APHuG Vocab All Units

mediterranean agriculture

An agricultural system practiced in the Mediterranean style climates of Western Europe, California, and portions of Chile and Australia, in which diverse specialty crops such as grapes, avocados, olives, and a host of nuts, fruits, and vegetables comprise profitable agricultural operations.

sustainable yield

An amount of a renewable resource such as trees that can be harvested regularly without reducing the future supply

enclosure movement

The process by which British landlords consolidated or fenced in common lands to increase the production of cash crops. The Enclosure Acts led to an increase in the size of farms held by large landowners.

animal domestication

The process of taming an animal species to be accustomed to humans and human contact the taming of animals through generations of breeding to live in close association with humans as a pet or work animal

monoculture

The production of a single crop for commercial markets (corn, wheat, rice, etc.)

milkshed

The ring surrounding a city from which milk can be supplied without spoiling.

Agribusiness

The set of economic and political relationships that organize food production for commercial purposes. It includes activities ranging from seed production, to retailing, to consumption of agricultural products.

McCormick reaper

Mechanized the harvest of grains such as wheat, allowing farmers to cultivate larger plots. Started commercial agriculture in the Midwest.

market gardening

The small scale production of fruits, vegetables, and flowers as cash crops sold directly to local consumers. Distinguishable by the large diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, during a single growing season. Labor is done manually.

Green Revolution aka 3rd Agricultural Revolution

The worldwide campaign to increase agricultural production from the 1940s to 60s, stimulated by new fertilizers and strains of wheat such as that by Norman Borlaug. The movement saved millions from starvation.

dairying

An agricultural activity involving the raising of livestock, most commonly cows and goats, for dairy products such as milk, cheese, and butter.

transhumance

The movements of livestock according to seasonal patterns, generally lowland areas in the winter, and highland areas in the summer.

spring wheat

Wheat planted in the spring and harvested in the late summer.

dispersed rural settlement

Where farmers live on individual farms isolated from neighbors rather than alongside other farmers in settlements.

labor intensive farms

Where most of the work is done by humans ie plantations

Carl Sauer

conducted pioneering research on the origins and dispersal of plant and animal domestication, and was one of the first to propose that the process of domestication was independently invented at many different times and locations.

deforestation

clearing of forests for agriculture, lumber, or other uses

ranching

commercial grazing of livestock over an extensive area

urban sprawl

the progressive spread of urban development over the landscape into rural, agricultural lands--more roads, taxes, loss of ag land, more energy usage, more commuting. Usually lacks urban planning.

cash cropping/export crops

the raising of crops for market sale rather than domestic consumption

cool chain

the refrigeration and transport technologies that allow for the distribution of perishables

grain

the seeds of plants (such as wheat, corn, and rice) that are used for food

seed agriculture

the taking of seeds from existing plants and planting them to produce new plants

horticulture

The growing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

suitcase farm

A farm in which no one lives on the farm and the harvesting and planting is performed by farmers who live nearby or by migratory labor. These are common in the Midwest and Great Plains in the United States.

shifting cultivation

A form of subsistence agriculture in which people shift activity from one field to another; each field is used for crops for relatively few years and left fallow for a relatively long period.

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.

cereal grain

A grass yielding grain for food. ex. oats, wheat, rye, or barley

plantation

A large farm in tropical and subtropical climates that specializes in the production of one or two crops for sale, usually to a more developed country.

combine machine

A machine that reaps, threshes, and cleans grain while moving over a field.

redlining

A process by which banks draw lines around an area on a map and refuse to lend money to purchase or improve property within the boundaries.

cumulative causation

A process through which tendencies for economic growth are self-reinforcing; it tends to favor major cities and core regions over less-advantaged peripheral regions. Uneven development occurs as money flows to areas of greatest profit, where development has already been focused, instead of to areas of greatest need.

Neolithic Revolution

(10,000 - 8,000 BCE) The development of agriculture and the domestication of animals as a food source. This led to the development of permanent settlements and the start of civilization.

pesticide

A chemical intended to kill insects and other organisms that damage crops.

prime agricultural land

A designation assigned by U.S. Department of Agriculture defining land that has the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics for producing food, feed, forage, fiber, and oilseed crops and is also available for these land uses.

herbicide

A substance used to destroy plants, especially weeds

pastoralism

A type of agricultural activity based on nomadic animal husbandry or the raising of livestock to provide food, clothing, and shelter.

nomadism

A way of life, forced by a scarcity of resources, in which groups of people continually migrate to find pastures and water.

genetic modification

Branch of biotechnology that alters the genes in biological organisms to achieve a medicinal or agricultural purpose

desertification

Degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting.

truck farming

Commercial gardening and fruit farming, so named because truck was a Middle English word meaning bartering or the exchange of commodities.

local food movements

Consuming food that is produced within 100 miles. Often characterized by co-ops (you give money to local farm in exchange for produce)

2nd Agricultural Revolution

Dovetailing with and benefiting from the industrial revolution, improved methods of cultivation, harvesting, and storage of farm produce

Columbian Exchange

Exchange of plants, animals, ideas, diseases, and people between the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Each region was significantly impacted as a result of trade and contact.

large scale grain production

Extensive commercial grain farm where grain is grown to be exported elsewhere for consumption

capital-intensive farms

Farm that makes heavy use of machinery in the farming process.

linear rural settlement

Feature buildings clustered along a road, river, or dike to facilitate communications.

crop

Grain or fruit gathered from a field as a harvest during a particular season.

pasture

Grazing land for animals

extractive industry

Industries involved in the activities of prospecting, exploring, developing, and producing for non-regenerative natural resources from the Earth

swidden

Land that is prepared for agriculture by using the slash-and-burn method.

segregation

Legal separation of people based on racial, ethnic, or other differences

staple grains

basic dietary items, such as wheat, rice, or corn. harvested and stored to be eaten all year

soil erosion

Movement of soil components, especially topsoil, from one place to another, usually by wind, flowing water, or both. This natural process can be greatly accelerated by human activities that remove vegetation from soil.

luxury crops

Non-subsistence crops such as tea, cacao, coffee, and tobacco

subsistence agriculture

Self-sufficient agriculture that is small scale and low technology and emphasizes food production for local consumption, not for trade.

McGhee Southeast Asian City Model

The focal point of this model is a colonial port, surrounded by a commercial business district. It does not have a formal CBD. Upper income housing is located closer to the port and lower income housing is located in the periphery.

growing season

The average number of days between the last frost of spring and the first frost of fall, the season during which a crop grows best

Aquaculture

The cultivation or farming(in controlled conditions) of aquatic species, such as fish. In contrast to commercial fishing, which involves catching wild fish.

agriculture

The deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain.

range wars

Typically fought over water rights or grazing rights to unfenced/unowned land, it could pit competing farmers or ranchers against each other

slash-and-burn

another name for shifting cultivation, so named because fields are cleared by slashing the vegetation and burning the debris

organic agriculture

approach to farming and ranching that avoids the use of herbicieds, pesticides, growth hormones, and other similar synthetic inputs

food desert

a community in which the residents have little or no access to fresh, affordable, healthy foods, usually located in densely populated, urban areas.

collective farm

a farm or group of farms run by the government, as in a communist state

commodity chain/global supply chain

a linked system of processes that gather resources, convert them into goods, package them for distribution, disperse them, and sell them on the market;a series of links connecting the many places of production and distribution and resulting in a commodity exchanged on the world market

Von Thunen's model

a model of agricultural land use that illustrates the relationship between the cost of land and transportation costs involved in getting product to market

feedlot

a plot of land on which livestock are fattened for market

greenbelt

a ring of open space, perhaps used as a park, which encircles an urban space limiting the sprawl of the city. Encourages inward development and reinvestment in the city's core. Used in European urban areas.

clustered rural settlements

a rural settlement in which the houses and farm buildings of each family are situated close to each other and fields surround the settlement

restrictive covenants

a statement written into a property deed that restricts the use of property in a neighborhood in some way; often it was used to prohibit certain groups of people from buying property (racism). Other examples--could limit colors of house, # of people who could live in a property, etc.

subsidies

a sum of money granted by the government or a public body to assist an industry or business so that the price of a commodity or service may remain low or competitive.

extensive subsistence farming

consists of any agricultural economy in which the crops and/or animals are used nearly exclusively for local or family consumption on large areas of land and minimal labor input per acre

terracing

creating flat platforms in the hillside that provide a level planting surface, which reduces soil runoff from the slope.

plant domestication

deliberate tending of crops to gain certain desired attributes; began around 12,000 years ago along several fertile river valleys and cultural hearths; growing plants on purpose

zoning ordinances

developed in Europe and North America in the early decades of the 20th century. These laws encourage spatial separation of different land uses and prevented the mixing of land uses within the same area. It can also regulate the height of a structure or density of a structure.

vegetative planting

earliest form of plant cultivation; reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants, such as cutting stems and dividing roots

intensive subsistence agriculture

form of subsistence agriculture in which farmers must expend a relatively large amount of effort to produce the maximum feasible yield from a parcel of land; practiced in densely populated areas such as East, South, and Southeast Asia

double cropping

growing more than one crop a year on the same land

fallow

inactive, plowed but not sowed

value-added specialty crops

increasing the economic value of a commodity through particular production processes, e.g., organic produce, or regionally branded products that increase consumer appeal and willingness to pay a premium over similar but undifferentiated products. i.e. free-range chickens, hormone-free beef

mixed crop and livestock farming

integration of crops and livestock, with most of the crops being fed to the animals rather than consumed directly by humans, which in turn provides manure fertilizers and goods for sale, like eggs.

planned communities

large-scale residential developments that are planned from the beginning and include, in addition to architecturally compatible housing units, planned recreational facilities, schools and security measures. Example--The Villages, Florida

suburbanization

movement of upper and middle-class people from urban core areas to the surrounding outskirts to escape pollution as well as deteriorating social conditions. Commuter families. Mass phenomena by the 2nd half of the 20th century.

blockbusting

rapid change in the racial composition of residential blocks in American cities that occurs when real estate agents and others stir up fears of neighborhood decline after encouraging people of color to move into previously white neighborhoods. In the resulting outmigration, real estate agents profit through the turnover of properties and ghettoization occurs.

filtering

refers to the movement of housing stock from higher- to lower-income households as the housing ages and deteriorates. The higher income group moves to new homes, creating a ripple effect in all groups/neighborhoods. This can result in reductions in the prices of older housing and can improve housing conditions for lower-income households.

racial steering

refers to the practice in which real estate brokers guide prospective home buyers towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race.

gated communities

restricted neighborhoods or subdivisions, often literally fenced in, where entry is limited to residents and their guests. Usually in high-income areas.

Ester Boserup

said population density creates more agricultural output and humans will figure out ways of producing more food on the same amount of land rather than starve to death

tragedy of the commons

situation in which people acting individually and in their own interest use up commonly available but limited resources, creating disaster for the entire community

commercial agriculture

term used to describe large scale farming and ranching operations that employ vast land bases, large mechanized equipment, factory-type labor, and the latest technology

Fundamentalism

the interpretation of every word in the sacred texts as literal truth; strict adherence to basic principles of a religion

crop rotation

the practice of alternating the crops grown on a piece of land - for example, corn one year, legumes for two years, and then back to corn.

intertillage

the practice of mixing different seeds and seedlings in the same swidden

ghettoization

the process by which minority groups are forced out of the mainstream either physically or culturally. i.e. Jews in Warsaw, Poland during WWII or African Americans in northern U.S. cities during the Great Migration

Shantytown/squatter settlements(and other terms for the same concept)

unplanned slum development on the margins of cities, dominated by crude dwellings and shelters made mostly of scrap wood, iron, and even pieces of cardboard. Often lacking sanitation, safe water, electricity etc. Mostly found in LDCs.

uneven development

urban development that is not spread equally among a city's areas, leaving some areas richly developed and others continually poor and decrepit.

winter wheat

wheat planted in the fall and harvested in the early summer

debt for nature swap

when agencies such as the World Bank make a deal with third world countries that they will cancel their debt if the country will set aside a certain amount of their natural resources

gentrification

when middle-class people move into deteriorated inner-city neighborhoods and renovate the housing. Result is often a rise in real estate prices which pushes out lower-income people.