Unit 5 Agricultural Patterns and Processes

agricultural hearths

Places where agriculture first developed and originated.

agriculture

the purposeful cultivation of plants or raising of animals to produce goods for survival

Bid rent theory

different land users are prepared to pay different amounts, the bid rents, for locations at various distances from the city center.

CBD (central business district)

the downtown heart of a central city, marked by high land values, a concentration of business and commerce and the clustering of the tallest buildings

climate regions

are the areas that share similar temperatures and precipitation throughout the year

clustered settlement pattern

many buildings are grouped together and are often found in lowland areas along roads

Colombian Exchange

the transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Americas and Europe, Asia, and Africa

Commercial Agriculture

Agriculture undertaken primarily to generate products for sale off the farm.

crop rotation

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

dispersed settlement pattern

A rural settlement pattern characterized by isolated farms rather than clustered villages.

Domestication

Domestication is the process of adapting wild plants and animals for human use.

Enclosure system and enclosure act

Public fields were enclosed by fences, hedges, & walls by private owners. This allowed owners to use the land as they wanted with improved farming techniques

extensive agriculture

a crop or livestock system characterized by low inputs of labor per unit area of land. May be part of either a subsistence or a commercial economy

Fertile Crescent/Mesopotamia

Hearth of Agriculture

First Agricultural Revolution (Neolithic Revolution)

Planting of seeds and the domestication of animals

Foragers

people who support themselves by hunting, fishing, and gathering wild edible plants and insects

GMO (genetically modified organism)

An organism that is created when scientists take one or more specific genes from one organism and introduce them into another organism thus creating a new version

intensive agriculture

expenditure of much labor and capital on a piece of land to increase its productivity

linear settlement

Buildings clustered along a road, dike etc. and a narrow field behind them

Primogeniture

right of inheritance belongs exclusively to the eldest son

market gardening

the growing of vegetables or flowers for market

truck farming

commercial gardening and fruit farming

Mediterranean agriculture

specialized farming that occurs only in areas where the dry-summer Mediterranean climate prevails

mixed crop and livestock farming

both animal and crops are farmed in the same area, it's helpful because farmers could distribute the workload more evenly through the year

Monocropping (monoculture)

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

nomadic herding/Pastoral Nomadism

migratory but controlled movement of livestock, A form of subsistence agriculture based on herding domesticated animals.

plantation agriculture

Production system based on a large estate owned by an individual, family, or corporation and organized to produce a cash crop. Almost all plantations were established within the tropics.

Second Agricultural Revolution

tools and equipment were modified, methods of soil preparation, fertilization, crop care, and harvesting improved the general organization of agriculture made more efficient

shifting cultivation (slash and burn)

cultivation of crops in tropical forest clearings in which the forest vegetation has been removed by cutting and burning. the clearings are usually abandoned after a few years in favor of newly cleared forest land. Also known as slash-and-burn agriculture.

slash and burn agriculture

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

subsistence farming

farming in which only enough food to feed one's family is produced

Transhumance

The seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pastures.

township and range system

A rectangular land division scheme designed by Thomas Jefferson to disperse settlers evenly across farmlands of the U.S. interior.

metes and bounds system

natural features were used to demarcate irregular parcels of land

long-lot survey system

divided land into narrow parcels stretching back from rivers, roads, or canals

wet rice farming

The practice of planting rice on dry land in a nursery and then moving the seedlings to a flooded field for growth

organic farming

the use of natural substances rather than chemical fertilizers and pesticides to enrich the soil and grow crops

Ranching

A form of commercial agriculture in which livestock graze over an extensive area.

Third Agricultural Revolution

increased use of chemicals, mechanized farming, and elaborate irrigation systems