APHG Unit 5

Carrying capacity

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

Green Revolution

Rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers.

Slash and Burn

A farming method involving the cutting of trees, then burning them to provide ash-enriched soil for the planting of crops

Monoculture

A farming strategy in which large fields are planted with a single crop, year after year

Ranching

A form of commercial agriculture in which livestock graze over an extensive area.

Arid Climate

extremely dry climate (Ex: Desert, antarctica)

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.

Temperate Climate

hot summers and the cold winters (Mild/ moderate climate) (Ex: Chicago)

Mediterranean Climate

hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters (Ex: California)

The Green Revolution had...

positive and negative consequences for both human populations and the environment

High-Yield Seeds

seeds that have been engineered to be stronger and more productive. They will produce more crops peer seed, need less water, and can survive in warmer climates

Export commodity

the export of just a few agricultural or mining commodities to another country for sale

Agricultural production regions are defined by...

the extent to which they reflect subsistence or commercial practices (monocropping or monoculture)

Nomadic herding

the raising of livestock for food by moving herds from place to place to find pasture and water

Irrigation

The process of supplying water to areas of land to make them suitable for growing crops.

Value-added specialty crops

"value added" goods have some other product in them or item attached to them to make them unique and able to sell at higher price.

CSA

(Community Supported Agriculture) production and marketing model whereby consumers buy shares of a farm's harvest in advance. Consumers become CSA members by paying an agreed amount at the beginning of the growing season, either in one lump sum or in installments.

Long lot

A farm or other property consisting of a long, narrow strip of land extending back from a river or road.

Commodity chain

A chain of activities from the manufacturing to the distribution of a product

intensive agriculture

A 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.

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.

Fertile Crescent

A geographical area of fertile land in the Middle East stretching in a broad semicircle from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates

Metes and bounds

A method of land description which involves identifying distances and directions and makes use of both the physical boundaries and measurements of the land.

Township and range

A rectangular land division scheme designed by Thomas Jefferson to disperse settlers evenly across farmlands of the U.S. interior.

Industrial Revolution

A series of improvements in industrial technology that transformed the process of manufacturing goods.

Salinization

Accumulation of salts in soil that can eventually make the soil unable to support plant growth.

Pollution

Addition of more waste than a resource can accommodate.

Subsistence agriculture

Agriculture designed primarily to provide food for direct consumption by the farmer and the farmer's family

Commercial Agriculture

Agriculture undertaken primarily to generate products for sale off the farm.

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 Desert

An area in a developed country where healthy food is difficult to obtain

River valleys

Centers of early civilization because they contained rich soils from annual floods.

Draining Wetlands

Clearing natural swamp areas to create fields

Rural settlement patterns are classified as...

Clustered, dispersed or linear

Mixed crop/ Livestock farming

Commercial farming characterized by integration of crops and livestock; most of the crops are fed to animals rather than consumed directly by humans.

First agricultural revolution

Dating back 10,000 years, the First Agricultural Revolution achieved plant domestication and animal domestication

Desertification

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

Early hearths of domestication of plants and animals arose in the...

Fertile Crescent and several other regions of the world (including the Indus River Valley, Southeast Asia, and Central America)

Mechanization

In agriculture, the replacement of human labor with technology or machines.

GMOs

Organisms that have been geneticly altered to improve their usefulnes

Local Food Movement

Produced within a fairly limited distance from where it is consumed

Plantation Agriculture

Production system based on a large estate owned by an individual, family, or corporation and organized to produce a cash crop. Almost all plantations were established within the tropics; in recent decades, many have been divided into smaller holdings or reorganized as cooperatives

Conservation

Protecting and preserving natural resources and the environment

Aquaculture

Raising marine and freshwater fish in ponds and underwater cages

Extensive agriculture

System of crop cultivation using small amounts of labor and capital in relation to area of land being farmed

Columbian Exchange

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

Sustainability

The ability to keep in existence or maintain. A sustainable ecosystem is one that can be maintained

Milkshed

The area surrounding a city from which milk is supplied.

Climate

The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time

Urban Farming

The growing of fruits, herbs, and vegetables and raising animals in towns and cities, a process that is accompanied by many other activities such as processing and distributing food, collecting and reusing food waste.

Deforestation

The removal of trees faster than forests can replace themselves.

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.

Von Thunen's Model

Von Thünen's model helps explain the relationship between the cost of land and the cost to transport the crop to market.

Food insecurity

a condition in which people do not have adequate access to food

Terrace Farming

a farming system that is in the form of steps going up a mountain

Food and other agricultural products are part of...

a global supply chain

Technology has increased economies of scale in the...

agricultural sector and the carrying capacity of the land.

Agricultural practices—including slash and burn, terraces, irrigation, deforestation, draining wetlands, shifting cultivation, and pastoral nomadism—...

alter the landscape

Large-scale commercial agricultural operations...

are replacing small family farms

New technology and increased food production in the second agricultural revolution led to...

better diets, longer life expectancies, and more people available for work in factories

Societal effects of agricultural practices include...

changing diets, role of women in agricultural production, and economic purpose.

Intensive and extensive farming practices are...

determined in part by land costs (bid-rent theory)

Specific agricultural practices shape...

different rural land-use patterns

The location of food-processing facilities and markets, economies of scale, distribution systems, and government policies all have...

economic effects on food-production practices

The Green Revolution was characterized in agriculture by the use of...

high-yield seeds, increased use of chemicals, and mechanized farming

Challenges of feeding a global population include...

lack of food access, as in cases of food insecurity and food deserts; problems with distribution systems; adverse weather; and land use lost to suburbanization

Intensive farming practices include...

market gardening, plantation agriculture, and mixed crop/livestock systems

Rural survey methods include...

metes and bounds, township and range, long lot.

Patterns of food production and consumption are influenced by...

movements relating to individual food choice, such as urban farming, community-supported agriculture (CSA), organic farming, value-added specialty crops, fair trade, local-food movements, and dietary shifts

Some countries have become highly dependent on...

one or more export commodities

The main elements of global food distribution networks are affected by...

political relationships, infrastructure, and patterns of world trade

Environmental effects of agricultural land use include...

pollution, land cover change, desertification, soil salinization, and conservation efforts

Complex commodity chains link...

production and consumption of agricultural products

Von Thünen'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 Thünen's concentric rings

Extensive farming practices include...

shifting cultivation, nomadic herding, and ranching

Agricultural innovations such as biotechnology, 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

Supply chain

the connected chain of all of the business entities, both internal and external to the company, that perform or support the logistics function

Patterns of diffusion, such as the Columbian Exchange and the agricultural revolutions, resulted in...

the global spread of various plants and animals

Agricultural practices are influenced by...

the physical environment and climatic conditions, such as the Mediterranean climate and tropical climates

The role of females in food production, distribution, and consumption varies in many places depending on...

the type of production involved

Organic Farming

the use of natural substances rather than chemical fertilizers and pesticides to enrich the soil and grow crops

Biodiversity

the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

Second Agricultural Revolution

tools and equipment were modified, methods of soil preparation, fertilization, crop care, and harvesting improved the general organization of agriculture made more efficient

Tropical Climate

tropical wet climates (Ex: Hawaii)