AP Human Geo Agriculture

Terraced Farming

• Build steps into a hill for agriculture
• Benefits: Crops are physically easier to maintain, Rainfall goes down slope and waters crops, Reduces soil erosion
• Cons: Not maintained, Heavy rainfall can lead to mudslides

Irrigation

• Diverting water from natural course to aid crops
• Benefits: Increased crop production
• Cons: Disrupts natural drainage, Reduces soil regeneration, could cause the collapse of land

Draining Wetlands

• They are natural filters that protect and promote surface water and groundwater quality
• Benefits: Land is rich in nutrients, provides more for farm land
• Cons: Reduces biodiversity of organisms

Slash & Burn

• All vegetation is cut down and then burned down (also known as Swidden)
• Benefits: Ash provides nutrients in soil, can be used for farming for a few years
• Cons: Shifting cultivation (requires people to move regularly), could damage environment if on a large scale

Deforestation

• Removal of forest
• Benefits: Creates land for farmlands and urban areas
• Cons: Very damaging to environment, desertification, soil erosion

Intensive Agriculture

• Uses large amounts of money, inputs (such as fertilizer, pesticides/herbicides), and labor to have a large amount of crops

Extensive Agriculture

• Uses less money, inputs, and labor, typically has low amount of production

Commercial Farming

• FOR PROFIT (maximizes production) and uses large amounts of money, inputs, and labor

Subsistence Farming

• FOR OWN USE and less amounts of inputs etc

Bid Rent Theory

• The theory that “Land value is higher, farmers buy less and use it more intensively” and vice versa

1st Agricultural Revolution (Neolithic Revolution)

• Hunter gatherers >> agricultural settlements and early civilizations
• Started in 10,000 BC in Mesopotamia (Fertile Crescent)

Columbian Exchange

• The global transfer of foods, plants, animals, diseases between the Americas, Europe, & Africa

The Second Agricultural Revolution

• Happened between 1760-1840 (at the same time as the industrial revolution), began in Great Britain
• Involved in the mechanization of agricultural production
• Advances in transportation
• Development of large-scale irrigation
• Changes to consumption patterns of agricultural goods
• Enclosure system - Land became owned by individuals, it led to owners having better control over farms and led to more efficient farming methods, created surplus labor and pushed peasants off the land
• Selective Breeding
• New tech
• Yearly rotation of crops added nutrients, so no leaving fallow fields. This prevents soil exhaustion and increases yields

The Green Revolution

• Starts in the United States after WWII (when world hunger was a huge issue)
• Really takes off in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, due to worldwide population growth
• Two main practices: intro of higher yields seeds and more use of chemical fertilizers

Hybridization

Process of crossing two genetically different individuals to result in a third individual with a different, and preferred set of traits

RECAP

• 1st

  • Hunting/Gathering → Farming

• 2nd

  • Mechanization and transportation

• 3rd/Green

  • Hybridization, genetic engineering, increased use of fertilizers and pesticides 

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