Unit 5 Agriculture

Climate
The long-term weather patterns in a particular area, including temperature, precipitation, and seasonal changes.

Mediterranean Climate
A climate characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, typically found along the Mediterranean coast and in areas with similar latitudes (e.g., California, Chile).

Tropical Climate
A climate zone found near the equator, characterized by consistently high temperatures and significant rainfall throughout the year.

Intensive Agriculture (Farming)
A type of farming that requires a large amount of labor and capital to produce a high yield per unit of land, often involving small plots and heavy use of fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation.

Extensive Agriculture (Farming)
A farming system that uses large areas of land with minimal labor input and lower crop yields per unit of land, typically found in areas with large, flat terrain (e.g., wheat farming in the Great Plains).

Subsistence Agriculture
Farming practiced primarily for the farmer's own consumption, with little or no surplus for trade or sale.

Commercial Agriculture
Farming done with the primary goal of selling the produce in the market for profit, often involving large-scale operations.

Pastoral Nomadism (Nomadic Herding)
A form of agriculture where livestock are raised and moved in search of grazing land, often practiced by nomadic groups in arid or semi-arid regions.

Shifting Cultivation
A form of agriculture where land is cleared for farming, used for a period, then abandoned when soil fertility declines, and new land is cleared (also known as "slash-and-burn" agriculture).

Plantation (Agriculture)
Large-scale commercial farming that specializes in the production of one or two crops for export, typically found in tropical regions (e.g., coffee, sugar, cotton).

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming
A type of farming where both crops and livestock are raised, often to provide a diverse source of income and food.

Market Gardening
Small-scale farming that produces vegetables, fruits, and flowers for local markets, usually practiced near urban areas.

Ranching
A type of extensive agriculture focused on the raising of livestock, especially cattle, for commercial purposes.

Clustered (Nucleated) Settlements
Settlements where buildings are grouped together, often around a central feature like a church, market, or water source.

Dispersed Settlements
Settlements where houses or farms are spread out over a large area, often associated with extensive agriculture.

Linear Settlement
A settlement pattern where buildings are arranged along a linear feature such as a road, river, or coast.

Metes and Bounds
A system of land surveying that uses natural landmarks (e.g., trees, rivers) and descriptive terms to define boundaries.

Township and Range
A system of land division used in the United States, based on a grid of townships (6 miles square) and ranges (in 6-mile wide bands).

Long-Lot System
A system of land division in which parcels of land are long and narrow, typically oriented perpendicular to a river or road to maximize access to water.

Agricultural Hearth
The geographic origin of an agricultural practice or crop. These regions were the birthplace of key agricultural innovations and domestication of plants and animals.

Fertile Crescent
A region in the Middle East where early civilizations and agriculture developed, considered an agricultural hearth.

Columbian Exchange
The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, and diseases between the Americas and the Old World following the voyages of Christopher Columbus.

Second Agricultural Revolution
A period of agricultural improvements and innovations in the 17th-19th centuries, including crop rotation, selective breeding, and the use of new machinery.

Irrigation
The process of supplying water to crops to enhance their growth, often through artificial means like channels or pipes.

Green Revolution
A series of technological innovations in agriculture in the 20th century, including the development of high-yield crops, chemical fertilizers, and mechanized farming techniques.

Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs)
Organisms whose genetic material has been altered using biotechnology to achieve desired traits, such as increased resistance to pests or higher yields.

Bid-Rent Theory
A theory in urban economics that explains how the price and demand for land decreases as the distance from the city center increases.

Monoculture
The agricultural practice of growing a single crop or species over a large area, often associated with industrial farming.

Monocropping
The practice of growing the same crop on the same land year after year, often leading to soil depletion and increased vulnerability to pests.

Economies of Scale
The cost advantages that enterprises experience as they expand their scale of production, resulting in lower costs per unit of output.

Commodity Chain
The series of stages involved in the production and distribution of a commodity, from raw material extraction to end consumer.

Carrying Capacity
The maximum population size an environment can support sustainably, given the available resources.

Von Thunen Model
A model that explains the location of agricultural activities based on the cost of transportation and the perishability of products, with intensive farming near cities and extensive farming farther away.

(Global) Supply Chain
A network of companies involved in the production, handling, and distribution of goods worldwide, typically aimed at minimizing costs.

Fair Trade Movement
A movement focused on creating more equitable trading relationships by ensuring that producers in developing countries receive fair wages and work in safe conditions.

Desertification
The process by which fertile land becomes desert, often as a result of overgrazing, deforestation, or inappropriate agricultural practices.

Soil Salinization
The accumulation of salts in the soil, often as a result of irrigation, which can degrade soil quality and reduce agricultural productivity.

Terrace Farming
A farming method in which flat surfaces are cut into the side of a mountain or hill, creating "steps" to prevent soil erosion and increase arable land.

(Draining) Wetlands
The process of draining wetlands to make the land suitable for agriculture or urban development, which can lead to loss of biodiversity and water quality.

Deforestation
The large-scale removal of forests, often for agriculture or urban development, which can lead to soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, and climate change.

Slash-and-Burn Agriculture
A farming method in which trees and vegetation are cut down and burned to clear land for cultivation, often practiced in tropical regions.

Organic Foods (Farming)
Farming methods that avoid synthetic chemicals, fertilizers, and genetically modified organisms, focusing on natural processes and sustainability.

Value-Added Speciality Crops
Crops that are processed or modified in some way to increase their value before reaching the market (e.g., turning tomatoes into sauce).

Local-Food Movement
A movement promoting the consumption of locally grown food to reduce the carbon footprint, support local economies, and improve food security.

Urban Farming
The practice of growing food in urban areas, often using innovative techniques like rooftop gardens or vertical farming to produce fresh food locally.

Food Insecurity
The state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.

Food Desert
An area where access to affordable and nutritious food is limited, often due to a lack of grocery stores or transportation.

Suburbanization
The process by which people move from urban areas to surrounding suburban areas, typically seeking more space and better quality of life.

Food Processing
The transformation of raw food ingredients into packaged food products, often involving preservation, canning, or freezing.