AP Human Geography | U5 Agricultural Patterns & Processes [AMSCO + NOTES EDITION]

supply chain

a worldwide network to maximize profits in production; includes all the steps required to get a product or service to customers.

luxury crops

these crops are not essential to human survival but have high profit margin ex. cocoa beans

fair trade movement

a movement which started with the fair trade certificates for coffee in 1988. it is an effort to promote higher incomes for produces and more sustainable farming practices.

subsidies

public financial support, to farmers to safeguard food production.

slash and burn agriculture

fields are cleared by slashing the vegetation and burning the debris. often referred to as shifting cultivation

terrace farming

one of the earliest human alterations of landscape; farmers built a series of steps into the side of a hill and created flat surfaces.

irrigation

the process of applying controlled amounts of water to crops using dams, canals, pipes, or sprinkler system's instead of relying on rainfall.

draining wet-lands

wetlands are non productive agricultural lands. to convert them into arable land, the water is drained away and the land is bulldozed into flat plains for agriculture.

soil salinization

in arid regions, water evaporates leaving salts behind. (ex. fertile crescent, southwestern united states)

deforestation

destruction of forests/reduction in forests

desertification

degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting.

aquaculture (aquafarming)

the practice of raising and harvesting fish and other forms of food that live in water

urban farming

agriculture takes the form of roof-top, balcony, backyard gardening, as well as in vacant lots and parks in an urban area

organic farming

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

community supported agriculture (CSA)

system that brings producers and consumers into a type of partnership. Consumers buy a share, or subscribe to a certain quantity of crops for a season

value-added crops

crops that consumers are willing to pay more for because of special qualities or difficulty to obtain.

local food movement

trend among some consumers is when consumers seek food that is produced nearby.

.vertical farming

practice of growing crops inside in stackable trays, using green houses, artificial lights.

hydroponics

allows crops to grow without soil using mineral-enriched solutions. these processes use less water and less land.

food insecurity

when households lack access to adequate food because of limited money or other resources

food desert

neighborhood where residents have little to no access to healthy and affordable food

gender inequality

unequal opportunities, treatments, or rights of a person based on gender.

gender-specific obstacles

discriminatory practices that prevent female farmers from reaching their potential productivity

crop gap

lack of gender equality has resulted in women producing 20-30 percent less in farms. the worst food insecurities are located in LDC's, where gender-specific obstacles are the most prevalent.

intensive farming

farming that requires a lot of labor but small land size

extensive farming

farming practices that involve putting relatively little energy into large land size

shifting cultivation

type of subsistent extensive farming, farmers grow crops on a piece of land for a year or two and then move to another plot of land. (climate: tropical; locations: latin america, sub-saharan africa, southeast asia)

pastoral nomadism

type of subsistent extensive agriculture that is practiced in arid and semi-arid climates. (climate: drylands; locations: southwest, central, and east asia, north africa)

live stock ranching

an extensive commercial agriculture activity that involves the raising of livestock over vast geographic spaces (climate: drylands; locations: western north america, southeastern south america, central asia, australia, south africa)

commercial grain farming

extensive agriculture, in regions too dry for mixed crop agriculture, farmers often raise wheat. (climate: temperate; locations: united states, canada, europe, russia, central asia, china, south asia)

market gardening

intensive agriculture. fruits and vegetables are grown near an urban market and sold to local suppliers, stores, and restaurants. (climate: temperate; locations: southeastern united states, california, southeastern australia)

plantation agriculture

intensive agriculture, specializes in one crop that is transported for sale on the global market. under colonialism, commercial agriculture often replaced subsistence. (climate: tropical; locations: latin america, sub-saharan africa, south and southeast asia)

mixed crop and livestock

intensive agriculture, demonstrates interdependence between crops and animals. (climate: temperate; locations: midwestern united states, canada, central europe)

mediterranean

intensive agriculture, land is scarce, hilly, and often requires lots of labor. orchards are common, consists of diversity crops such as grapes, avocados, and olives. (climate: temperate; locations: southern europe, northern africa, pacific coast of the us, chile, south africa, southern australia)

dairy farming

intensive agriculture, produces milk or milk products, and are sold close to the market. (climate: temperate; locations: northern united states, canada, europe, china, india, brazil)

meets and bounds

survey pattern that often utilized landmarks and physical features to establish boundary lines. resulted in irregular shaped plots of land. diffused from great britain to north america.

long lot

survey pattern that divides land into long strips that start at a river or lake, provide all landowners with equal access to resources and transportation. diffused from france and spain to north america.

township and range

survey pattern that created rectangular plots of consistent size. pioneered by thomas jefferson and was implemented on the american midwest in the late eighteenth century.

clustered

gathered closely together; farmland and pasture surround settlements, share resources & community, have to walk to farmland, and utilize the meets and bounds survery method.

dispersed

settlements are isolated and dispersed over the land area. us gov promoted westward expansion, reflective of individual values, and utilizes the township and range survey method.

linear

settlement is organized along a line, associated with transportation system or physical feature like rivers and coasts. utilizes the long lot survey method.

first agricultural revolution

the origin of farming. dates back 10,000 years successfully achieving the plant and animal domestication.

domestication

the effort of growing plants and animals to meet human demands.

fertile crescent

first major hearth of agriculture in southwest asia. creates an arc along the mediterranean sea and the tigris and euphrates river.

colombian exchange

global transfer of goods and ideas between the old world and the new world. exchange between afro-eurasia and the americas.

second agricultural revolution

a revolution that began in the 1700's, alongside the industrial revolution. encouraged rural-urban migration and increased food supplies and supported population growth.

enclosure movement

a series of laws enacted by the british government that enabled landowners to purchase and enclose land for their own use. land had previously been communal land shared with peasant farmers.

crop rotation

the technique of planting different crops yearly in order to restore nutrients back into the soil

green revolution

the advances of technology in the 1950's to increase crop yields and improve food insecurities. lead by norman borlaugh.

double cropping

growing more than one (two/three) crop a year on the same land.

genetically modified organisms

process by which humans use engineering to alter the DNA of organisms.

subsistence farming

method of farming in which people grow food to feed their families and community rather than to sell. usually contains manual labor, lack of infrastructure, and little income from farming.

commerical farming

method of farming in which people raise crops and grow livestock for sale in the market. usually contains well developed infrastructure, and access to credits with high profit margins.

monocropping

agricultural method that utilizes large plantings of a single species or variety year after year. (one crop specialized)

monoculture

cultivation of a single crop or animal.

agribusiness

the integration of various steps in the food processing industry. includes research and development, processing and production, transportation, marketing and retail of agriculture goods.

economies of scale

allows for large scale farming to be cost effective due to lower bulk prices. production increases -> inputs decrease. often taken advantage of by large corporations.

bid rent theory

economic theory that refers to how the price and demand on land changes as the distance towards the urban market increases. often used along with the von thunen model.

von thunen model

an economic model that suggested a pattern for the types of products that farmers would produce at different positions relative to the market where they sold their goods.

isotropic plane

an assumption of the von thunen model, flat and featureless land with similar fertility and climate throughout.

commodity chain

process used by corporations to gather resources and transform them into goods and then to consumers. contains a five to six step process.