Key Terms UNIT 5

Ap human geo unit 5.1-5.5

Agriculture

The practice of cultivating plants and raising livestock on tended land, deliberately modifying the Earth's surface to produce food for human consumption, either for the farmer's family (subsistence) or to be sold on the market (commercial)…

Climate

The long-term average weather patterns of a specific region, encompassing factors like temperature…

Subsistence Agriculture

The primary goal of subsistence agriculture is to grow enough food or raise enough livestock to meet the immediate needs of the farmer and his or her family…

Commercial Agriculture

The primary goal of subsistence agriculture is to grow enough food or raise enough livestock to meet the immediate needs of the farmer and his or her family…

Intensive agricultural

Practices are those in which farmers or ranchers use large amounts of inputs, such as energy, fertilizers, labor, or machines, to maximize yields…

Intensive Commercial Agriculture

Heavy investments in labor and capital are used in this type of agriculture which often results in high yields and profits…

Capital

Is the money invested in land, equipment, and machines. Intensive commercial agriculture is almost always capital intensive but can also be labor intensive…

Intensive Subsistent Agriculture

This form of agriculture is often labor and animal intensive…

Extensive Subsistent Agriculture

Few inputs are used in this type of agricultural activity…

Extensive Commercial Agriculture

This type of farming uses low inputs of resources but has the goal of selling the product for profit…

Pastoral Nomadism

This type of subsistent extensive agriculture is practiced in arid and semi-arid climates throughout the world…

Shifting Cultivation

In this type of subsistent extensive farming, farmers grow crops on a piece of land for a year or two…

Plantation

Is a large commercial farm that specializes in one crop…

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming

Large-scale mixed crop and livestock farming is an intensive commercial integrated system that demonstrates an interdependence between crops and animals…

Grain Farming

In regions too dry for mixed crop agriculture, farmers often raise wheat…

Market gardening

Is when fruits and vegetables are grown near an urban market and sold to local suppliers, stores, restaurants…

Dairy Farming

Traditionally, dairies were local farms that supplied products to customers in a small geographic area…

Milk shed

the geographical area surrounding a city where milk can be supplied without spoiling(refrigartor)…

Mediterranean Agriculture

Is practiced in regions with hot, dry summers, mild winters, narrow valleys, and often some irrigation…

Livestock Ranching

a type of commercial farming where animals like cattle or sheep are raised for meat, wool, or other products on large areas of land to produce meat and other products for market…

Clustered (Nucleated)

A type of settlement where homes and buildings are grouped close together, often around a central point like a market, church, or crossroads…

Dispersed Settlement

A type of settlement where homes and buildings are spread out over a large area, rather than being clustered together. This is common in rural farming regions…

Metes and bounds system

Metes were used for short distances and often referred to features of specific points, such as "from the oak tree, 100 yards north, to the corner of the barn…

Township and Range

A land division system used in the U.S. that creates a grid of squares, dividing land into townships (6 miles by 6 miles) and further into smaller sections. It was designed to organize land for settlement and farming…

French long-lot system

in which farms were long, thin sections of land that ran perpendicular to a river. The best examples of this system in North America occur in Quebec and Louisiana…

First Agricultural Revolution

The time when humans first started farming, growing crops, and domesticating animals instead of hunting and gathering…

Fertile Crescent

A region in the Middle East with rich soil and the first farming civilizations, including Mesopotamia. It is often called the "cradle of civilization."…

The Columbian exchange

Was the global movement of plants and animals between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas…

Second Agricultural Revolution

Which began in the 1700s, used the advances of the Industrial Revolution to increase food supplies and support population growth…

Enclosure Acts

Were a series of laws enacted by the British government that enabled landowners to purchase and enclose land for their own use…

Iron/Steel Plow

A farming tool made of iron or steel that made it easier to plow tough soil, increasing farm productivity and leading to more food production…

Mechanized Seed Drilling

A farming method that uses machines to plant seeds at the right depth and spacing, improving crop growth and increasing food production…

McCormick Reaper

A machine invented by Cyrus McCormick in 1831 that quickly and efficiently cut crops like wheat, making farming easier and increasing food production…

Barbed Wire

A type of fencing wire with sharp edges or points that prevent animals from crossing. It was widely used in the 19th century to enclose farmland and keep livestock contained…

Mixed Nitrogen and Nitric Acid Fertilizer

A type of fertilizer that combines nitrogen and nitric acid to provide essential nutrients for plant growth, helping to improve crop yields and soil fertility…

Irrigation

Is the process of applying controlled amounts of water to crops using canals, pipes, sprinkler systems, or other human-made devices, rather than to rely on just rainfall…

Third Agricultural Revolution

Was born out of science, research, and technology, and it continues today…

Green Revolution

The advances in plant biology of the mid-20th century . Dr. Norman Borlaug, considered the "Father of the Green Revolution;' laid the foundation for scientifically increasing the food supply to meet the demands of an ever-increasing global population…

Hybridization

Is the process of breeding two plants that have desirable characteristics to produce a single seed with both characteristics…

Machinery

In addition to using hybrids, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, proponents of the Green Revolution encouraged the transfer of mechanical technology as well…

Genetically Modified Organism

A process by which humans use engineering techniques to change the DNA of a seed…