HGAP Unit 5 Study Guide

agriculture

planting and harvesting domesticated plants and raising domesticated animals for food

domesticated plant

a plant that is deliberately planted, protected, cared for, and used by humans; genetically distinct from its wild ancestors

domesticated animal

an animal dependent on ppl for food and shelter and is different from its wild ancestors in looks and behavior bc of contact w us

physical geography

study of Earth’s physical characteristics and processes: its functions, effects on humans, and human’s effects on them

2 (but really 3) elements of physical geography

• soil

• topography / landforms

• maybe climate

nutrients

components of topsoil (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) necessary for plants to survive, grow, and reproduce

topography

arrangement of shapes on Earth’s surface

climate

the average pattern of weather over a 30 year period for a particular region

weather

the day-to-day atmospheric conditions that affect daily decisions

list the 4 climate groups

• tropical

• dry

• moderate

• climate

list the 2 tropical climate subgroups

tropical wet

tropical wet and dry

list the 2 dry climate subgroups

semiarid

arid

list the 3 moderate climate subgroups

1. humid subtropical

2. marine west coast

3. mediterranean

continental

1. humid continental

2. humid cold (subarctic)

explain tropical climates in general

• closest to equator

• warm sunny, avg annual temp 80 f

tropical wet climate (3)

• A climate located along the equator that experiences rain every day of the year

• i.e. Amazon Rain forest river basin

• limited agriculture, small farms, family operations

tropical wet and dry climates (2)

A climate located along the equator that has a dry season with little to no rain, usually in the winter; is often subject to monsoons

• ex: African Savanna

monsoon

Seasonal reversal of winds, onshore movement in summer and a offshore movement in winter; onshore winds bring monsoon rains

monsoon rains

Long periods of heavy rains every day at the end of a short dry season

explain dry climates in general (2)

• Characterized by a lack of precipitation; 30% of world

• can be hot all the time, or extremes in winter n summer

arid climate (2)

receives less than 10 inches (25cm) of rain annually

• Sahara, Arab peninsula

semiarid climate (4)

10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain annually that can support farming

• year long bad drought → bad on crops

• surround deserts

• ex: western USA, Mongolia, parts of Australia

moderate climate

average year-round temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit; north and south of the equator on the edges of tropical climates

humid subtropical (2)

long, hot summers and short, mild winters with variable precipitation; found on east coasts of continents

• Sydney, Beijing, Raleigh

marine west coast climate (2)

found along western coasts of continents closer to the poles; moderate temperatures during long summers and cool winters

• ex: Seattle, New Zealand, western/central Europe

mediterranean climate (3)

A climate with winter precipitation, unusually mild winters, and clear skies with abundant sunshine; along the Mediterranean Sea and a few coastal regions

• restricted by internal mountains or limited landmasses

• ex: SoCal, Chile

continental climate (3)

large range of temperatures and moderate precipitation; found in the interior of continents, north of the moderate climate zones

• north america, eurasia

• remote from oceans → less maritime influence

humid continental climate (2)

varied temperatures, moderate precipitation, 4 seasons; warm to hot summers, moderate to abundant rainfall), and cold winters with precipitation = snow

• Chicago, Illinois, Shenyang, Moscow, Eastern Europe

humid cold climate

frigid temperatures year-round; northern reaches of the continental climate zone, subarctic

• Yukon, Alaska, Siberia, Upper Canada

intensive agriculture

agriculture systems w/ high levels of labor and capital relative to the size of the landholding

• little land, high effort, high yield

subsistence agriculture

Food production mainly for consumption by the farmer and local community, not for sale in the market

commercial agriculture

Farming oriented exclusively toward the production of agricultural commodities for sale in the market

market gardening

small-scale farming system; farmer plants few acres that produce diverse mixture of vegetables + fruits, sell in local and regional markets

explain where would market gardening occur in terms of geography (3)

• MODERATE climates → marine west coast, mediterranean, humid continental

• flat hilly fertile soils

• ex: cities along South, California to Atlantic

truck farm

scaled-up version of market gardening; more acreage, less crop diversity, and a stronger orientation toward more distant markets

what do truck farms grow

• grapes, olives, oranges, apples, lettuce, or tomatoes

plantation agriculture

Large landholding devoted to capital-intensive, specialized production of a one tropical/ subtropical crop for global markets

what do plantations grow

• sugarcane, bananas, coffee, pineapples

mixed crop/livestock agriculture

diversified system of agriculture based on the cultivation of cereal grains and root crops and the rearing of herd livestock

where is mixed crop/livestock agriculture

semiarid Middle East, Europe, central south Africa, Latin America, New guinea

cereal grains

Seeds that come from a wide variety of grasses cultivated around the world, including wheat, barley, sorghum, millet, oats, maize

teosinte

millet

fast-growing cereal plant that is widely grown in warm regions with poor soil

root crops

Vegetables that form below ground and must be dug at maturity, such as cassava, potatoes, and yams

cash crops

raised to be sold for profit rather than to feed the farm family and the livestock; cotton, flax, hemp, coffee, and tobacco

peasants

Small-scale farmers who own their fields, family labor, and produce for subsistence and for sale; mixed crop/livestock farmers in developing countries

paddy rice farming

system of wet rice cultivation on small level fields bordered by impermeable dikes; fields flooded with water for growing season

where is paddy rice farming

• east asia → Indian, Southeast China, Korea, Japan

• humid tropical + subtropical

grain farming

mechanized commercial farming system for cereal grains; large farms + machinery use, synthetic fertilizer, pesticides, and genetically engineered seeds

where is grain farming

• humid continental

• grain regions → belts

• Australia, Great Plains, Russia, Ukraine, Argentina

livestock fattening

animal feeding utilizing fenced enclosures to fatten livestock for slaughter and processing for the market

feedlots

fenced enclosure used for intensive livestock feeding to limit livestock movement and weight loss

where is livestock fattening

• humid continental + humid subtropical

• feed corn instead of grass → US midwest corn belt

• dependent on immigrant labor

dairying

breeding, rearing, and utilization of livestock to produce milk and its by-products, such as yogurt, butter, and cheese

• small scale families

where is dairying

• feedlot → semiarid mostly

• NO tropical wet and dry and arid zones

• near urban → milk cs perishable, rural → cheese, yogurt, processed milk

extensive agriculture

agriculture systems that require little hired labor or monetary investment to successfully raise crops and animals

• rely on natural soil fertility

• work w environment

• lots of land, low yield

shifting cultivation

cultivation of a plot of land until it becomes less productive; productivity drops → farmer shifts to a new land prepared by slash-and-burn agriculture

slash-and-burn agriculture/swidden agriculture

cutting small plots in forests, burning to clear the ground and release nutrients, and planting in the ash of the cleared plot

• corn/beans, yams/rice

intercropping

planting multiple crops together in the same clearing

where is shifting cultivation

• tropical lowlands + hills in America, Africa, Southeast Asia

nomadic herding/pastorism

system of breeding and rearing herd livestock, by following the seasonal movement of rainfall to areas of open pasturelands

• transhumance

• ethnic ties

where is pastorism

• dry, colder areas → Arabian peninsula, dry Africa, Central Asians i.e. Mongols

livestock ranching

The practice of using extensive tracts of land to rear herds of livestock to sell as meat, hides, or wool

where is livestock ranching

• similar to nomadic → raise animals in semiarid areas

  • but ranching is FIXED at ranches

  • commercial

  • no ethnic ties

rural area

area located outside of towns and cities; all not included in an urban area

rural settlements

small group of people living outside of an urban area

agricultural landscape

the visible imprint of agricultural practices

grain elevators

• Large storage facility for grain, corporate owned

suitcase farms

U.S. commercial grain agriculture → a farm where nb lives; planting and harvesting are done by hired migratory crews, replacing small family farms

silo

Round or square tower-like structure that stores feed for the livestock on the farm

settlement patterns

The ways in which people organize themselves on the land

clustered settlements

tightly bunched farm settlement that has anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred inhabitants; farm villages

• Europe, Latin America, dense Asia

dispersed settlements

settlement pattern in which families live relatively distant from one another

• Anglo America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa European colonization

linear settlement

buildings are arranged in a line, often along a road or river; limited to areas where legal systems dictated that property lines must be rectangular

cadastral survey

Systematic documentation of property ownership, shape, use, and boundaries

metes and bounds

Survey system that uses natural features such as trees, boulders, and streams to delineate property boundaries

township and range

Land survey system created by the U.S. Land Ordinance of 1785, divides most of the country’s territory into a grid of square-shaped townships

long-lot

A unit-block surveying system whose basic unit is a rectangle that is typically 10 times longer than it is wide

domestication

long-term process where humans selectively breed, protect, and care for individuals from populations of species to create genetically different species

first agricultural revolution

early domestication and diffusion of plants and animals and of the cultivation of seed crops led to the development of agriculture

teosinte

large wild grass native to Mexico, produced small ears of corn (maize) that were favored in Mesoamerica

mesoamerica

cultural region in the Americas that includes diverse civilizations in modern-day MX, GU, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica

biodiversity

• The variety and variability among species and ecosystems

hearth

place where innovations or new practices develop and spread or diffuse

4 ancient hearths of domestication

• Southwest Asia

• China, South and Southeast Asia, and Malaysia

• Africa

• The Americas

explain the fertile crescent

• origin of cereal grains → built Mesopotamian civilization

• domesticated grapes, apples, olives

• cattle, sheep goats

explain the Indus River Valley

• dry rice, wheat

• cattle domestication

• oxen used to pull plow → revolutionary, increased both the acreage under cultivation and food supplies

explain the China, South and Southeast Asia, and Malaysia

• rice, soybeans, sugarcane, bananas, taro, root crops

• water buffalo plowed rice fields, pigs

explain the hearth of Africa

• peanuts, yams, coffee; strains of wheat, barley, and rice; sorghum

• evidence of millet

• 3rd cattle hearth region?

explain the hearth of the Americas

• maize, tomatoes, beans, squash; Andes potatoes; llama, alpaca, guinea pig

• squash and other seed crops → permanent dwellings, irrigation canal, storages = farming societies established SAME TIME as Fertile Crescent

Columbian Exchange

transfer of plants, animals, culture, people, technology, disease, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World 1400s - 1500s

demographic collapse

• phenomenon of near-genocide of native populations

Second Agricultural Revolution

period that brought improved methods of cultivation, harvesting, and storage of farm produce from 1650s-1930s

• US and Europe had enough food to feed their families, surplus to sell at markets

• likely another independent innovation

seed drill

machine for planting seeds in a row

• efficient, lest waste

steel plow

• turns soil for fresh nutrients

• lighter and stronger, commercial success, use more horses → efficient + more innovations

mechanical reaper

A machine used to harvest grain crops mechanically; patented by Cyrus McCormick in 1831; best 19th century invention

• horse drawn

• yield increased 10x

scythe

• An agricultural hand tool with a curved blade used for cutting grain in the fields

new tractor

evb used other inventions until internal combustible engine → small, lightweight power

• rapid advancements 20th century → more efficiency, save manual labor

railroads

cheaper to transport crops, easier to haul equipment and livestock like cattle to farms

canals

increased farm productivity

• access to fertile and rich resource lands

• transport nonperishable (cereal grains) @ less cost and time

• larger markets n feed Europe