Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to agriculture and land-use patterns discussed in the lecture notes.

Commercial Agriculture

Growing food to sell it, typically in More Developed Countries (MDCs), requiring significant capital investment and often utilizing technology, pesticides, and GMOs.

Subsistence Agriculture

Growing food primarily for personal consumption, typically in Less Developed Countries (LDCs), requiring extensive manual labor and generally lacking modern inputs such as machinery, pesticides, and GMOs.

Mixed Crop/Livestock Farming

A type of commercial agriculture where crops are grown to feed livestock, allowing for year-round income.

Mediterranean Agriculture

Agriculture practiced in specific climates around the Mediterranean Sea, California, and Chile, producing crops like olives and grapes.

Intensive Agriculture

Producing a large amount of food from a small area of land, often requiring intensive labor and resource inputs.

Extensive Agriculture

Producing food over a large area of land, utilizing large farmland for activities such as ranching and grain farming.

Von Thünen Model

A model that determines the optimal location for agricultural production based on perishability and shipping costs, applicable only to commercial agriculture in MDCs.

Agrarian Revolution

The significant change in history around 8000 B.C. marked by the domestication of plants and animals, leading to sedentary societies and increased food production.

Columbian Exchange

The movement of people and agricultural products among Europe, Africa, and the New World during the age of exploration, facilitating the spread of various crops.

Agribusiness

The agricultural food economy including all jobs involved in the production and distribution of food, primarily existing in commercial agriculture.

Ethanol

A combustible fuel derived from corn production in the Corn Belt, used as an additive in gasoline.

Swidden

The area selected for slash-and-burn agriculture.

Transhumance

The seasonal movement and migration of pastoral nomads with their herds, such as sheep or goats.

Sawah

The flooded rice field used in intensive subsistence agriculture, commonly referred to as a rice paddy.