Edexcel IGCSE Geography - Rural Environments

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering terminology, biomes, agricultural systems, and demographic processes for Edexcel IGCSE Geography - Rural Environments.

Accessibility

The ease with which one location is reached from another.

Arable Farming

A type of agriculture where the emphasis is on growing crops.

Pastoral Farming

The rearing of livestock such as sheep or cattle for meat, milk, wool etc.

Cash Cropping

The raising of crops for market sale rather than domestic consumption.

Commercial Farming

The raising of crops and livestock for sale in markets rather than for domestic consumption.

Conservation

The protection of aspects of the environment for the future benefit of people.

Counterurbanisation

The movement of people and activities away from large cities to small towns, villages or the countryside.

Depopulation

People leaving the countryside, often to go to urban areas, so rural population goes down.

Ecosystem

A community and plants that interact with each other and their physical environment.

Fauna

Animals.

Irrigation

The addition of water to farmland by artificial means, such as pipelines and sprays.

Genetic Engineering

Changing the genetic material of a plant or animal to produce such things as a greater resistance to disease and a higher yield.

Glasshouse

A glass building used to control the conditions of plant cultivation. Such structures protect the crops from wind and heavy rain, as well as make the most of available sunlight.

Out-Migration

The movement of people away from an area.

Rural

The countryside or non-urbanised areas. Rural areas may have small settlements, low population density and open space used for farming.

System

A set of interrelated components (stores) and processes (transfers). There are two types of system: an open system has inputs and outputs; a closed system has none.

Biome

A world-scale ecosystem usually defined by the dominant vegetation, for example the tropical rain forest.

Adaptation

The way plants and animals have evolved to cope with the conditions they live in, such as grasses being able to survive fire by growing from their base.

High Yielding Varieties (HYVs)

High Yielding Varieties of cereal crops such as rice and wheat which have been developed since the 1960s and can more than double yields.

Service Provision

Making available a range of commercial and social services, from shops to schools.

Temperate Grassland

A biome found in the dry interiors of continents that supports large numbers of grasses, rather than trees or shrubs.

Boreal Forest

A biome characterised by coniferous forests; boreal ecosystem refers to an ecosystem with a subarctic climate in the Northern Hemisphere.

Diversification

When a farm branches out from traditional farming by adding new money making activities. This can be in place of or in addition to its traditional farming pursuits.

Deserts

Ecosystems that are arid or dry, and get less than $250\,\text{mm}$ of rain per year. Deserts can be hot or cold. Plants and animals in the desert ecosystem have adaptations that allow them to survive the lack of rainfall and extreme temperatures.

Extensive Farming

Farming large areas of land, with low inputs (labour, fertilisers) and low yields.

Farm Economy

Agricultural activities which generate income.

Genetically Modified (GM) Food

Food coming from crops and livestock that have been genetically engineered to improve productivity and disease-resistance. The scientific techniques include either transferring genes from one organism to another, or changing genetic materials within an organism.

Goods

Items which you buy. Goods produced by ecosystems include food (meat, fish, vegetables etc), water, fuels and timber.

Income Stream

The money which results from a particular activity (e.g. diversification provides new income streams).

Intensive Farming

Farming with high inputs (fertilisers, labour and fossil fuels) often in a small area, producing high yields.

IGO (Intergovernmental Organization)

An agency (like the World Bank or the European Union) set up by two or more states (countries) to carry out projects and plans in common interest.

Negative Multiplier

When one process (e.g. population growth) leads to a negative result (e.g. rural-urban migration) with further negatives (e.g. loss of workforce means that yields decrease).

NGO

A non-governmental organization, usually a charity.

Organic Farming

A method of crop and livestock production that involves much more than choosing not to use pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics and growth hormones.

Quality of Life

The standard of health, comfort, and happiness experienced by an individual or group.

Recreation and Leisure

Leisure = free time, freedom from time-consuming duties, responsibilities, or activities; recreation = play, refreshment of one's mind or body after work through activity that amuses or stimulates.

Rural Isolation

Often assessed through the proximity to services - it is a form of deprivation.

Rural-Urban Migration

People leaving from the countryside to live in towns and cities.

Services

Services in ecosystems refer to any beneficial natural process arising from healthy ecosystems, such as purification of water and air, pollination of plants and decomposition of waste.

Suburbanisation

A move from inner to outer urban areas.

Structure (Population)

The balance of young, middle aged, and old people in an area. A population pyramid shows the age and gender structure of an area's population.

Subsistence Farming

To produce food to eat and selling any extra that might be produced.

Sustainable Rural Living

Is based on producing low impact, rural communities in which economic, social and environmental values are in harmony.

Temperate Forests

Are found in mid latitudes and they are deciduous.

Tropical Forests

Temperate rainforests are found north or south of the equator; the tropical rainforest is a hot, moist biome where it rains all year long, and there is no seasonal leaf loss.

Tundra

A type of biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons.

Change

To make or become different.

Modify

Make partial or minor changes to something, typically so as to improve it or to make it less extreme.

Population Growth

An increase in the number of people in a country.

Natural Hazards

Natural phenomenon with negative effect.