AP HUMAN UNIT 5 VOCAB QUIZ 1

Agribusiness

A large-scale system that encompasses the entire process of agricultural production, from the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock to the processing, distribution, and sale of agricultural products.

Agriculture

The deliberate modification of the Earth's surface through the cultivation of plants and raising of animals to obtain sustenance or economic gain.

Commercial Agriculture

A type of farming where crops and livestock are produced primarily for sale in the market, aiming to generate profit through large-scale production often utilizing modern technology and mechanization, typically prevalent in developed countries.

Crop

A plant cultivated specifically for harvest.

Crop Rotation

The agricultural practice of systematically changing the crops grown in a field each year to prevent soil depletion and maintain soil fertility by rotating different types of crops that draw different nutrients from the ground.

Desertification

The process where formerly fertile lands in dry regions, like semi-arid grasslands, gradually become increasingly arid and desert-like due to human activities like overgrazing, deforestation, and improper agricultural practices, leading to reduced vegetation cover, soil erosion, and decreased productivity.

Double Cropping

The agricultural practice of growing two different crops in the same field during a single growing season.

Extensive Agriculture

A farming system that utilizes large areas of land with relatively low inputs of labor and capital per unit of land, relying heavily on natural resources like soil fertility and climate, typically found in regions where land is abundant but labor is scarce.

Extensive Commercial Agriculture

A type of large-scale farming practice that utilizes large areas of land with minimal labor and capital inputs per unit area, aiming to produce crops or livestock for market sale.

Extensive Subsistence Agriculture

A farming practice where a large amount of land is used with relatively low labor inputs to produce crops primarily for the farmer's own consumption.

Grain Farming

A type of agriculture focused on the large-scale production of cereal grains like wheat, corn, rice, and barley, typically grown in vast, open fields and often requiring extensive machinery to harvest, primarily for market consumption rather than subsistence needs.

Green Revolution

A period of significant increase in agricultural productivity, primarily in developing countries, achieved through the introduction of high-yield crop varieties, improved irrigation systems, and increased use of fertilizers and pesticides, aiming to alleviate food shortages globally.

Horticulture

The science and art of cultivating plants, particularly fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamentals, typically on a smaller scale and with a focus on intensive cultivation techniques, often near urban areas to provide fresh produce to local markets.

Intensive Agriculture

A farming practice that utilizes a high level of inputs like labor, capital, fertilizers, and irrigation per unit of land to maximize crop yields.

Intensive Commercial Agriculture

A type of farming practice that utilizes a small amount of land to produce a large quantity of crops for market sale, requiring high levels of labor, capital investment, and often advanced technology to maximize yield per unit area, making it a highly efficient commercial farming method.

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture

A farming practice where a small plot of land is used very efficiently to produce a large amount of food per unit area, typically requiring a high level of labor input to maximize crop yields, often to feed a large population on a limited land space.

Milkshed

The geographical area surrounding a city from which fresh milk can be supplied without spoiling.

Mediterranean Agriculture

A type of commercial agriculture practiced in regions with a Mediterranean climate, characterized by dry summers, mild wet winters, and a focus on crops like olives, grapes, citrus fruits, and wheat, which thrive in these conditions; often utilizing techniques like terracing and irrigation to manage water usage effectively.

Market Gardening

A small-scale commercial farming practice where a diverse variety of crops are grown in close proximity to a market, often requiring intensive labor and high inputs to produce high-value crops for immediate sale to local consumers.

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming

A type of commercial agriculture where farmers raise both crops and livestock on the same land, often with the manure from the animals enriching the soil for crops, creating a symbiotic relationship between the two components and diversifying income streams.

Pastoral Nomadism

A lifestyle where people move their herds of domesticated livestock across large areas of land in a cyclical pattern, depending on seasonal changes in grazing availability, essentially relying on animal husbandry as their primary means of sustenance while constantly migrating to find fresh pasture for their animals.

Plantation

A large-scale agricultural operation focused on producing a single cash crop for export, often in tropical climates, typically characterized by monoculture farming and historically associated with colonial exploitation and labor systems like slavery.

Prime Agricultural Land

The most productive farmland, meaning the land with the best combination of soil quality, climate, and topography that is optimal for growing crops and raising livestock, making it highly valuable for agricultural production.

Ranching

A type of extensive commercial agriculture where livestock, primarily cattle, are raised on large tracts of land by allowing them to roam and graze freely over an established pasture, typically located in areas less suitable for traditional crop farming.

Reaper

A machine used to cut down grain standing in a field.

Ridge Tillage

A farming technique where crops are planted on raised ridges of soil, designed to reduce erosion, conserve water, and improve drainage.

Seed Agriculture

The practice of deliberately cultivating specific plant varieties by planting selected seeds to produce crops with desired traits.

Shifting Cultivation

An agricultural practice where farmers clear a plot of land in a forest, cultivate it for a short period, then abandon it to allow the soil to regain fertility, moving on to a new plot to repeat the process.

Slash-Burn Agriculture

A farming technique where trees and vegetation are cut down ("slash") and then burned ("burn") to clear land for cultivation, creating a nutrient-rich ash layer that temporarily fertilizes the soil.

Subsistence Agriculture

The practice of farming primarily to produce food for the farmer and their family's consumption.

Sustainable Agriculture

Farming practices that aim to maintain long-term productivity of the land by minimizing environmental impact, typically achieved through crop rotation, reduced chemical inputs like fertilizers and pesticides, and practices that preserve soil health and biodiversity, while still producing enough food to meet human needs.

Threshed

The process of separating grain kernels from the stalks by beating them, typically using a machine or by trampling with animals, effectively harvesting the edible part of the grain from the plant.

Transhumance

The seasonal movement of livestock between different grazing areas.

Transnational Corporations

A company that operates across multiple countries, conducting research, manufacturing goods, and selling products in various nations beyond where its headquarters are located, essentially having a global presence and influence on economies worldwide.

Truck Farming

A type of commercial agriculture where small-scale farms focus on growing large quantities of fruits and vegetables specifically for sale in nearby urban markets, often transported by trucks.

Vegetative Planting

A method of plant reproduction where new plants are grown directly from existing plant parts like stems, roots, or cuttings, essentially creating clones of the parent plant, rather than using seeds for propagation.

Wet Rice

A method of intensive subsistence agriculture where rice is grown in flooded fields, requiring a significant amount of labor to prepare the land, transplant seedlings, and manage water levels, typically practiced in Southeast Asia and other regions with high population densities.

Winter Wheat

A type of wheat crop that is planted in the fall, develops a root system during the winter months when growth slows down, and then resumes active growth in the spring, allowing for an earlier harvest in the summer compared to spring wheat.

Spring Wheat

A type of wheat crop that is planted in the early spring and harvested in the late summer, typically grown in regions with harsh winters where planting in the fall (like with winter wheat) is not feasible due to freezing temperatures.

Value-added Crops

Agricultural products that have undergone processing or additional steps beyond basic harvesting, significantly increasing their market value compared to the raw commodity, often through packaging, branding, or further refinement into a new product.

Value-added Farming

The practice of increasing the market value of agricultural products by processing them further on the farm, creating a higher-priced product like jams, cheese, or pre-packaged produce, rather than simply selling raw commodities, thus generating more income for the farmer.

Vertical Farms

A method of agriculture where crops are grown in stacked layers within a controlled environment, often using hydroponics or other soilless techniques, to maximize production in a limited space, usually within a building, utilizing artificial lighting and climate control systems; essentially, farming upwards instead of outwards.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy where a company controls multiple stages of the production process for a product, essentially owning different parts of the supply chain, from raw materials to finished goods, allowing them to maximize efficiency and profit by minimizing reliance on external suppliers.

Von Thunen Model

A theory that explains how agricultural land use patterns are organized around a central market, with different types of crops and livestock being produced in concentric rings based on their perishability and transportation costs.