AP Human Geography - Unit 5

Intensive Agriculture: Requires significant labor input, focused on small land areas or both.
Extensive Agriculture: Limited labor input and often spread over larger areas.

Hunting and Gathering Societies: The earliest agricultural practices.
Transhumance: Seasonal movement to avoid harsh climates and follow animal herds.
Domestication: Animals like cattle, horses, pigs, donkeys, sheep, goats, reindeer, llamas, alpacas, and water buffaloes were domesticated for agriculture.

Pastoralism: Seasonal movement of animals between pastures.
Nomadic Herding: Communities follow annual grazing cycles across different regions.
Ranching: Grazing livestock on a large area.

Permanent settlements arose from domesticated plants.
Multi-Cropping: Planting various crops to ensure food security against failures.
Monoculture: Common in political civilizations; focused on one staple crop to support large populations.
Mixed Farming: Combines crops and animals for diverse nutrition and resources.
Subsistence Agriculture: Intensive mixed farming to meet household needs, promotes permanent settlements.
Extensive Subsistence Agriculture: Limited labor input per land unit, often in less-populated areas.

Concept: Number of people per unit of arable land.
Higher in third-world countries; susceptible to famine due to drought or conflict.

Extensive agriculture exchanging crops for currency, goods or credit for further investments and necessities.

Farming collectivized during communism, focusing on collective production.
Historical context: Peasant uprisings in Eastern Europe against aristocracy; led to communal farms under state control.
Yield quotas assigned by the government promoted monoculture and limited crop diversity, resulting in low variety and food surplus.

Human Ecology: Examines interactions between humans and nature.
Focuses on sustainable practices integrating forestry, fisheries, and farming.
Food Chain: Describes integrated inputs needed for crop production and processing.

Crop Rotation: Alternating species on the same land to maintain soil health.
Multi-Cropping: Planting multiple crops either together or in cycles for efficiency and yield.
Irrigation: Increases land available for cultivation, heavily used in arid areas, yet consumes vast freshwater resources.
Conservation agriculture: Sustainable management of resource use to maintain crop yield and soil integrity.

Alternative crops cultivated for industrial use, textiles, animal feed, and biofuels (e.g., ethanol from corn).

Slash and Burn Agriculture: Practiced in rainforests; involves clearing land followed by nutrient restoration.
Extensive Pastoralism: Movement of herds among grazing lands, common in arid areas; leads to overgrazing and desertification concerns.

Early agricultural areas where domestication began; critical for understanding historical agricultural development.

Affected by cultural beliefs (e.g., religious dietary restrictions) and family history.
Governments play a role in supporting farmers through safety nets.

First Agricultural Revolution: Introduction of vegetative planting and seed agriculture; domestication of plants and animals.
Second Agricultural Revolution: Innovations paralleling the Industrial Revolution; mechanization increased productivity; chemical fertilizers developed.
Green Revolution: Demand for tropical hybrids and chemical inputs led to much larger crops in the Third World; mechanization slow to spread.
Third Agricultural Revolution: Modernized inclusive farming; extensive monoculture and biotechnology emphasized.

Corporate Agriculture: Large-scale farming operations with significant control techniques; reliance on biotechnology and genetic engineering.
Fair Trade: Ensures small farmers receive fair price for their goods; tied to quality standards.
Aquaculture: Growing industry focused on profitable fish farming and sustainable practices.

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) connects local farmers to consumers.
Demand for Mediterranean crops cultivated in various climates due to environmental similarities.
Organic and non-GMO trends responding to consumer concerns about health and sustainability.

Varied practices based on livestock; milk preservation methods evolving with technology.
Milkshed: Geographic area where fresh milk is distributed.

Crucial role in agriculture, facing disparities in pay and resource access; women constitute 43% of agricultural labor.

Agriculture contributes significantly to GDP, particularly in developing nations.
Understanding commodity chains is vital for grasping global supply dynamics.