Chapter 12 & 13 Vocabulary AP Human Geography

Second Agricultural Revolution

Began in 1700s, used the advances of the Industrial Revolution to increase food supplies and support population growth.

Enclosure Acts

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

Crop rotation

the technique of planting different crops in a specific sequence on the same plot of land in order to restore nutrients back into the soil.

Irrigation

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

In the mid-20th century, it expanded mechanization of farming, developed new global agricultural systems, and used scientific and information technologies to further previous advances in agricultural production.

Green Revolution

the advances in plant biology of the mid-20th century

Hybridization

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

genetically modified organisms (GMO)

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

Bid rent theory

when discussing land costs for different types of agricultural activities.

capital intensive

uses expensive machinery and other inputs

labor intensive

large farms producing very large quantities of vegetables and fruit, often relying on many low-paid migrant workers, to tend and harvest crops.

factory farming

a capital-intensive livestock operation in which many animals are kept in close quarters, and bred and fed in a controlled environment.

aquaculture (aquafarming)

A type of intensive farming. Rather than raising typical farm animals in close quarters with a controlled environment, fish, shellfish, or water plants are raised in netted areas in the sea, tanks, or other bodies of water.

double cropping

planting and harvesting a crop two (or three) times per year on the same piece of land.

Inter-cropping (multi cropping)

when farmers grow two or more crops simultaneously on the same field.

Monoculture

only one crop is grown or one type of animal is raised per season on a piece of land.

Monocropping

Continuous Monoculture; is only growing one type of crop or raising one type of animal year after year.

feedlots

confined spaces in which cattle and hogs have limited movement, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)

agribusiness

farms run as corporations, and the globalization of agriculture.

Transnational Corporation

those that operate in many countries, and own the largest agribusinesses.

Vertical Integration

the ownership of other businesses involved in the steps of producing a particular good

economies of scale

an increase in efficiency to lower the per-unit production cost, resulting in greater profits.

commodity chain

a process used by corporations to gather resources and transform them into goods and then transport them to consumers.

carrying capacity

the number of people that U.S. farmers can support given the available resources.

cool chains

transportation networks that keep food cool throughout a trip

location theory

A key component of economic geography, deals with why people choose certain locations for various types of economic activity - factories, stores, restaurants, or agriculture

Von Thunen Model

an economic model that suggested a pattern for the types of products that farmers would produce at different positions relative to the market where they sold their goods

isotropic plain

flat and featureless with similar fertility and climate throughout

horticulture

a type of agriculture that includes market gardening/truck farming.

bid-price curve (bid-rent curve)

can be used to determine the starting position for each land use relative to the market, as well as where each land use would end.

free market economy

where supply and emand, not government policy, determine the outcome of competition for land

comparative advantage

naturally occurring beneficial conditions, that would prompt farmers to plant crops differently from those predicted by Von Thunen's model

supply chain

all the steps required to get a product or service to costumers.

luxury crops

are not essential to human survival but have a high profit margian

Neocolonialism

the use of economic, political, and social pressures to control former colonies, can be one way to describe the current state of global food distribution.

fair trade movment

it is an effort to promote higher incomes for producers and more sustainable farming practices.

subsidies

public financial support, to farmers to safeguard food productions.

infrastructure

the fundamental facilities and systems that support the functioning of a society, including transportation, communication, water supply, and energy systems.