AP Human Geo Unit 5 (PR 1)

Ethanol

an alcohol that can supplement gasoline and make it burn cleaner.

Biodiesel

Derived from soybeans and vegetable oils (even waste from fryers),as become an alternate to petroleum-based diesel fuel for trucking in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Fallow

Land abandoned by farmers in which overtime natural vegetation would return and increase the nutrient biomass in the area.

Overgrazing

Where animals graze so heavily that the vegetation is damaged and the ground becomes liable to erosion and desertification.

Soil Salinization

Where there is a huge buildup of mineral salts in the dryland due to evaporation. This amount of salt can become toxic and can poison the crops causing the land to become useless.

Mineral Salts

Mineral salts can be trapped in the surface soil level due to an evaporation of water.

Natural Food Products

Foods that are minimally processed and do not contain any hormones or artificial flavors

Organic

relating to or derived from living manner

Cottage industry

A business or manufacturing activity carried on in a person's home

Appellation

the local or regional geographic name of the product

Suitcase farmers

farm owners who work in the city but still own land in rural areas

Fresh milk

milk that gets delivered within the milkshed

Managed forest

Needed to meet the energy and lumber needs of the community. Trees located close to town that are replanted in a highly sustainable manner to minimize costs

Renewable resource

substance that can be replaced quicker in nature than it is used by humans.

Grazing

Very little labor involved. Grassland suitable for pasturage

Highlands

Often not suitable for crop farming but perfect for grazing

Cost-to-distance relationship

Inverse relationship between the value of labor and the distance from the center of Von Thünen's model

Land-rent curve

A mathematical function that shows the changes in rent prices across the model

Nomadic herding

a practice that entails moving from one place to another with cattle in search of pasture.

Cultivars

a plant variety that has been produced in cultivation by selective breeding

Monoculture

the cultivation of a single crop in a given area.

Staple crop

plants grown for their parts which are used as staple food

Extensive subsistence agriculture

agricultural technique where a vast expanse of land is cultivated to yield minimal output of crops and animals for the primary consumption of the grower's family

Spring wheat

Follows the normal growing season, it is planted in the spring and harvested in late summer.

Winter wheat

Grown in more southern areas in the Great Plains, where the ground freezing is less likely.

Irrigation

Opens up more land to cultivation than would normally be possible in arid climates.

Conservation agriculture

New method that has become increasingly important as a way of providing a sustainable farming system without sacrificing crop production.

Sustainable yield

Describes the amount of crops or animals that can be raised without endangering local resources such as soil, irrigation, or groundwater, or it describes what can be raised without too many expensive inputs that would make farming unprofitable.

Primary economy

timber, fisheries, mineral, energy resources.

Intensive agriculture

requires lots of labor inputs, or is focused on a small plot of land, or both.

Extensive agriculture

requires limited labor inputs, or is spread across large areas of land, or both.

Hunting and gathering societies

earliest forms of agriculture. People travelled the land, making seasonal migrations to areas where food and water were periodically abundant.

Chemical fertilizers

any inorganic material of wholly or partially synthetic origin that is added to soil to sustain plant growth

Chemical pesticides

an inorganic substance used to destroy pests

Mechanization

trucks, tractors and pumps used to increase farming efficiency

Irrigation pumps

low cost system used to move water to dryland farming regions

Genetic engineering

deliberate modification of desired characteristics of an organism by manipulating its genetic material

Domestication of plants

where early farmers rejected poorly-growing crops, and took cuttings or seeds from the more productive, better-tasting plants to grow future generations

Animal domestication

genetic modification of an animal such that it is rendered more amenable to human control

Animal husbandry

the science of breeding and caring for farm animals

Subsistence

the action or fact of maintaining or supporting oneself at a minimum level

Columbian exchange

refers to a period of cultural and biological exchanges of plants, animals, etc, between the New and Old Worlds

Hybrids

the offspring of two plants or animals of different species or varieties

Cash Cropping

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

Commercial Crops

an agricultural crop which is grown for sale to return a profit.

Domestic Consumption

goods and services consumed in the country where they are produced.

Export

send goods or services to another country for sale.

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