Unit 5 - AP Human Geo

Agriculture

The process by which humans alter the natural landscape in order to raise crops and livestock for consumption and trade.

Climate

The long term weather patterns in a region

Subsistence Agriculture

Primary goal is grow enough food or raise enough livestock to meet immediate needs of the farmer and his/her own family

Commercial Agriculture

Primary goal is to grow enough crops or raise enough livestock for profit

Intensive Agriculture Practices

Practices in which farmers of ranchers use large amounts of inputs to maximize yields

Extensive Agriculture Practices

Practices that use fewer amounts of inputs and typically result in less yields

Capital

The money invested in land, equipments, and machines

Pastoral Nomadism

Type of subsistence extensive agriculture practiced in arid and semi-arid climates; Nomads depend on survival using meat and animal hides

Shifting Cultivation

Type of subsistence extensive farming; Crops grown on lan for 1-2 years, then (when soil loses fertility) new field is used

Plantation

Large commercial farm that specializes in one crop

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming

Interdependence between both crops and animals; both are used, and crops are often used as feed for animals

Grain Farming

Farmers raise wheat in regions too dry for mixed crop agriculture; often takes place in prairies and plains

Commercial Gardening/Truck Farming

Fruits and vegetables are grown in commercial farms, sold and imported to distant markets - traditionally, products were driven to local urban markets to be sold

Market Gardening

Fruits and vegetables are grown near an urban market and sold to local suppliers, stores, and restaurants

Milk Shed

The geographic distance that milk is delivered

Mediterranean Agriculture

Practiced in regions with hot, dry summers and mild winters, narrow valleys, and often some irrgation

Livestock Ranching

Commercial grazing of animals confined to a specific area

Metes and Bounds Systems

Boundary lines that are drawn in taking into consideration the physical landscape

Public Land Survey System (Township or Range)

Boundary Line that separated territory in plots of equal sq. acres of lands

Township

Areas six miles wide and 6 miles long

French Long-Lot System

Farms were long, thin sections of land that ran perpendicular to a river

First (Neolithic) Revolution

The origin of farming; Marked by domestication of plants and animals, as well mostly subsistence farming taking place in 5 agricultural hearths

Independent Innovation

Crops and animals were first domesticated in multiple regions with seemingly no interaction among the people

Columbian Exchange

The global movement of plants and animals around the globe

Second Agricultural Revolution

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

Enclosure Acts

Series of laws enacted by the British government that enabled landowners to purchase and enclose land for personal use

Crop Rotation

The technique of planting different crops crops in a specific sequence on the same plot of land

Irrigation

The process of applying controlled amounts of water to crops using canals, pipes, sprinkler systems,and other human-made devices, rather than just to rely on rainfall

Third Agricultural Revolution (Green Revolution)

Advances in plant biology of the mid-20th century bring about new methods from researchers

Seed Hybridization

The process of breeding 2 plants that have desirable characteristics to produce a single seed with both characteristics

GMOS

Genetically modified organisms created by humans that use engineering techniques to change the DNA of a seed

Bid-Rent theory

Distance decay relationship between proximity to the urban market and the value of land - closer land is to urban land, the more valuable it is

Double Cropping

Planting and harvesting a crop two (or more) times per year on the same piece of land

Intercropping/Multicropping

Farmers grow 2 or more crops simultaneously on the same field

Monoculture/Monocropping

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

Feedlots

Confined spaces in which cattle and hogs have limited movement and are raised; maximizes spaces and preps animals for slaughter quickly

Agribusiness

Farm run as corporations

Transnational Corporations

Corporations that operate in many countries

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

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 various types of economic activity - factories, stores, restaurants, agriculture

Von Thunen Model

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

Isotropic Plain

Flat and featureless with similar climate and fertility throughout

Horticulture

A type of agriculture focused on aesthetics and specialized technology to produce fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental plants

Bid-Price / Bid-Rent Curve

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

Free Market Economy

Supply and demand, not government policy, determine the outcome of competition for land

Comparative Advantage

Naturally occuring beneficial conditions

Supply Chain

All the steps required to get a product or service to consumers

Luxury Crops

Not essential to human survival but have a high profit margin

Fair Trade Movement

An effort to promote higher incomes for producers and more sustainable farming practices

Subsidies

Public financial support

Land-Cover Change

The study of how land is used and the impact of changing land use

Desertification

Alteration of the natural vegetation in arid areas causes fertile land to become infertile

Salinization

Occurs when salts from water used by plants remain in the soil

Terrace Farming

One of the earliest human alterations of the landscape, in which farmers build a series of steps into the side of a hill

Center-Pivot Irrigation

A system developed in the mid-20th century in which watering equipment rotates around a pivot and delivers specific amounts of water, fertilizer, or pesticides to the field

Wetlands

Low lying areas that contain a significant amount of water at or near the surface

Slash-and-Burn Agriculture

Early agricultural practice and type of shifting cultivation that takes place when all vegetation in an area of forest is cut down and burned in place

Blue Revolution

The rapid growth and intensification of aquaculture

Value-added crops + Value-added farming

Crops for which consumers are willing to pay more because of special qualities or because they are difficult to acquire

Local Food Movement

Seeking out food produced nearby

Urban farming

Refers to the production of farm goods within an urban area with the goal of providing locally grown food

Vertical Farms

Grow crops inside stackable trays, using greenhouses, artificial lights, and hydroponics

Hydroponics

Allows crops to grow without soil using mineral enriched solutions

Food desert

A neighborhood where residents have little to no access to healthy food

Food distribution system

A network of trade and transportation that get food from farms to consumers

Food processing

Transformation of agricultural products in food or taming food items and transforming them into a different type of food

Tariffs

Tax on imports

Crop gap

Lack of gender equality has resulted in women producing 20-30 percent less in farms