Thunen’s Land Use Model

An economic model that predicts agricultural patterns based on a farm's distance from the market.