AP Human Geography Unit 5: Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes

Climate Regions

Areas that share similar temperatures and precipitation throughout the year, such as Tropical, Dry, Temperate, Continental, and Polar

Intensive Farming Practices

Farming that uses large amounts of labor/capital on small plots of land (high population density areas)

Market Gardening- fruits/vegetables are canned/ frozen and sold to MDCs

Plantation Agriculture- cheap labor, maximized profit, cash crops

Mixed Crop/Livestock- crops grown to feed livestock, livestock make the profit

Extensive Farming Practices

Farming that uses smaller amounts of labor/money on large plots of land (away from major population areas)

Shifting Cultivation- land is cultivated temporarily, then left alone to revert to original fertility/vegetation

Nomadic Herding- herding of domesticated animals in dry climates

Ranching- grazing of livestock

Rural

Relating to farm areas and life in the country

Rural Settlement Patterns

Farms, villages, or towns that have any of the following patterns- dispersed, clustered, or linear

Rural Survey Methods

Metes and Bounds- irregular shaped, demarcated by physical features

Long Lot- long strips of land (equal access to resources by all each strip touching a river/road)

Township and Range- rectangles/grid pioneered by Thomas Jefferson

Agricultural Hearths

Areas of settlement during the neolithic period, especially along major rivers, from where farming and cultivation of livestock originates

Silk Road

An ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean Sea extending 6,440 km (4,000 mi) and linking China with the Roman Empire.

Indian Ocean Trade

Connected Europe, Africa, and China; world's richest maritime trading network and an area of rapid Muslim expansion.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of disease, crops, animals, and humans between Europe and the Americas

Agricultural Technology

The application of techniques to control the growth and harvesting of animal and vegetable products.

First Agricultural Revolution

Dating back 10,000 years, achieved plant and animal domestication

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

The Green Revolution

A large increase in crop production in developing countries achieved by the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and high-yield crop varieties.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Crops that carry new traits that have been inserted through advanced genetic engineering methods

Commercial Farming

Growing large quantities of crops or livestock in order to sell them for a profit

Subsistence Farming

Farming that provides for the basic needs of the farmer without surpluses for marketing

Bid Rent

Geographical economic theory that refers to how the price and demand on real estate changes as the distance towards the Central Business District (CBD) increases.

Commodity Chains

A linked system of processes that gather resources, convert them into goods, package them for distribution, disperse them, and sell them on the market

Von Thunen Model

An agricultural model that spatially describes agricultural activity in terms of rent. Activities that require intensive cultivation and cannot be transported over great distances pay higher rent to be close to the market. Conversely, activities that are more extensive , with goods that are easy to transport, are located farther from the market where rent is less.

Global Supply Chains

A network of people, information, processes, and resources that work together to produce, handle, and distribute goods around 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, especially in semiarid areas. Primarily because of human actions such as excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting.

Soil Salinization

In arid regions, irrigation water evaporates leaving salts behind.

Deforestation

The removal of trees faster than forests can replace themselves.

Terrace Farming

The cutting out of flat areas (terraces) into near vertical slopes to allow farming. Appears as steps cut into a mountainside.

Biodiversity

The amount of biological or living diversity per unit area. It includes the concepts of species diversity, habitat diversity and genetic diversity.

Suburbanization

The process of population migration from within towns and cities to the rural-urban fringe.

Fertilizer

Any substance such as manure or a mixture of nitrates used to make soil more fertile.

Pesticide

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