APES agriculture

industrial agriculture

intensive farming practices involving mechanization and mass production

energy subsidy

the fossil fuel energy and human energy input per calorie of food produced

Green Revolution

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

Waterlogging

A form of soil degradation that occurs when soil remains under water for prolonged periods.

mechanization

In agriculture, the replacement of human labor with technology or machines.

compaction

the process by which sediments are pressed together under their own weight

soil salinization

in arid regions, water evaporates leaving salts behind. (ex. Fertile crescent, southwestern US)

synthetic fertilizer

Fertilizer produced commercially, normally with the use of fossil fuels

animal manure

Dung and urine of animals used as a form of organic fertilizer.

green manure

Freshly cut or still-growing green vegetation that is plowed into the soil to increase the organic matter and humus available to support crop growth.

compost

a mixture of decaying vegetation and manure

monocropping

An agricultural method that utilizes large plantings of a single species or variety

pesticides

Chemicals used on plants that do not harm the plants, but kill pests and have negative repercussions on other species who ingest the chemicals.

Insecticides

A pesticide that targets species of insects and other invertebrates

Broad-spectrum pesticides

a pesticide that kills many different types of pests

narrow spectrum pesticides

targets only a specific type of insect or plant

biological pest control

The use of certain organisms by humans to eliminate or control pests.

pesticide treadmill

A cycle of pesticide development, followed by pest resistance, followed by new pesticide development

GMO

Genetically modified organism made when DNA is removed from one organism and placed within the DNA of what can be a very different organism.

conventional agriculture

industrial agriculture where labor is reduced and machinery is used

shifting agriculture

An agricultural method in which land is cleared and used for a few years until the soil is depleted of nutrients.

slash and burn agriculture

Another name for shifting cultivation, so named because fields are cleared by slashing the vegetation and burning the debris.

Desertification

Degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting.

nomadic grazing

Feeding herds of animals by moving them to seasonally productive feeding grounds, often over long distances

intercropping

An agricultural method in which two or more crop species are planted in the same field at the same time to promote a synergistic interaction.

crop rotation

The practice of rotating use of different fields from crop to crop each year, to avoid exhausting the soil.

Agroforestry

An agricultural technique in which trees and vegetables are intercropped

contour plowing

plowing fields along the curves of a slope to prevent soil loss

no-till agriculture

An agricultural method in which farmers do not turn the soil between seasons, used as a means of reducing erosion

Polyculture

Complex form of intercropping in which a large number of different plants maturing at different times are planted together.

Terracing

creating flat platforms in the hillside that provide a level planting surface, which reduces soil runoff from the slope.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

An agricultural practice that uses a variety of techniques designed to minimize pesticide inputs

organic agriculture

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

CAFO

concentrated animal feeding operation which is a large feedlot to fatten animals before slaughter

artificial growth hormones

synthetic hormones used to increase the size or product produced by an animal.

(rBGH or rBST)

free-range meat

meat produced more sustainably than that in CAFOs through natural grazing and open spaces, reduced use of antibiotics, and naturally dispersed manure; cons include more land required and higher cost

fishery

a commercially harvestable population of fish within a particular ecological region

fishery collapse

the decline of a fish population by 90% or more

Bycatch

The unintentional catch of nontarget species while fishing

individual transferable quota

A fishery management program in which individual fishers are given a total allowable catch of fish in a season that they can either catch or sell.

Aquaculture

Raising marine and freshwater fish in ponds and underwater cages