agriculture vocab

township & range

US land survey system. divided land west of Ohio after the Louisiana Purchase according to 6 mi. square blocks *townships) that were further divided into 1 mi. square blocks (range). the ranges were further broken down & sold or given to people to develop.

crop rotation

a farming method that involves rotating the sequence of crops planted in a particular field to avoid depleting nutrients in the soil as different crops use different nutrients in the growing process. the soil can be replenished w/out the use of synthetic fertilizers.

labor-intensive agriculture

a type of agriculture that uses human hands in large abundance to produce a given amount of output.

capital-intensive agriculture

a type of agriculture that uses mechanical goods, including machinery, tools, vehicles, and facilities, to produce large amounts of agricultural goods, a process requiring very little human labor.

primary economic activities

activities that involve direct extraction or harvesting of resources from the land. location is limited to location of natural resources. ex. agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining.

food production vs. agriculture

agriculture doesn't always lead to food & food isn't always produced through agriculture. agricultural goods that are raised for nonfood purposes: corn for ethanol, rubber for tires, leather for shoes. food products that aren't produced through agriculture: artificial sweeteners & processed cheeses.

biotechnology

all technological improvements on biological systems to either make or enhance agricultural goods or food products. ex. GMOs in which technology is used to alter genetic makeup of plants or animals ex. production and introduction of enzymes that increase speed of fermentation in wines/yogurt, ex. ability to fortify common agricultural products with vitamins & minerals

industrial revolution's effect on agriculture

altered the global geography of agriculture, particularly in North America and Western Europe. millions of people migrated from rural areas into cities of England, France, Germany, and the US, creating enormous new markets for agricultural products from adjacent rural areas. mechanization replaced human hands allowing farmers to produce more crops with less work. increased access to efficient transportation allowed farmers to ship their products farther at lower costs.

biomass

alternative energy source that involves converting a variety of biological materials (crops, vegetation, and human & animal waste) into fuel for automobiles and engines.

agribusiness

an industrialized, corporate form of agricultural production. a result of globalization that demonstrates agriculture's extension into secondary, tertiary, and quaternary sectors of economy through food production (2), marketing and distribution of food products (3), and agricultural research (4). a small # of large corporations rather than a large # of independent farmers control agricultural production.

aquaculture

basically fish farming, involving breeding of fish in freshwater ponds, lakes, or canals or in estuaries or bays that've been fenced off. increasingly responsible for global fish production; accounts for 30% of fish product in recent yrs. negative environmental risk: damage to wild fish from interaction with farmed fish that've escaped from fish farms.

hunting & gathering

before domestication of plants and animals, humans subsisted on hunting & gathering. human diet consisted off animals captured and wild plants. males hunted & females gathered. has been largely replaced by agriculture; a few tribes still sustain themselves this way.

renewable resources

can be replenished relatively quickly by natural or human-assisted processes. if resources are mismanaged, they can be completely depleted. ex. food, forests, grassland, animals.

nonrenewable resources

cannot be replaced or are replaced so slowly they cannot be used by the exploiting populations. they include minerals and renewable resources that have been exploited past the point of being able to replenish themselves.

boserup hypothesis

countered malthus's population growth hypothesis. agricultural production can accommodate growing populations through increases in soil fertility which allow land to produce more food for more people.

maladaptive diffusion

diffusion of an idea or technology that works well in one area or region but is not suitable for the area it diffuses to. ex. green revolution technology: hybrid seeds diminished local plant diversity, which caused loss of traditional modes of agriculture/plant management. it also led to problems of food security in several developing regions.

mineral fuels

energy derived from these fuels is associated with economic development; places w/ highest rates of energy consumption are also most economically advanced. ex. coal, petroleum, and natural gas. coal is the most abundant fossil fuel; China & US lead world in production of it.

urban agriculture

establishment of agriculture practices in/near to a city. popular in developing countries; developed countries are seeing a resurgence in this type of agricultural production as increased sensitivity to a food security/health concern motivates communities to have greater knowledge of and control over the origin of their food.

primary economic activities besides agriculture

ex. fishing, forestry, and mining & quarrying of minerals. fishing, forestry, and fur trapping are gathering industries based on harvest of renewable resources which are all at risk of depletion bc of overexploitation. mining & quarrying are extractive industries involving removal or nonrenewable resources.

organic agriculture

farming w/out aid of artificial inputs such as pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and genetically engineered seeds. this type of farming has grown recently. farmer's markets have grown; swelling local produce; indicating a recent trend in more sustainable forms of agricultural production.

origins of agriculture

first agricultural revolution involved transition from hunting g& gathering to sedentary agricultural societies through domestication of plants & animals. some argue women were first to domesticate plants as their duty was to gather seeds, nuts, and berries, providing them w/ knowledge for vegetative planting. Carl Sauer proposed independent hearths of agriculture in Middle East, South & Central America, Southeast Asia, and West Africa.

biopharming

form of biotechnology in which genes from other life forms (plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, or humans) are inserted into a host plant. goal is "pharma-crops" or plant based pharmaceuticals.

hydroelectric power

form of energy in which water turns turbines that generate electricity. this type of power is generated from dams.

transhumance

form of pastoralism that involves seasonal movement of livestock between different ranges, to the warmer lowland areas in winter & cooler highland areas in summer.

pastoralism

form of subsistence agriculture that involves breeding & herding of animals to provide humans w/ food, shelter, and clothing.

fishing

global fish supply (15% of human animal protein consumption) comes from inland catch (lakes, ponds, rivers), fish farming (controlled production of fish in a contained environment), or marine catch (wild fish harvested in coastal waters or high seas). all 17 of world's major oceanic fishing areas are fished at/beyond capacity. overfishing & pollution have led to decrease in fish stocks in recent decades.

globalization of agriculture

globalization affects agriculture through improvements in transportation & communications technologies. agribusinesses integrate agricultural production on a global scale, which, along w/ increasing free trade, allows for easy exchange of agricultural goods in a global economy. visiting a produce section of any large grocery store in the developed world provides evidence of globalization of agriculture through the variety of goods offered year-round and the variety of places from which those products originate.

tropical plantations

grow crops such as sugarcane and coffee. widespread throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. have some form of foreign control through investments, management, or marketing. many of their crops are not native to it and are almost always exported to other countries rather than consumed locally.

green revolution

higher-yield seeds, expanded use of chemical inputs & other agricultural technologies were diffused from developed to developing regions in '70s and '80s to increase food availability to growing populations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. techniques improve(d) amt of food available for growing populations. most of tech. is costly, limiting its full impacts in developing regions

urban sprawl & agriculture

in many areas of the US and throughout the developed world, urban sprawl overtakes formerly productive agricultural areas, converting fields and orchards to parking lots and subdivisions. many local governments and planning commissions seek to halt this through zoning of agricultural lands, but for many farmers in places with expensive real estate, selling land to developers is more profitable than farming it.

luxury crops

include luxury food items not necessary for everyday living and not indigenous to the areas they export to. grown on plantations or other land in developing countries where labor is cheap and then exported to developed regions. production often controlled by foreign agribusinesses. ex. bananas, coffee, cocoa, pineapples, and flowers among other crops typically grown in tropical environments.

commercial grain farming

includes wheat & corn; prevalent in American great plains, southern Russia, and increasingly in China. meat generates more profit than grain at market, so farmers choose to convert grain into meat by feeding it to livestock.

negative impacts of the green revolution

increased food security provided by Western agricultural techniques and technologies had major downsides for local agricultural economies of developing world. new machinery, "miracle" seeds, elaborate irrigation systems, and potent fertilizers devastated much of the local land, destroying traditional modes of agricultural production, and may likely lead to future problems with food security through decreases in local biodiversity. multinational corporation involvement steered local economies away from producing food for local consumption and toward producing specialty crops for export, such as peanuts, pineapples, and bananas.

swidden

land cleared for cultivation via slash-and-burn techniques.

truck farming

large-scale production of particular fruits or vegetables for sale in climate regions where that particular product cannot be grown.

food regime

links between food producers, food consumers, and investment opportunities that support a dominant type of food during a particular time period. ex. core countries: fresh fruits & vegetables; fresh produce through organic agriculture

petroleum

modern industrial & postindustrial society are dependent on this geographically uneven resource. dependence on this energy source is risky because the amt available is quickly depleting and difficult to determine. there's a drive for cleaner & cheaper energy sources leading to a decrease in consumption rates. currently Middle East controls 2/3 of world total.

natural resources

naturally occurring materials that human society perceives to be necessary to its economic well-being; distribution of most resources is geographically uneven.

environmental implications of agriculture

pesticides (DDT): harmed wildlife populations; polluted rivers, lakes, and oceans; worked their way through the food chain all the way to human beings. topsoil loss, or erosion: problematic in areas with fragile soils, steep slopes, or torrential seasonal rains. salinization: soils in arid areas are heavily irrigated. applied water quickly evaporates leaving salty residues, rendering soil infertile. desertification: formerly fertile lands become increasingly arid, unproductive, and desertlike.

genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

plants or animals whose DNA has been genetically modified, often by combining DNA from a similar plant or animal species. advantages: less need for chemical inputs and greater outputs on smaller pieces of land, allowing for greater food security for growing populations. disadvantages: unknown health effects, effects on pollinating insect populations, and is cost-prohibitive for all-scale farmers or farmers in developing regions of the globe.

dairying

prevalent in northern Europe and the northern United States.

metallic minerals

production of this type of mineral is affected by quantity available, quality of ore, and distance to markets. if minerals can be obtained from other sources for a cheaper cost, mines may not be developed at all or shut down temporarily. ex. copper, lead, iron ore.

local food production

refers to a food production system where food (crops & animals) are produced locally for local consumption.

food security

refers to reliable access, at all scales (individual, household, country), to enough food to ensure active and healthy lives. when a community is food insecure, that means the people don't have reliable access to healthy foods, so they're called food deserts.

mining & quarrying

relatively recent economic activities due to dependence on fairly sophisticated knowledge of the environment. provide energy base for way of life existent in advanced economies, as this includes harvesting of fossil fuels. strongest base for international trade connecting developed and developing countries, both in terms of actual trade of these resources, and because transportation technology that allows global trade depends on availability of these resources.

forestry

restricted to forests in upper mid-latitudes of Northern Hemisphere and equatorial zones of Central Africa, South and Central America, and Southeast Asia. 1/2 of global logging harvest is for industrial consumption; the majority comes from developed countries (Canada, Russia, US). other 1/2 is for fuel-wood and charcoal; primarily developing regions where wood sources are the primary energy supply.

deforestation

result of the increasing need for fuel-wood in rapidly growing developing countries. significant portions of tropical forests are being converted to agricultural production. it occurs in tropical areas at a rate exceeding reforestation by 10-15 times. in Central & South America millions of hectares converted to pasture on an annuasl basis, primarily for beef cattle destined for American meat market.

nomadic herding

seasonal movement of herds (goats, sheep, camels, and yaks) over large territories. herds support small populations w/ meat, fur, blood, milk, and dung.

dispersed settlements

settlements characterized by widespread farms, relatively isolated from neighbors.

nucleated settlements

settlements that contain a number of families living closer together w/ fields surrounding the settlement.

market gardening

small-scale growing of fruits or vegetables for sale at local markets.

rural settlements

sparsely settled areas removed from the influence of large cities. residents live in villages, hamlets, farms, or other isolated housing. economy based on primary activities such as agriculture, forestry, mining, or fishing. building materials are indigenous to the local area.

shifting cultivation/ slash-and-burn

system in which farmers rotate the fields where cultivation occurs in order to maintain soil fertility. common in tropical areas where soil fertility is low. involves curing get forest & burning it to provide nutrients in the soil.

desertification

the soil gets stripped of any existing vegetation and becomes increasingly desert-like. it happens when marginal lands typically on the fringes of the desert, such as the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert in Africa, are overcultivated or overgrazed.

nonmetallic minerals

this type of mineral is primarily used for construction purposes & are only mined near the site where they will be used due to relative availability. ex. sand, gravel, building stone, gypsum, limestone.

transportation & agriculture

transportation has impacted commercial agriculture since the industrial revolution. many isolated spots on Earth remain subsistence economies bc of limited access to other parts of the world, modern tech. advances in transportation (refrigerated trucks) have allowed farmers to ship items at great distances.

mixed & specialty crop farming

trust farms or market gardens produce this type of crop; in both types climate determines production. Mediterranean agriculture in Mediterranean-style climates fo California, Western Europe, and portions of Australia, Chile, and South Africa exemplify both systems, consisting of diverse specialty crops such as grapes, avocados, and olives.

extensive subsistence agriculture

two dominant systems of this type of agriculture: nomadic herding and shifting cultivation

commercial livestock production

two major forms of this type of production: livestock ranching and dairying.

intensive subsistence agriculture

type of agriculture in which people produce food or raise animals to provide for themselves and their families. supports higher population density through much labor on small plots of land. ex. wet rice production: parts of South & Southeast Asia ex. urban agriculture: families raise food to support themselves

intensive commercial agriculture

type of agriculture that includes dairy products, fruits, vegetables, flowers, factory-farmed meat, and any other good requiring high input (labor & capital).

extensive commercial agriculture

type of agriculture that includes grain farming, grazing, and other activities that require minimal inputs and large pieces of land.

intensive agriculture

type of agriculture that involves cultivation of smaller plots of land w/ substantial labor inputs and more chemical inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides). produces more food per acre to support higher populations.

commercial agriculture

type of agriculture that involves food production for sale from a farm, and sale of farm goods to food-processing companies rather than directly to consumers.

extensive agriculture

type of agriculture that involves large areas of land and minimal labor input per acre. produces less and supports smaller populations than intensive agriculture.

subsistence economy

type of economy in which goods and services are created for use by producer and his or her family.

commercial economy

type of economy in which producers produce goods and services w/ the goal of making a profit. the US is traditionally an example of this, but planned & subsistence economies exist here, too.

planned economy

type of economy in which the gov't determines both supply and price of goods and serivces produced by citizens of that country.

nuclear energy

type of energy in which a nuclear reaction generates tremendous heat, which is used to create steam which in turn powers turbines that create electricity. controversial form of energy production bc the nuclear fuel is radioactive and can harm humans & environment. finding ways to dispose of it after it has been used has proven quite challenging.

geothermal power

type of energy that uses heat from the interior of the earth in the form of steam, which powers turbines to create electricity.

livestock ranching

widespread throughout much of Australia, western North America, South America, southern Africa, and western Asia.

fertile crescent

"cradle of civilization". hearth of early agriculture & civilization. in the middle east, in Euphrates, Nile, and Tigris Rivers floodplains. not the sole hearth of civilization.

won Thunen model

1st ring: central city 2nd ring: market gardening & dairying 3rd ring: forest 4th ring: extensive field crops 5th ring: ranching, livestock predicts agricultural patterns well for local food production economies in that intensive goods are grown close to market & extensive goods are grown farther away. model can be altered to account for transportation networks and competing markets, resulting in changes in shape & size of zones of productivity surrounding the market. becomes nearly obsolete w/ globalization of agriculture as local food economies are replaced by large-scale agricultural production.

feedlots

AKA CAFOs (contained or confined animal feeding operations). animals concentrated in small spaces and given antibiotics, hormones, and other fattening grains to prepare them for slaughter at a quicker pace than traditional forms of raising livestock. criticized for links to antibiotic resistance and certain bacterial outbreaks (E. coli, salmonella, mad cow disease). emit large amounts of greenhouse gases and a tremenous amount of waste.

shifting cultivation

AKA slash-and-burn or swidden. hacking down existing vegetation, burning it to release nutrients into soil, and then planing a variety of crops (maize, millet, rice, manioc, cassava, yams, etc). prevalent in equatorial regions.

wind farms

AKA windmill parks. use giant wind turbines that convert wind energy into a renewable energy source.

metes & bounds

English land survey pattern. use local geography w/ directions and distances to define boundaries for a particular piece of land.

long=lot surveying

French land survey pattern. houses on narrow lots perpendicular to a river, giving each house equal access to river resources.