AP HG U5

Agriculture

The deliberate cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food and other products. Ex: Corn farming in Iowa; rice cultivation in Vietnam

Subsistence Agriculture

Farming to feed only the farmer's own family, with little surplus. Ex: Small family farms in rural sub-Saharan Africa

Commercial Agriculture

Farming for profit, with crops sold in markets. Ex: Large-scale wheat farming in Kansas

Intensive Agriculture

Agriculture requiring large inputs of labor or capital per unit of land. Ex: Rice paddies in Asia requiring constant water management and hand labor

Extensive Agriculture

Agriculture using large amounts of land with minimal labor input per acre. Ex: Cattle ranching in the American West

Shifting Cultivation

Farming method where land is cleared, farmed briefly, then abandoned to regenerate. Ex: Slash-and-burn agriculture in the Amazon rainforest

Slash and Burn

Clearing land by cutting and burning vegetation to temporarily fertilize soil. Ex: Indigenous groups in Southeast Asia practicing swidden agriculture

Pastoral Nomadism

A form of subsistence agriculture involving moving herds across large areas. Ex: Mongolian herders moving cattle and horses across the steppe seasonally

Transhumance

Seasonal movement of livestock between mountain and lowland pastures. Ex: Swiss farmers moving cattle to alpine meadows in summer

Plantation Agriculture

Large-scale commercial farming, usually in tropical areas, growing a single crop for export. Ex: Banana plantations in Honduras owned by Chiquita

Monoculture

Growing only one type of crop over a large area. Ex: Iowa cornfields; coffee farms in Colombia

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming

Integrating crops and animal husbandry on the same farm. Ex: Midwestern US farms growing corn to feed their own pigs and cattle

Organic Farming

Farming without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Ex: Growing lettuce with natural compost in California's Salinas Valley

GMO (Genetically Modified Organism)

An organism whose DNA has been altered through genetic engineering. Ex: Bt corn modified to resist pests; Golden Rice engineered for higher Vitamin A

Green Revolution

The introduction of high-yield crop varieties, fertilizers, and irrigation to developing nations in the mid-20th century. Ex: Norman Borlaug's high-yield wheat transformed food production in Mexico and India

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, culture, and diseases between the Americas and the Old World after Columbus. Ex: Potatoes and tomatoes traveled to Europe; horses and smallpox traveled to the Americas

Agricultural Revolution (First)

The shift from hunter-gatherer to settled farming societies ~10,000 BCE. Ex: Mesopotamia as one of the first agricultural hearths

Second Agricultural Revolution

Mechanization and improved farming techniques that increased productivity during the Industrial Revolution. Ex: Horse-drawn plows, crop rotation in 18th-century Britain

Third Agricultural Revolution

The Green Revolution; technology-driven explosion in agricultural productivity after WWII. Ex: High-yield rice varieties in Asia feeding rapidly growing populations

Von Thünen Model

A model showing how land use around a city is organized in rings based on transportation costs and land value. Ex: Dairy and market gardening near the city center; ranching and grain farming farther out

Bid-Rent Theory

Land value and rent decrease as distance from the CBD increases. Ex: Office towers in Manhattan pay highest rent; suburban malls pay less

Rural Land Use

How land in non-urban areas is used for agriculture, recreation, conservation, etc. Ex: The Great Plains are used predominantly for wheat and cattle farming

Agribusiness

Large-scale, corporate-run agriculture integrating many levels of food production. Ex: Tyson Foods controlling chicken production from feed to supermarket shelves

Food Desert

An area with limited access to affordable, nutritious food. Ex: Many low-income urban neighborhoods in Chicago lack grocery stores

Commodity Chain

The sequence of production, processing, and distribution of an agricultural product. Ex: Coffee picked in Ethiopia → processed → shipped → roasted in Italy → sold at Starbucks in the US

Agricultural Surplus

Excess food beyond what is needed for survival, enabling specialization. Ex: Ancient Egypt's Nile floods created surpluses that funded pyramid construction

Aquaculture

The farming of aquatic organisms like fish or shrimp in controlled environments. Ex: Salmon farming in Norway; shrimp farming in Thailand

Genetically Modified Crops

Crops engineered for higher yield, pest resistance, or drought tolerance. Ex: Roundup Ready soybeans engineered by Monsanto to resist herbicides

Feedlot

A confined area where livestock are fattened before slaughter. Ex: Massive cattle feedlots in Texas and Kansas raising millions of cows

Desertification

The process by which fertile land becomes desert due to overuse or drought. Ex: The Sahel region of Africa is experiencing desertification due to overgrazing

Soil Salinization

The buildup of salt in soil, making it infertile, often from irrigation. Ex: Parts of the Aral Sea basin have been ruined by salt from Soviet-era irrigation

Land Reform

The redistribution of land from large landowners to small farmers. Ex: Zimbabwe's controversial land reform in the 2000s redistributed white-owned farms