Agricultural and Rural Land Use Concepts U5

Agrarian

People or societies that are farmers therefore promote agricultural interest ext.

Agribusiness

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

Agricultural Industrialization

The use of machinery in agriculture, like tractors ext.

Agricultural landscape

The land that we farm on and what we choose to put were on our fields.

Agricultural Origins

Through time nomadic people noticed the growing of plants in a cycle and began to domesticate them and use for there own use.

Agriculture

The deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for subsistence or economic gain.

Animal Domestication

Domestication of animals for selling or using byproducts.

Aquaculture

The cultivation of aquatic organisms especially for food.

Biorevolution

The revolution of biotechnology and the use of it in societies.

Biotechnology

Using living organisms in a useful way to produce commercial products like pest resistant crops.

Commercial Agriculture (intensive, extensive)

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

Core/Periphery

The areas in the world that include MDCs are called the core and the area of the world that contains the LDCs is referred to as the periphery.

Crop Rotation

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

Cultivation regions

Regions were there is agricultural activity.

Dairying

The 'farming' and sale/distribution of milk and milk products.

Debt-for-nature swap

When agencies such as the World Bank make a deal with third world countries that they will cancel their debt if the country will set aside a certain amount of their natural resources.

Diffusion

The process of spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time.

Double Cropping

Harvesting twice a year from the same land.

Primary:

Involves jobs like lumber and mining

Environmental Modifications

The destruction of the environment for the purpose of farming, including the use of pesticides that pollute water and soil and the overuse of land causing desertification.

Extensive subsistence agriculture

Includes shifting cultivation and nomadic herding/pastoralism.

Shifting Cultivation

Use many fields for crop growing; each field is used for a couple of years then left fallow for a relatively long time.

Nomadic herding/pastoralism

Based on herding domesticated animals.

Extractive Industry

Industry that involves the extraction of natural resources.

Farm crises

Periods of economic difficulty for farmers.

Feedlot

A plot of land on which livestock are fattened for market.

First agricultural revolution

Around 8000 B.C. when humans first domesticated plants and animals, allowing future generations to grow larger.

Fishing

The technique, occupation, or diversion of catching fish, providing a food source and employment.

Food Chain

A series of organisms interrelated in their feeding habits, where the smallest is fed upon by a larger one.

Forestry

The science of planting and taking care of trees and forests, providing building materials and fuel.

Globalized Agriculture

Diffusion of agriculture across the globe.

Green Revolution

Rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizer, increasing agricultural productivity faster than population growth.

Growing Season

The season in which crops grow best, varying by location.

Hunting and Gathering

Before agriculture, humans gained food by hunting animals, fishing, or gathering plants, living in small groups and traveling frequently.

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture

A form of subsistence agriculture requiring a large amount of effort to produce maximum yield from a parcel of land, popular in East, South, and Southeast Asia.

Intertillage

Tillage between rows of crops or plants.

Livestock Ranching

Commercial grazing of livestock over an extensive area, practiced in semi-arid or arid land.

Market Gardening

The small scale production of fruits, vegetables, and flowers as cash crops sold directly to local consumers.

Mediterranean Agriculture

Farming in the land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea (Southern Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia), also in lands with similar climates (California, central Chile, Southwestern South Africa, and Southwestern Australia).

Mineral Fuels

Natural resources containing hydrocarbons, which are not derived from animal or plant sources.

Mining

Extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, vein, or coal seam.

Planned Economy

Economic system in which a single agency makes all decisions about the production and allocation of goods and services.

Renewable

Energy replaced continually within a human lifespan, has an essentially unlimited supply and is not depleted when used by people.

Non-Renewable

Energy formed so slowly that for practical purposes it cannot be renewed.

Rural Settlement

Sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities.

Dispersed

Characterized by farmers living on individual farms isolated from neighbors rather than alongside other farmers in the area.

Nucleated

A number of families live in close proximity to each other, with fields surrounding the collection of houses and farm buildings.

Building Material

Houses and buildings are typically built from materials that are abundant in the area.

Cultural Landscape

An area fashioned from nature by a cultural group, combining cultural features such as language and religion; economic features such as agriculture and industry; and physical features such as climate and vegetation.

Second Agricultural Revolution

Precursor to Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, that allowed a shift in work force beyond subsistence farming to allow labor to work in factories.

Specialization

Third level of cities (behind World Cities, and Command and Control Centers), offer a narrow and highly specialized variety of services.

Staple Grains

Maize, wheat, and rice are the most produced grains produced worldwide, accounting for 87% of all grains and 43% of all food.

Suitcase Farm

Individuals who live in urban areas a great distance from their land and drive to the country to care for their crops and livestock.

Survey Patterns

Methods used to define land boundaries.

Long Lots (French)

Houses erected on narrow lots perpendicular along a river, so that each original settler had equal river access.

Metes and Bounds (English)

Uses physical features of the local geography, along with directions and distances, to define the boundaries of a particular piece of land.

Metes

Boundary defined by a measurement of a straight run.

Bounds

A more general boundary, such as a waterway, wall, public road, or existing building.

Township-and-Range (U.S.A)

Surveys used west of Ohio, land is divided into six-mile square blocks (township), which is then divided into one-mile square blocks (range).

Sustainable Yield

Ecological yield that can be extracted without reducing the base of capital itself, the surplus required to maintain nature's services at the same or increasing level over time.

Third Agricultural Revolution

'Green Revolution' Rapid diffusion of new agricultural techniques between 1970's and 1980's, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers.

Mechanization

Farmers need tractors, irrigation pumps, and other machinery to make the most effective use of the new miracle seeds.

Chemical Farming

Increased use of fertilizers with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Miracle Wheat Seed

A shorter and stiffer wheat seed that is less sensitive to variation in day length, responds better to fertilizers, and matures faster.

Miracle Rice Seed

A heartier rice seed that has increased yields.

High-Yield Corn Seed

A corn seed currently being developed for higher yields.

Food Manufacturing

The Green Revolution has increased production to avoid widespread famine.

Tragedy of the Commons

Social trap that involves a conflict over resources between interests and the common good.

Transhumance

Pastoral practice of seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pasture areas.

Truck Farm

Commercial gardening and fruit farming, predominant in Southeastern U.S.A, that grows many of the fruits and vegetables that consumers demand.

Von Thunen, Johann Heinrich

Identified that when choosing an enterprise, a commercial farmer compares the cost of land versus the cost of transporting production to market.

Von Thunen's Theory

Specific crops were grown in varying rings around a city based on transportation costs and perishability.

Secondary

Manufacturing products and assembling raw materials

Tertiary

The service sector that provides us with transportation, communication and utilities

Sauer, Carl O

defined cultural landscapes an area fashioned from nature by a cultural group. A combination of cultural features such as language and religion; economic features such as agriculture and industry; and physical features such as climate and vegetation. "Culture is the agent, the natural area is the medium, the cultural landscape is the result."