AP Human Geo Unit 5

Agriculture

agriculture

The practice of cultivating the land (farming) or raising stock(animals)

agribusiness

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

agricultural hearths

Places where agriculture first developed and originated.

aquaculture

The cultivation of seafood under controlled conditions, usually involving raising fish in underwater tanks or in ponds

GMOs

genetic modification of organisms to produce commercial products like pest resistant crops.

commercial agriculture

Farming for profit

deforestation

the action of clearing a wide area of trees, often for agriculture (ranching/plantation) or housing

desertification

the process by which formally fertile lands become increasingly dry and unproductive.

fertilizer

a chemical or natural substance added to soil or land to increase its fertility

pesticides

Chemicals that kill crop-destroying organisms

irrigation

artificial watering of farmland

shifting cultivation

A form of extensive subsistence agriculture in which people shift activity from one field to another; Each field is used for crops for a few years and left fallow for a relatively long period

pastoral nomadism

A form of extensive subsistence agriculture based on herding domesticated animals; usually practiced in arid climates

First Agricultural Revolution

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

Green Revolution (Third Agricultural Revolution)

Rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology that increased food yields during the second half of the twentieth century, especially through new high-yield seeds, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides

livestock ranching

a form of commercial agriculture in which cattle or other livestock graze over an extensive, but typically fenced, area; major cause of deforestation in Brazil.

Mediterranean Agriculture

specialized farming, especially olives and grapes, in dry-summer climates with prevailing sea winds: Southern Europe, Northern Africa, California, Chile, South Africa, Southwestern Australia.

organic farming

using natural substances instead of fertilizers and chemicals to increase crop yields

Second Agricultural Revolution

coincides with the Industrial Revolution; increasing yield and access through machines and transportation

staple food

Foods eaten regularly or in such quantities as to constitute the dominant part of the diet and supply a major proportion of energy and nutrients

transhumance

A seasonal periodic movement of pastoralists and their livestock between highland and lowland pastures

truck farming

commercial gardening and fruit farming

horticulture

growing of fruits/vegetables/flowers for commercial use.

Von Thuenen model

Explains the location of agricultural activities based on the cost of land, perishability, and distance from market

Food insecurity

a condition in which people do not have adequate access to food

food desert

An area in a developed country where healthy food is difficult to obtain

milkshed

The ring surrounding a city from which milk can be supplied without spoiling

dairy farming

Producing food made from milk

double cropping

Harvesting twice a year from the same field.

sustainable agriculture

Farming methods that preserve long-term productivity of land and minimize pollution, such as cover cropping

cash crop

a crop produced for its commercial value rather than for use by the grower.

subistence" farming

Method of farming in which people grow food mainly to feed their families or villages rather than to sell

Monocropping

growing a large amount of a single species of plant; lowers biodiversity

Climate

The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time

Metes and bounds

A land survey method that uses landmarks such as trees and fences to designate plots of land; common east of the Appalachian mountains

long-lot survey system

divided land into narrow parcels stretching back from rivers, roads, or canals; associated with French settlements

township and range system

land is divided into six-mile square blocks (township), which is then divided into one-mile square blocks (range), which are also further divided; common land survey method in Midwestern Canada and U.S.

Fertile Crescent

an area of rich farmland in Southwest Asia (modern day Iraq) where some of the first civilizations began

Bid rent theory

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 chain

series of links connecting the many places of production and distribution and resulting in a commodity that is then exchanged on the world market

economy of scale

The savings in cost per unit due to increasing the level of production; based on the idea that there are some fixed costs (e.g., rent, power, etc.) so that producing in bulk costs less per unit

soil salinization

salt buildup in the soil often caused by evaporation of irrigation water; can make soil infertile

Biotechnology

A form of technology that uses living organisms, usually genes, to modify products, to make or modify plants and animals, or to develop other microorganisms for specific purposes.

Urban farming

The growing of fruits, herbs, and vegetables and raising animals in towns and cities

value-added crops

changing a raw agricultural product into something new and more expensive through packaging, processing, cooling, drying, extracting or any other type of process that differentiates the product from the original raw commodity. Examples: orange juice, bacon, bagged salad mix, pie

fair trade

focuses on paying farmers and producers in developing (periphery/semi-periphery) countries a living wage

intensive agriculture

any agricultural system that maximizes production per unit of land with large amounts of "inputs", e.g., CAFOs, wet-rice farming, dairy farming, vertical farming

extensive agriculture

An agricultural system characterized by low "inputs"per unit land area, e.g., ranching, pastoral nomadism

CAFO

concentrated animal feeding operation which is a large feedlot to fatten animals before slaughter; form of intensive agriculture

Comparative advantage

the ability to produce a good or product at a lower opportunity cost than another producer

wet rice farming

intensive form of subsistence agriculture in which rice is cultivated in a flooded field, most common in South and Southeast Asia

Small holder crop and livestock farming

a farming system characterized by small farms in which the household is the main scale of agricultural production and consumption (primarily subsistence), present in many parts of the world but most common in sub-Saharan Africa , northern Asia and some parts of Latin America

Agricultural Density

The ratio of the number of farmers to the amount of arable land

land tenure

how property rights to land are allocated within societies, including how permissions are granted to access, use, control, and transfer land.

Malthusian Theory

The theory that population grows faster than food supply

plantation agriculture

Intensive, monoculture growing of specialized crops such as bananas, coffee, palm oil, and cacao, usually in tropical climates in developing countries

Terracing

the creation of flat areas on mountain slopes for the purpose of farming, associated with wet rice farming

Polycropping

an agriculture method that uses the simultaneous planting of crops that are beneficial to each other

Local food movement

A movement which aims to connect food producers and food consumers in the same geographic region, may include farmers' markets, CSAs, etc.

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)

Program in which people buy shares of a local farmer's crop and receive fruits or vegetables each week during the summer and fall.

"Columbian Exchange" (also called "Columbian Extraction")

The diffusion of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages/colonization of the Americas