APHUG Unit 5

Plantation Agriculture

Large-scale commercial farming found mostly in the tropics/subtropics that grows one main cash crop (like bananas, sugarcane, coffee) primarily for export, often using low-paid labor.

Monoculture

The practice of growing a single crop species over a large area for many years; efficient but risky because it reduces biodiversity and increases vulnerability to pests and disease.

Commercial Farming

Agriculture where crops and livestock are produced mainly for sale in the market rather than for the farmer’s own use.

Subsistence Farming

Farming where farmers grow food mainly to feed themselves and their families, with little or no surplus for sale.

Crop Rotation

The practice of planting different crops in the same field in different seasons or years to maintain soil fertility and reduce pests and disease.

Double Cropping

Harvesting two crops from the same field in one year, common in regions with long growing seasons.

Slash-and-Burn

A farming method where vegetation is cut and burned to clear land for cultivation; ash adds nutrients to soil but can cause deforestation and soil depletion over time.

Organic Farming

Agriculture that avoids synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and GMOs, instead using natural methods like composting and biological pest control.

Shifting Cultivation

A form of subsistence agriculture where farmers move from field to field, leaving old plots fallow so soil can recover (slash-and-burn is one technique used in this system).

First Agricultural Revolution (Neolithic Revolution)

The transition from hunting and gathering to farming and domestication of plants and animals about 10,000 years ago.

Second Agricultural Revolution

Changes in agriculture during the 1700s–1800s that increased food production (crop rotation, enclosure movement, mechanization), helping support population growth and industrialization.

Third Agricultural Revolution

The use of modern technology in farming, including machinery, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and improved irrigation.

Green Revolution

A period (mid-20th century) of agricultural development using high-yield seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation to dramatically increase food production, especially in developing countries.

Transhumance

Seasonal movement of livestock between lowlands (winter) and highlands (summer) to find pasture.

Biodiversity

The variety of plant and animal species in an ecosystem; higher biodiversity makes ecosystems more resilient.

Biomass

Organic material from living or recently living organisms (plants, animal waste) that can be used as a renewable energy source.

Von Thünen Model

A model explaining how agricultural land use is arranged around a central market city based on transportation costs and land value (e.g., dairy and vegetables close to the city, grains and ranching farther away).

Luxury Crop

A non-essential crop grown mainly for profit and export rather than survival (e.g., coffee, tea, cocoa, tobacco).

Animal Domestication

The selective breeding and raising of animals for human use such as food, labor, clothing, and transportation.

Ranching

Commercial grazing of livestock (cattle, sheep) over large areas of land, often in dry regions.

Agribusiness

Large-scale, industrialized agriculture operated by corporations that control production, processing, and distribution of food.

Desertification

The process by which fertile land becomes desert-like due to overfarming, deforestation, drought, and climate change.

NIMBYism (Not In My Backyard)

Opposition by residents to unwanted land uses (like landfills, factories, or farms with odors) near where they live, even if they support them elsewhere.

Aquaculture

The farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish, and seaweed in controlled water environments.

Aquaponics

A system that combines aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics; fish waste provides nutrients for plants, and plants clean the water for fish.

Hydroponics

Growing plants without soil by using nutrient-rich water solutions.

Market Gardening

Small-scale commercial farming of fruits and vegetables sold directly to consumers or nearby urban markets.

The Fertile Crescent

An early center of agriculture in Southwest Asia (modern-day Middle East) where crops like wheat and barley were first domesticated.

Pastoral Nomadism

A form of subsistence agriculture based on herding animals and moving from place to place in search of grazing land and water.

Extractive Industry

An industry that removes natural resources from the Earth (mining, logging, fishing, oil drilling).

Township and Range

A land division system in the U.S. using a grid of square townships and sections, mainly in the Midwest.

Long Lots

A land division pattern where farms are long, narrow strips that give each landowner access to a river or road (common in French settlements).

Metes and Bounds

A land survey system that uses natural landmarks (trees, rivers, rocks) and directions to define property boundaries.

Specialty Agriculture

Farming focused on specific, often high-value products such as fruits, nuts, wine grapes, flowers, or organic produce.