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

Monocropping

Growing the same crop on the same field year after year

Green Revolution

Rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers, increased use of chemicals, and mechanized farming; positive and neg influences

specialty farming

A form of "truck" farming ..., where special fruits and vegetables that people want are farmed.

pastoral nomadism

A form of subsistence agriculture based on herding domesticated animals.

Natural Resources (Land)

Any material provided by nature that can be used to produce goods and services

Extensive farming

farming practices that involve putting relatively little energy into the land for the calories extracted; shifting cultivation, nomadic herding, and ranching

intensive farming

farming that requires a lot of labor to produce food; market gardening, plantation agriculture, and mixed crop/livestock systems.

Multicropping

fields are used several times a year and never left fallow

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.

soil salinization

in arid regions, water evaporates leaving salts behind. (ex. Fertile crescent, southwestern US)

dispersed settlement pattern

individual farmhouses lying quite far apart

Mediterranean climates

often found on the western part of a continent or country

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

resulted in the global spread of various plants and animals

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

Agricultural production regions are defined by

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

draining wetlands

wetlands are not productive agricultural lands. In order to convert them into arable lands, the water is drained away and the land is bulldozed into flat plains for agriculture.

Columbian Exchange

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

economies of scale

a proportionate saving in costs gained by an increased level of production.

irrigation system

a water control system that supplies water to the land

local-food movements

consuming foods that are produced within 100 miles

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.

environmental determinism

A doctrine that claims that cultural traits are formed and controlled by environmental conditions.

pesticide

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

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.

remote sensing

A method of collecting data or information through the use of instruments that are physically distant from the area or object of study.

von Thünen model

A model that explains the location of agricultural activities in a commercial, profit-making economy. A process of spatial competition allocates various farming activities into rings around a central market city, with profit-earning capability the determining force in how far a crop locates from the market; shows the importance of transportation costs associated with distance from the market; regions of specialty farming do not always conform to this model

Concentric Ring Model

A model that explains urban land use in a pattern of concentric rings around the city center.

Interdependence

A relationship between countries in which they rely on one another for resources, goods, or services

Sharecropping

A system used on southern farms after the Civil War in which farmers worked land owned by someone else in return for a small portion of the crops.

subsistence agriculture

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

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

Desertification

Degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting; used to describe the process by which previously fertile lands become arid and unusable for farming

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.

land cover change

Refers to the changes that have taken place in natural environments due to a variety of natural and/or human induced causes

satellite navigation systems

Satellites used for navigation

Terraces Farming

Sculpting the hill side for crops

Tariffs

Taxes on imported goods

Commercial Agriculture

Term used to describe large-scale farming and ranching operations that employ vast land bases, large mechanized equipment, factory-type labor forces, and the latest technology; replacing small farms

sustainability

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

carrying capacity

The largest population that an area can support; technology has increased it

biodiversity

The number of different species within a specific habitat.

contagious diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population.

possibilism

The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives.

Mediterranean climate

a climate marked by warm, dry summers and cool, rainy winters

geographic information systems

a computer program that stores geographic data and produces maps to show those data

food insecurity

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

slash and burn agriculture

a farming technique in which trees are cut down and burned to clear and fertilize the land

Neo-Malthusian Theory

agree with main idea of Malthus Believes that limited resources keep population in check and reduce economic growth therefore growth should be controlled. Pressure on scarce resources leads to famine and war.

linear settlement pattern

buildings are built in lines along a road, railroad, or river

Societal effects of agricultural practices

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

Indus River Valley Civilization

civilization from 2600 BC-1900 BC; entire Indian subcontinent-peninsula; possibly had twin capitals called Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro; well organized government

genetically modified organisms

crops that carry new traits that have been inserted through advanced genetic engineering methods

rural settlement patterns

dispersed, clustered, or linear

Technology has increased

economies of scale in the agricultural sector

location of food-processing facilities and markets, economies of scale, distribution systems, and government policies

effect food production processes

Theories regarding the interaction of the natural environment with human societies have evolved from

environmental determinism to possibilism

export commodity

goods sent from one country to another for sale

Clustered Settlements

groups of homes located near each other in a hamlet or village

food access

having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet

land use

how the land is used

Intensive and extensive farming determined by

land costs (bid-rent theory)

commodity chain

link production and consumption of agricultural products

food distribution

location of food resources in space

Tropical regions are?

near the equator. Warm, humid, and rainy

Community Supported Agriculture

network between agricultural producers and consumers whereby consumers pledge support to a farming operation in order to receive a share of the output from the farming operation

main elements of global food distribution networks are affected by

political relationships, infrastructure, and patterns of world trade

Environmental effects of agricultural land use

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

types of diffusion

relocation, expansion, hierarchical, contagious, stimulus

Concepts of nature and society

sustainability, natural resources, and land use

comparative advantage

the ability to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than another producer

infrastructure

the basic framework of a building or a system

Online Mapping

the compilation and publication of Web sites that provide exhaustive graphical and text information in the form of maps and databases.

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; food and agricultural products included

deforestation

the destruction of forest or forested areas by human or natural means. Some notable human-based causes are slash and burn agriculture and production of forest products (i.e logging)

Malthusian

the idea that population is growing faster than the food supply needed to sustain it

Urban farming

the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around a village, town, or city

Expansion Diffusion

the spread of a feature from one place to another in a snowballing process

relocation diffusion

the spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another

Stimulus Diffusion

the spread of an underlying principle, even though a characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse

human-environmental interaction

the study of the interrelationship between people and their physical environment

organic farming

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

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

biotechnology

use of genetically engineered crops in agriculture & DNA manipulation in livestock in order to increase production.

aquaculture

use of river segments or artificial bodies of water such as ponds for the raising and harvesting of food products including fish, shellfish, and seaweed

Landscape Analysis

using field observation, spatial data, and aerial photography to gather data to define and describe landscapes

tropical climates

warm year round, two types: tropical wet and tropical wet and dry, the climate of the low latitudes.

spatial patterns

ways in which people, places, and characteristics are organized on the Earth's surface