Chapter 5

5.1- Introduction to Agriculture

Agriculture is influenced by the physical environment
  • Plants need space, light, water, suitable temperatures, and nutrients
  • Types of crops will vary based on climates
Agriculture is influenced by the physical environment
  • Human modifications include clearing space, modifying land, providing artificial lights, irrigation of crops, use of fertilizers, and growing crops in greenhouses
  • Modifications are examples of Environmental Possibilism

@@Some plants are constrained by the environment@@

Agriculture can be characterized as intensive or extensive
  • Intensive agricultural systems
    • requires a large amount of labor and capital
    • use small plots of land usually located near large populations
    • are characterized by high yield per acre
    • ex. rice, milk, and truck farming
  • Extensive
    • low capital and labor inputs
    • large plots of land that are away from population centers
    • low yield per acre
    • shifting, cultivation, livestock ranching
Agriculture is influenced by economic factors

Farmers must decide what and how to farm based on financial considerations

  • cost of land
  • cost of labor
  • cost of machinery
Types of Intensive Agriculture
  • Plantation Agriculture
    • labor-intensive that exploits cheap labor
  • Mixed Crop and Livestock
    • labor-intensive system
    • farmers grow crops to fatten livestock
  • Market gardening
    • fresh fruits and vegetables
    • often using migrant labor'
Types of Extensive Agriculture
  • Shifting cultivation
    • farmers in the tropics control a large area and clear only part of it at a time to farm
    • Rainforest is cleared and burned and many different crops are planted
    • Loses fertility after a few years
  • Nomadic Herding
    • graze cattle, sheep, goats, and more arid and semi-arid climates
    • mobile and movie animals from pastures to pastures
  • Ranching
    • own large areas of land for grazing cattle and sheep to sell on markets
    • unsuitable for farming, so land is less expensive than farmland

5.2- Settlement Patterns and Survey Methods

Rural Settlement Patterns
  • Clustered Settlement
    • more connected to the community
    • put resources together
  • dispersed settlement
    • more connected to resources
    • Grid-like starts to develop
  • Linear Settlement
    • usually along a road
    • access to the same transportation route
Rural Survey Methods
  • Metes and Bounds
    • Short distances
    • landmarks
  • Long Lot
    • Relationship to river
    • balance resources
  • Township and Range
    • Survey Methods vs Landmarks
    • Grid System
    • Land ordinance of 1785

5.3- Agricultural Origins and Diffusions

 

Agriculture diffused globally along trade roots

increasing patterns of globalization diffused agriculture around the world

  • Trade routes across the eastern hemisphere diffused plants and animal
    • The silk road brought plants and animals to the middle east, Asia, and Europe
    • Indian ocean trade brought plants and animals to South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe
  • Columbian Exchange
    • crops were taken to Europe
    • animals brought to America
Other forms of diffusion
  • population migration brought different cuisines to new areas
    • immigrants brought their food
  • The green revolution spread high-yield varieties of crops across the world
    • new varieties of plants replaced traditional crops
    • these countries have seen a loss in the genetic variety of plants
  • Increasing wealth has raised the demand for animal protein
    • demand for beef, pork, and chicken has risen as LDCs get wealthier