maria vocab

Agribusiness

agriculture conducted on commercial principles, especially using advanced technology.

aquaculture (aquafarming)

use of river segments or artificial bodies of water such as ponds for the raising and harvesting of food products including fish, shellfish, and seaweed

Biotechnology

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

Clustered rural settlement

A settlement within a rural area where everything is really close together.

commodity chain

A chain of activities from the manufacturing to the distribution of a product

Desertification (semiarid land degradation)

deterioration of land to a desertlike condition typically due to human actions

Dietary energy consumption

amount of food an individual consumes

Dispersed rural settlement

characterized by farmers living on individual farms isolated from neighbors rather than alongside other farmers in settlements

double cropping

growing more than one crop a year on the same land

enclosure

the process of taking over and consolidating land formerly shared by peasant farmers

extensive agriculture

use of little labor and capital to increase agricultural productivity

Extensive Subistence Agriculture

specified form of extensive agriculture

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 organism (GMO)

an organism that has been genetically altered by humans

Green Revolution

Rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers.

Horticulture

the growing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers for human consumption

high-yield seeds

seeds bred to respond to fertilizers and produce an increased amount of grain per acre

• led to a reduction in the varieties of seeds being used in many areas of the world \n • resulted in more use of fertilizers and increased use of irrigation in farming throughout the world

industrial agriculture

A form of agriculture that uses large scale mechanization and fossil fuel combustion, enabling farmers to replace horses and oxen with faster and more powerful methods of farming.

intensive subsistence agriculture

farming to supply the minimum food and materials necessary to survive.

Job Specialization

the separation of all organizational activities into distinct tasks and the assignment of different tasks to different people

labor intensive agriculture

a method of farming that uses large amounts of labor and investment to increase the yield of the land.

linear rural settlements

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)

long-lot survey system

divides land into narrow parcels that extend from rivers, roads, or canals

Mercantilism

An economic policy under which nations sought to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they bought

Metes and Bounds

A method of land description which involves identifying distances and directions and makes use of both the physical boundaries and measurements of the land.

No tillage

A farming practice that leaves all of the soil undisturbed and the entire residue of the previous year's harvest left untouched on the fields.

nucleated settlement pattern

settlement clustered around a central point, such as a village green or church. Nucleation is fostered by defense considerations, localized water supply, the incidence of flooding, or rich soils so that farmers can easily get to their smaller, productive fields while continuing to live in the village.

organic agriculture

Approach to farming and ranching that avoids the use of herbicides, pesticides, growth hormones, and other similar synthetic inputs.

Pastoral Nomadism

A form of subsistence agriculture based on herding domesticated animals.

post-idustrial societies

countries where most people are no longer employed in industry

Prime Agricultural Land

the most productive farmland

Primogeniture

right of inheritance belongs exclusively to the eldest son

rectangular survey system

A system used to divide public domain lands in the United States in which land is divided into 6-mile square townships and subdivided into sections, portions of sections, or irregular lots. Also referred to as Public Land Survey System.

Ridge Tillage

system of planting crops on ridge tops to reduce farm production costs; promotes soil conservation

Seed Agriculture

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

seed drill

machine that sowed seeds in rows and covered up the seeds in rows

Shifting agriculture (Swidden agriculture)

An agricultural method in which land is cleared and used for a few years until the soil is depleted of nutrients.

slash-and-burn agriculture

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

Specialization

A focus on a particular activity or area of study

spring wheat area

Wheat planted in the spring and harvested in the late summer.

subsistance agriculture

farming in which food is produced by a family just for its own needs

sustainable agriculture

Long-term productive farming methods that are environmentally safe.

Transhumance

The seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pastures.

truck farming

commercial gardening and fruit farming

Undernourishment

not enough calories

Vegetative Planting

reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants

village

a community of people smaller than a town

wattle

framework consisting of stakes interwoven with branches to form a fence

wet (lowland) rice

rice planted on dry land in a nursery and then moved to a deliberately flooded field to promote growth

winter wheat area

Area in which grain is planted in autumn, survives the winter, and ripens the following summer (Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma)