AP Human Geography Unit 5 Terms

Agribusiness

The set of economic and political relationships that organize food production for commercial purposes.

Agriculture

The raising of animals or the growing of crops on tended land to obtain food for primary consumption by a farmer's family or for sale off the farm.

Aquaculture

The cultivation or farming (in controlled conditions) of aquatic species, such as fish

Aquifers

An underground water reservoir.

Arable land

land that can be used to grow crops

Biodiesel

Fuel derived from crops/plants.

Biotechnology

any technological innovation that is designed to improve the usefulness of plant and animals species for human agricultural purposes.

Carrying capacity

the maximum number of people who can be realistically sustained by the geography of that area.

Chemical fertilizers

chemical agent added to soil to add nutrients

Chemical pesticides

agent/chemical to kills pests (weed, insects, fungus, rodents, etc.)

Clustered rural settlement

an agricultural-based settlement in which houses are close together

Columbian exchange

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

Commercial agriculture

Agriculture undertaken primarily to generate products for sale off the farm.

Complex commodity chains

production and consumption are linked through a series of processes and relationships (For example, raw materials are extracted or harvested and then transformed into intermediate products, which are then assembled into finished products)

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO)

is an intensive animal feeding operation (AFO) in which over 1,000 animal units are confined for over 45 days a year.

Conservation

Protecting and preserving natural resources and the environment

Crop rotation

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

Desertification

the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture. (Mostly human caused).

Domestication

the taming of animals for human use, such as work or as food

Double cropping

The growing of two different crops per growing season to double the harvest.

Eat local movement

movement that encourages the consumption of foods grown close to you

Economies of scale

the cost advantage experienced by a firm when it increases its level of output. (the more food you make, the less you can sell it for and still make the same amount of money).

Embargo

An external source that has the ability to choke off supplies of a critical resource.

Enclosure movement

The process of consolidating small landholdings into a smaller number of larger farms in England during the eighteenth century.

Extensive agriculture

An agricultural system characterized by low inputs of labor per unit land area. (Rich countries)

Extensive subsistence agriculture

any agricultural economy in which the crops and/or animals are used nearly exclusively for local or family consumption on large areas of land and minimal labor input per acre. (Rich country, not sold for money).

Fair trade

Producers, farmers, and craftspeople are paid fair prices for their products, and workers get fair wages.

Fallow

land that is left unsown in order to restore its fertility.

Food desert

an area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food. ( poor countries ).

Food security

A condition in which people have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs for an active and healthy life.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

Organisms whose genetic material has been modified for increased agricultural output

Global supply chain

a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer

Green Revolution

a period of increased agricultural productivity that occurred in the mid-20th century, primarily in developing countries.

Horticulture

The growing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. ( growing things you do not need to survive, but are enjoyable).

Hunting and gathering societies

societies whose mode of subsistence is gained from hunting animals, fishing, and gathering edible plants

Intensive subsistence agriculture

A form of subsistence agriculture in which farmers must expend a relatively large amount of effort to produce the maximum feasible yield from a parcel of land. (poor countries, making food to eat).

Land-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.

Market gardening

The small scale production of fruits, vegetables, and flowers as cash crops sold directly to local consumers.

Mediterranean agriculture

The growing of crops like grapes and olives

Metes & bounds

This system uses physical features of local geography along with directions and distances to define and describe boundaries of land parcels. (similar to township and range but with physical features).

Milkshed

ring surrounding a city from which milk can be supplied without spoiling

Mixed crop farming

a farm that grows several different kinds of crops

Monoculture

the cultivation of a single crop in a given area.

Overgrazing

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

Pastoral nomadism

a way of life of peoples who do not live continually in the same place but move cyclically or periodically. (follow the food sources).

Physiological density

the number of persons per unit of agricultural land.

Plantation

A large farm in tropical and subtropical climates that specializes in the production of one or two crops for sale, usually to a more developed country.

Ridge tillage

System of planting crops on ridge tops, in order to reduce farm production costs and promote greater soil conservation

Seed agriculture

reproduction of plants through annual planting of seeds that result from sexual fertilization.

Shifting cultivation

the practice of farming by clearing land for farming by slashing vegetation and burning debris (shifted from natural plants and animals to the ones that humans wanted there).

Slash and burn agriculture

a farming technique in which trees are cut down and burned to clear and fertilize the land

Subsidies

a sum of money granted by the government or a public body to assist an industry or business so that the price of a commodity or service may remain low or competitive.

Subsistence agriculture

Agriculture designed primarily to provide food for direct consumption by the farmer and the farmer's family

Sustainable agriculture

Farming methods that preserve long-term productivity of land and minimize pollution,

Transhumance

form of pastoralism or nomadism organized around the migration of livestock between mountain pastures in warm seasons and lower altitudes the rest of the year

Truck farming

Commercial gardening and fruit farming (the food typically has to travel a long ways to get to the consumer).

Undernourishment

Dietary energy consumption that is continuously below the minimum requirement for maintaining a healthy life and carrying out light physical activity.

Vegetative planting

the reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants.

Winter wheat

a type of wheat crop that is planted in the late fall that stops growing during the winter before resuming growing in the spring.

1st Agricultural Revolution

A transition from hunting and gathering societies to sedentary agricultural societies through the domestication of plants and animals.

2nd Agricultural Revolution

period of technological change from the 1600s to mid-1900s beginning in Western Europe with industrial innovations to replace human labor with machines and to supplement natural fertilizers and pesticides with chemical ones