AP Hug Unit 5 Vocab

AP Human Geography vocabulary flashcards for Unit 5 - Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes.

Mediterranean climate

A climate characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters.

Tropical climate

A climate characterized by high temperatures and heavy rainfall throughout the year.

Intensive agriculture

Agriculture that involves high inputs of labor, capital, and/or equipment per unit area of land.

Market gardening

The relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables, and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants.

Plantation agriculture

A form of commercial farming where crops are grown for profit; often relies on export to wealthy countries.

Mixed crop/livestock system

Farming system that integrates both crops and livestock; crops are fed to animals rather than being consumed directly by humans.

Extensive agriculture

Agriculture that involves low inputs of labor, capital, and/or equipment per unit area of land.

Slash and burn

A farming technique that involves cutting and burning vegetation to clear land for planting.

Shifting cultivation

A form of agriculture, used especially in tropical Africa, in which an area of ground is cleared of vegetation and cultivated for a few years and then abandoned for a new area until its fertility has been naturally restored.

Truck farming

Commercial gardening and fruit farming, so named because truck was a Middle English word meaning bartering or the exchange of commodities.

Nomadic herding

The continual movement of livestock in search of forage for animal grazing.

Ranching

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

Rural settlement pattern

The spatial distribution of houses, buildings, and settlements in rural areas.

Clustered settlement pattern

A rural settlement pattern where houses and buildings are grouped closely together, usually around a central point or feature.

Dispersed settlement pattern

A rural settlement pattern where houses and buildings are spread far apart from each other.

Linear settlement pattern

A rural settlement pattern where houses and buildings are arranged in a line, often along a road, river, or other geographical feature.

Rural survey methods

Methods used to divide and measure land in rural areas.

Metes and bounds

A system of land surveying east of the Appalachian Mountains; relies on descriptions of land ownership and natural features such as streams or trees.

Township and range

A rectangular land division scheme designed by Thomas Jefferson to facilitate the dispersal of settlers evenly across farmlands of the US interior.

Long lot

A system of land surveying whereby land is divided into narrow parcels stretching back from rivers, roads, or canals.

Domestication

The process of taming wild animals or adapting wild plants for human use.

Fertile Crescent

A geographical area of fertile land in the Middle East stretching in a broad semicircle from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates.

Indus River Valley

A cradle of agriculture and civilization that extends across much of modern-day Pakistan and Northwest India.

Southeast Asia

A region where agriculture including taro, mango, and coconut was first developed.

Central America

A region where agriculture including maize, potato, and squash was first developed.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.

First Agricultural Revolution

The transformation from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture.

Second Agricultural Revolution

Innovations and improvements that occurred in Britain and the Netherlands in the 18th century.

Pesticide

A substance used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to animals.

Biodiversity

The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

Runoff

Water that flows over the ground surface rather than soaking into the ground.

Green revolution

Agricultural revolution that increased production through improved seeds, fertilizers, and irrigation.

High-yield seed

Seeds that are genetically engineered to produce more crops.

Mechanized farming

Farming that relies on the use of machinery.

Soil salinization

Accumulation of salts in soil that can eventually make the soil unable to support plant growth.

Subsistence farming

Agriculture designed primarily to provide food for direct consumption by the farmer and the farmer's family.

Commercial agriculture

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

Monocropping/monoculture

The practice of growing the same single crop year after year.

Bid-rent theory

A geographical economic theory that describes how the price and demand for real estate change as the distance from the central business district increases.

Agri-Business

Commercial agriculture characterized by integration of different steps in the food-processing industry, usually through ownership by large corporations.

Commodity chain

A process used by firms to gather resources, transform them into goods or commodities, and finally, distribute them to consumers.

Economies of scale

Factors that cause a producer's average cost per unit to fall as output rises.

Von Thunen's Model

A model that explains the location of agricultural activities in a commercial, profit-making economy. A process of spatial competition allocates various farming activities into rings around a central market city, with profit-earning capability the determining force in how far a crop locates from the market.

Global supply chain

The network of activities involved in the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services across the world.

Pollution

The presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects.

Desertification

The process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.

Irrigation

The supply of water to land or crops to help growth, typically by means of channels.

Deforestation

The clearing of forests.

Genetically modified organisms (GMO)

Organisms that have been genetically altered to improve their characteristics.

Aquaculture

The farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants.

Sustainable Agriculture

Farming methods that preserve long-term productivity of land and minimize pollution, typically by rotating soil-restoring crops with cash crops and reducing inputs of fertilizer and pesticides.

Urban farming

he practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas.

Community-supported agriculture

A direct sales marketing arrangement where consumers pay farmers in advance for a share of their anticipated yield.

Value-added specialty crops

Crops that have been processed in some way to increase their economic value.

Fair trade

Trade in which fair prices are paid to producers in developing countries.

Food desert

An area that has a limited access to affordable and nutritious food.

Food insecurity

The state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.