AP Human Unit 5 Definitions

Agrarian

Relating to cultivated land or the cultivation of land.

Agribusiness

Agriculture conducted on commercial principles, especially using advanced technology.

Agriculture

The practice of cultivating the land or raising stock.

Aquaculture

The rearing of aquatic animals or the cultivation of aquatic plants for food.

Bid-rent theory

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

Biotechnology

The use of living systems and organisms to make or modify products or processes for specific use.

Commercial agriculture

Agriculture based on generating products for sale off the farm.

Crop rotation

The practice of growing a series of dissimilar crops in the same area in sequenced seasons to maintain soil fertility.

Dairy farming

A class of animal farming for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows.

Desertification

The process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically due to drought or inappropriate agriculture.

Domestication

The process of taming an animal and keeping it as a pet or on a farm.

Extensive agriculture

A system of agricultural production that uses a small amount of labor and capital on large plots of land.

Feedlot

An area or building where livestock are fattened for market.

First Agricultural Revolution

The transformation of human societies from hunting and gathering to farming.

Food insecurity

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

Genetically modified food

Food produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA.

Grain farming

A type of crop farming where grains, such as wheat and barley, are grown.

Green Revolution

A large increase in crop production in developing countries achieved by modern farming techniques and technology.

Horticulture

The practice of garden cultivation and management.

Intensive agriculture

A system of agricultural production that uses a large amount of capital and labor relative to the space being used.

Livestock ranching

A commercial type of agriculture that produces meat for human consumption.

Long lot

A land division pattern with farms placed on narrow lots perpendicular to a long river.

Market gardening

The relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables, and flowers as cash crops.

Mediterranean farming

Agricultural activity in a climate characterized by mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers.

Metes and bounds

A boundary description that uses local features to define land boundaries.

Milk shed

The area around a city from which milk is supplied.

Mixed crop and livestock farming

A type of farming that integrates crop and livestock farming on the same farm.

Non-renewables

Resources that cannot be replaced easily by nature.

Organic farming

A form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation and biological pest control.

Pastoral nomadism

A form of subsistence agriculture based on the herding of domesticated animals.

Plantation farming

A form of commercial agriculture found in tropical and subtropical regions.

Second Agricultural Revolution

A period of agricultural development that increased food production and distribution.

Shifting cultivation

A form of subsistence agriculture where people shift activity from one field to another.

Specialization

The process of concentrating on and becoming expert in a particular subject or skill.

Subsistence agriculture

Self-sufficiency farming where farmers grow enough food to feed themselves and their families.

Third Agricultural Revolution

A period of rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology, especially high-yield seeds and fertilizers.

Township and range

A rectangular land division scheme to disperse settlers evenly across farmlands.

Tragedy of the Commons

A situation in a shared-resource system where individual users act in their own self-interest, depleting the shared resource.