Unit 5: Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes

Carrying Capacity

Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support

Bid-rent theory

geographical economic theory that refers to how the price and demand on real estate changes as the distance towards the Central Business District (CBD) increases.

Dispersed

scattered, spread, broken up

Economies of Scale

the property whereby long-run average total cost falls as the quantity of output increases

Diffusion of Agriculture

The spread of an idea (such as a method of farming or a certain crop) from it's hearth to new locations.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.

Biotechnology

A form of technology that uses living organisms, usually genes, to modify products, to make or modify plants and animals, or to develop other microorganisms for specific purposes.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

A system in which consumers pay farmers in advance for a share of their yield, usually in the form of weekly deliveries of produce.

Explain challenges and debates related to the changing nature of contemporary agriculture and food-production practices

A) Agricultural innovations (biotech) genetically modified organisms, and aquaculture have been accompanied by debates over sustainability, soil and water usage, reductions in biodiversity, and extensive fertilizer and pesticide use B) Patterns of food production and consumption are influenced by movements relation to individual food choices (urban farming, community-supported agriculture (CSA), organic farming, value-added specialty crops, fair trade, local -food movements, and dietary shifts) C) Challenges of feeding a global population include lack of food access (food insecurity and food deserts) problems with distribution systems ( adverse weather) and land use lost suburbanization D) the location of food-processing facilities and markets, economies of scale, distribution systems, and government policies all have economic effects on food-production practices

Explain the connection between physical geography and agricultural practices

A) Agricultural practices are influenced by the physical environment and climatic conditions (Mediterranean climate and tropical climates) B) Intensive farming practices include market gardening, plantation agriculture, and mixed crop/livestock systems C) Extensive farming practices include shifting cultivation, nomadic herding, and ranching

Explain how economic forces influence agricultural practices

A) Agricultural production regions are defined by the extent to which they reflect subsistence or commercial practices (monocropping or monoculture) B) Intensive and extensive farming practices are determined in part by land costs (bid-rent theory)

Identify major centers of domestication of plants and animals

A) Early hearths of domestication of plants and animals arose in the Fertile Crescent and several other regions of the world (Indus river Valley, SE Asia, Central America)

Explain how agricultural practices have environmental and societal consequences

A) Environmental effects of agricultural land use include pollution, land cover change, desertification, soil salinization, and conservation efforts B) Agricultural practices -- including slash and burn, terraces, irrigation, deforestation, draining wetlands, shifting cultivation, and pastoral nomadism -- alter the landscape C) Societal effects of agricultural practices include changing diets, role of women in agricultural production, and economic purpose

Explain the interdependence among regions of agricultural production and consumption

A) Food and other agricultural products are part of global supply chain B) Some countries have become highly dependent on one or more export commodities C) The main elements of global food distribution networks are affected by political relationships, infrastructure, and patterns of world trade

Explain how economic forces influence agricultural practices

A) Large-scale commercial agricultural operations are replacing small family farms B) Complex commodity chains link production and consumption of agricultural products C) Tech has increased economies of scale in the agricultural sector and the carrying capacity of the land

Explain the advances and impacts of the second agricultural revolution

A) New tech and increased food production in second agricultural revolution led to better diets, longer life expectancies, and more people available for work in factories

Explain how plants and animals diffused globally

A) Patterns of diffusion (Columbian Exchange and agricultural revolutions) results in global spread of various plants and animals

Identify different rural settlement patterns and methods of surveying rural settlements

A) Specific agricultural practices shape different rural land-use patterns B) Rural settlement patterns are classified as clustered, dispersed, or linear C) Rural survey methods include metes and bounds, township and range, and long lot

Explain the consequences of the Green Revolution on food supply and the environment in the developing world

A) The green Revolution was characterized in agriculture by the use of high-yield seeds, increased use of chemicals, and mechanized farming B) The green Revolution had positive and negative consequences for both human populations and environment

Explain geographic variations in female roles in food production and consumption

A) The role of females in food production, distribution, and consumption caries in many places depending on the type of production incolced

Describe how the von Thunen model is used to explain patterns of agricultural production at various scales

A) Von Thunen's model helps to explain rural land use by emphasizing the importance of transportation costs associated with distance from the market; however, regions of specialty farming do not always conform to von Thunen's concentric rings

Fair trade

Alternative to international trade that emphasizes small businesses and worker owned and democratically run cooperatives and requires employers to pay workers fair wages, permit union organizing, and comply with minimum environmental and safety standards.

Food Deserts

Areas where it is difficult to find affordable, healthy food options. More common in highly populated low-income urban neighborhoods where there are fewer grocery stores/transportation options to seek out other food choices. Contribute to obesity in these areas bc people resort to buying cheap, highly caloric foods

Draining wetlands

Clearing natural swamp areas to create fields

Clustered

Gathered closely together in a group

Global supply chains/food distribution

Refers to the processes that describe how food from a farm ends up on our tables. The processes include production, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal. Every step of the supply chain requires human and/or natural resources.

Deforestation

The removal of trees faster than forests can replace themselves.

Commodity chains

a linked system of processes that gather resources, convert them into goods, package them for distribution, disperse them, and sell them on the market

Extensive farming practices

an agricultural production system that uses small inputs of labor, fertilizers, and capital, relative to the land area being farmed.

genetically modified organism (GMO)

an organism produced by copying genes from a species with a desirable trait and inserting them into another species

Commercial Agriculture (monocropping or monoculture)

large-scale production of crops for sale, intended for widespread distribution to wholesalers or retail outlets

Aquaculture

the cultivation of seafood

Desertification

the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.

Food Insecurity

the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food