Unit 5 List 2 Agricultural and Rural Land Use

The second list for the Agricultural unit.

Mediterranean Agriculture –

Farming in the land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea (Southern Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia), also in lands with similar climates (California, central Chile, Southwestern South Africa, and Southwestern Australia).

Mineral Fuels –

Natural resources containing hydrocarbons, which are not derived from animal or plant sources.

Mining –

Extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, vein, or coal seam. Any material that cannot be grown from agricultural processes, or created artificially.

Planned Economy –

Economic system in which a single agency makes all decisions about the production and allocation of goods and services. Commonly used in which state or government controls the factors of production and makes all decisions about their use and about the distribution of income.

Renewable –

Energy replaced continually within a human lifespan, has an essentially unlimited supply and is not depleted when used by people. Solar energy, hydroelectric, geothermal, fusion and wind, are the most widely used.

Non-Renewable –

Energy formed so slowly that for practical purposes it cannot be renewed. The three main fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, and coal) plus nuclear energy are the most widely used, mostly because they are more cost efficient.

Rural Settlement –

Sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities. Live in villages, hamlets on farms, or in other isolated houses. Typically have an agricultural character, with an economy based on logging, mining, petroleum, natural gas or tourism.

Dispersed –

Characterized by farmers living on individual farms isolated from neighbors rather than alongside other farmers in the area.

Nucleated –

a number of families live in close proximity to each other, with fields surrounding the collection of houses and farm buildings.

Sauer, Carl O. –

defined cultural landscape, as an area fashioned from nature by a cultural group. A combination of cultural features such as language and religion; economic features such as agriculture and industry; and physical features such as climate and vegetation. “Culture is the agent, the natural area is the medium, the cultural landscape is the result.”

Second Agricultural Revolution –

Precursor to Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, that allowed a shift in work force beyond subsistence farming to allow labor to work in factories. Started in United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Denmark, especially with the Enclosure Act, which consolidated land in Great Britain. Potatoes and corn diffused from America’s to Europe, and other resources followed from colonial possessions to Europe.

Specialization –

Third level of cities (behind World Cities, and Command and Control Centers), offer a narrow and highly specialized variety of services.

Staple Grains –

such as corn, wheat, and rice, are the world’s most popular food crops. In fact, these crops are often the basis for food staples.

Suitcase Farm –

Individuals who live in urban areas a great distance from their land and drive to the country to care for their crops and livestock. This practice lends itself well to the growth of wheat. Allows families to continue their long relationships with the ancestral farm, but still enjoy the benefits of waged incomes in urban environments.

Long Lots Survey Pattern: (French) –

Houses erected on narrow lots perpendicular along a river, so that each original settler had equal river access.

Metes and Bounds Survey Pattern: (English) –

Uses physical features of the local geography, along with directions and distances, to define the boundaries of a particular piece of land.

Township-and-Range Survey Pattern (U.S.A) –

used west of Ohio, after the purchase of the Louisiana Purchase. Land is divided into six-mile square blocks (township), which is then divided into one-mile square blocks, then broken into smaller parcels to be sold or given to people to develop.

Sustainable Yield –

an amount of a renewable recourse that can be harvested regular with out reducing the future supply

Third Agricultural Revolution –

‘Green Revolution’ Rapid diffusion of new agricultural techniques between 1970’s and 1980’s, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers. Has caused agricultural productivity at a global scale to increase faster than population growth.

Mechanization –

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

Chemical Farming –

Increased use of fertilizers with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Food Manufacturing –

Involves adding economic value to agricultural products through a range of treatments

‘Tragedy of the Commons’ –

social trap that involves a conflict over resources between interests and the common good.

Transhumance –

pastoral practice of seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pasture areas.

Truck Farm –

the production of crops of some vegetables on an extensive scale in regions especially suited to their culture primarily for shipment to distant markets

Von Thunen, Johann Heinrich –

1826, Northern Germany. When choosing an enterprise, a commercial farmer compares two costs; cost of the land versus the cost of transporting production to market. Identifies a crop that can be sold for more than the land cost, distance of land to market is critical because the cost of transporting varies by crop.