Unit 7 Agriculture & Rural Land Use (Entire Unit)

Agriculture

The production of food, fiber and fuel from tending plants and livestock for the purpose of human use. (i.e. Farming)

Agriculture regions

Areas of the world where certain types of crops and animals predominate

Agribusiness

Commercial agriculture in which large corporations own and operate various steps in the production process with an emphasis on profit

Agriculture Revolutions

Different stages of advancements and invention within farming which made farming easier and more productive. Each stage has key developments.

Animal Waste

Manure - can be used as natural fertilizer

Aquaculture

The raising of fish and other aquatic species in captivity or plants for harvest.

Aquifer

An underground layer of rock or sediment that holds water

Climatic Conditions/Zones

Regions where the temperatures and precipitation promote growth of certain types of plants and animals

Biodiversity

The diversity of plant and animal life in a particular habitat (or in the world as a whole)

Biotechnology

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

Chemical farming

The application of synthetic fertilizers to the soil and herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides to crops in order to enhance yields.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus' voyages

Commercial agriculture

the process of growing crops or raising animals to sell or trade

Deforestation

The removal of trees faster than forests can replace themselves

Desertification

Degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting

Domestication

Selective growing or breeding of plants and animals to make them more useful to humans

Diet energy consumption

the amount of food that an individual consumes

All activities of the body require energy, and all needs are met by the consumption of food containing energy in chemical form. The human diet comprises three main sources of energy: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

Extensive farming

A type of farming that requires large areas of land. (Don't confuse with intensive farming in a large land area.)

EXs: shifting cultivation, nomadic herding, ranching

Fair trade

A market-based approach to pay higher prices to producers of exports from LDCs to MDCs in order for the developing countries to obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability

Fertile crescent

A geographical area of fertile land in the Middle East (SW Asia) stretching in a broad semicircle from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates

Fertilizers

A substance spread onto soil to increase its ability to support crops. Fertilizers include organic materials, such as manure, but can also be man made chemicals such as nitrates

Food deserts

urban and rural low-income areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious foods

GMOs (genetically modified organisms)

Plants and animals that have been genetically altered to contain genes they would not normally have

Green Revolution

An agricultural revolution that increased production through improved seeds, fertilizers, and irrigation; helped to support rising populations.

Herbicides

Chemicals that kill plants

High-yield seeds

Seeds that grow into plants that produce more grains per plant

Horticulture

The growing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

Hybrid crops

Edible plants that have been produced from cross breeding of different varieties of the same plant to produce plants with (hopefully) more beneficial traits

Intensive farming

Achieving a high yield from a small growing area - usually involves a lot of labor

Irrigation

The process of supplying water to areas of land to make them suitable for growing crops.

Large scale commercial agricultural operation (factory farms)

large farming for profit such as agribusiness and plantation farming

Land survey systems

surveying methods developed and used to divide the landscape into plots for sale and settling (ex: long lots, metes & bounds, township-and-range)

Local-food movements

the goal is to connect food producers and food consumers in the same area in order to develop more self-reliant and resilient food networks; improve local economies; or to have an impact on the health, environment, or community of that area

Low latitude regions

The tropics - various plants grow best here.

Market gardening

The small scale production of fruits, vegetables, and flowers as cash crops sold directly to local consumers. Distinguishable by the large diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, during a single growing season. Labor is done manually.

Mechanized farming

farming with machines

Mediterranean Climate Region

A climate marked by warms, dry, summers and cool, rainy winters - certain crops (like olives, grapes and other fruits, vegetables and tree nuts) grow best here.

Mixed crop/livestock

Smaller farms that raise both animals and a plants.

Neolithic

"Neo"means new, was a change from hunting and gathering to farming or from food gatherers to food producers

Organic farming

A method of farming that does not use artificial means such as synthetic pesticides and herbicides, antibiotics, and bioengineering

Overgrazing

Destruction of vegetation caused by too many grazing animals consuming the plants in a particular area so they cannot recover

Pastoral nomadism

A form of subsistence agriculture based on herding domesticated animals.

Pesticides

Chemicals intended to kill insects and other organisms that damage crops

Plantation agriculture

Production system based on a large estate owned by an individual, family, or corporation and organized to produce a cash crop. Almost all plantations were established within the tropics; in recent decades, many have been divided into smaller holdings or reorganized as cooperatives

Salinization

The buildup of minerals in soil, decreasing its fertility; can be caused by long-term irrigation.

shifting cultivation

- The Practice of farming a site until the soil is exhausted, then moving on to a new site

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

Soil degradation

The loss of some or all of a soil's ability to support plant growth

Specialty farming (truck farming)

farmers grow crops that have increasing demand among affluent consumers such as asparagus, peppers, mushrooms, strawberries, nursery plants, etc.

Subsistence

farming in which only enough food to feed one's family is produced

Sustainability

Using resources in ways that do not harm ecological systems that support human existence

Terraces

steplike ledges cut into mountains to make land suitable for farming

Wetland destruction

When wetlands are drained and filled so the land can be used for buildings and other development

Value-added specialty crops

increasing the economic value of a commodity through particular production processes, e.g., organic produce, or through regionally branded products that increase consumer appeal and willingness to pay a premium over similar but undifferentiated products. i.e. free-range chickens, hormone-free beef

Von Thunen's Model

explains and predicts agricultural land use. more INTENSIVE land uses closer to the market place. more EXTENSIVE land farther from the market place. EX: 1st ring (intensive perishable products ), 2nd (forest resources), 3rd (mixed crop and grains), 4th (livestock grazing)

settlement patterns

the distribution of homes and farms in an area - described as dispersed, clustered and linear

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

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

network between agricultural producers and consumers whereby consumers pledge support to a farming operation in order to receive a share of the output from the farming operation

conservation

the sustainable use of and management of Earth's natural resources to meet human needs such as food, medicine, and recreation

cash crop

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

crop rotation

the system of growing a different crop in a field each year to preserve the fertility of the land

double cropping

growing more than one crop a year on the same land

Early Hearths of Agricultural Domestication

Agriculture originated in multiple hearths around the world, including SW Asia (Fertile Crescent), South Asia (Indus River Valley), SE Asia, and Central America

fallow

plowed but not seeded; inactive land

Intertillage

- tillage or cultivation between plants (as corn and potatoes), in contrast to tillage of the entire surface when no growing crop is on it.

- tilling the soil between the rows of a crop already planted in the soil

Land cover change

The changes that have taken place to natural environments due to a variety of natural and/or human-induced causes

Overfishing

depleting fish populations by capturing fish faster than they can reproduce; has led to the extinction of species

preservation

the activity of protecting cultural assets, nature resources or cultural landscapes from loss or danger no matter the characters of the environment it is situated in, the needs or thoughts of the community whom it belongs

subsidy

a sum of money granted by the government or a public body to assist an industry or business (Ex: Agricultural subsidy)

Swidden

A patch of land cleared for planting through slashing and burning.

tillage

the preparation of land for growing crops

Transhumance

The seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pastures.

Urban farming

The growing of fruits, herbs, and vegetables and raising animals in towns and cities, a process that is accompanied by many other activities such as processing and distributing food, collecting and reusing food waste.

wet rice farming

The practice of planting rice on dry land in a nursery and then moving the seedlings to a flooded field for growth. Labor intensive.

Monocropping (monoculture)

An agricultural method that utilizes large plantings of a single species or variety

Ranching

A form of commercial agriculture in which livestock graze over an extensive area.

Clustered rural settlement

A rural settlement in which the houses and farm buildings of each family are situated close to each other and fields surround the settlement.

Dispersed rural settlement

A rural settlement pattern characterized by isolated farms rather than clustered villages.

linear rural settlements

Farms are clustered along road, river, or dike; lots of land perpendicular to river and road inland parallel to river; lots of land parallel to original riverfront settlement (St. Lawrence river in Quebec)

metes and bounds system

A system of land surveying east of the Appalachian Mountains. It is a system that relies on descriptions of land ownership and natural features such as streams or trees. Because of the imprecise nature of metes and bounds surveying, the U.S. Land Office Survey abandoned the technique in favor of the rectangular survey system.

township and range system

A rectangular land division scheme designed by Thomas Jefferson to disperse settlers evenly across farmlands of the U.S. interior.

long-lot survey system

distinct regional approach to land surveying found in the Canadian Maritimes, parts of Quebec, Louisiana, and Texas whereby land is divided into narrow parcels stretching back from rivers, roads, or canals

slash and burn agriculture

Another name for shifting cultivation, so named because fields are cleared by slashing the vegetation and burning the debris.