Ap Hug Unit 5
Commercial Agriculture
the production of food primarily for sale off the farm
market gardening
Farms that specialize in fresh fruit and vegetables that are transported to markets
Intensive farming
Greater amount of money and labor invested compared to the amount of land being farmed.
Which of the following best explains the significance of a similarity among locations where olives, figs, grapes and lemons are grown?
Intensive agriculture is practiced in a Mediterranean climate. Reason: These crops are typical of a Mediterranean climate, which is found in countries such as Italy and South Africa.
Palm oil, an edible vegetable oil used in processing packaged food products, is obtained from the fruit of the oil palm tree, grown only in the tropics. Which of the following explains how global demand for palm oil has proved beneficial and detrimental for countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia?
Palm oil exports provided substantial corporate profits, but the growth in the industry resulted in heavy deforestation in both countries. Reason: The palm oil business has proved successful in generating profits but has led to serious deforestation and degradation of land in Indonesia and Malaysia as areas are logged to expand palm oil plantations.
Types of intensive agriculture
Plantation agriculture, mixed crops and livestock, market gardening
Examples of intensive agriculture
Rice, milk, truck farming
Which of the following best explains how the expansion of feedlots for raising cattle has affected environmental sustainability in rural areas?
Runoff from animal waste has increased the pollution in local water supplies. Reason: Feedlots produce large amounts of animal waste. Unless carefully managed, waste can run off into local streams and groundwater, increasing the amount of nitrogen and potentially dangerous pathogens within bodies of water.
Agriculture is practiced at the local scale, and agricultural yields are measured at the national scale. Which of the following best explains why the concept of the global system of agriculture is helpful to geographers?
The concept helps geographers simplify and visualize a vast and complicated global supply chain. Reason: All geographic concepts and models offer a simplified representation of a much more nuanced and complicated real world.
Which of the following best describes advances in the production of textiles during the Second Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution?
The conversion from manual thread spinning to an industrial processing approach led to increased demand for raw cotton in the agricultural sector. Reason: The first image shows a spinning wheel, while the second image shows an industrialized method of thread production. Industrialization prompted an increase in thread production. The conversion from manual thread spinning to an industrial processing approach led to increased demand for raw cotton in the agricultural sector.
Commercial agriculture in dry climates relies heavily on irrigation. Which of the following best explains an environmental concern that results from irrigation in arid regions?
The soil will have increased salinity, leading to soil erosion and reduced nutrients in the soil for plant health. Reason: As the water evaporates in the arid climate, it leaves behind salts that build up over time and may lead to erosion and a decline in soil nutrients.
Which of the following correctly explains the placement of an agricultural product within von Thünen's agricultural land-use model?
Tomatoes are grown closest to the market because they spoil quicker than beef or grain. Reason: Tomatoes are very perishable and spoil before the other agricultural products and are grown as close to the market as possible to reduce lost revenue due to spoilage.
In 2017, the United States exported approximately $500 million of beef to Mexico, and Mexico exported approximately $500 million of beef to the United States. Which of the following best explains this international supply chain?
United States and Mexican producers rely on each other's market to sell certain beef products. Reason: Both countries have robust cattle industries, but certain cuts of meat can be sold in one country versus the other, resulting in this commodity chain and interdependence between two regions.
Cold Mid-Latitude agriculture
Wheat, barely, livestock, dairy cows
intensive agriculture requires
Large amount of labor and capital
Cold Mid-Latitude examples
North Central U.SA, Southern Canada, Eastern Europe
Which of the following statements best explains fair trade agriculture as shown for the products on the map?
A system where consumers in mostly more developed countries purchase goods from producers mainly in less developed countries, with the intent to reduce the disparity in income between different regions Reason: Most other sales flow is from products in the developing world to more developed countries. Guaranteeing a living wage, sufficient to pay the costs of production plus a small profit for farmers, is a major tenet of fair trade agriculture.
Which of the following is an explanation for the similar impact of large-scale commercial agriculture in developed countries and plantation agriculture in developing countries?
Both farming practices involve the consolidation of family farms and displacement of rural communities. Reason: It is difficult for small-scale family farmers to compete with large-scale commercial farms or plantations. Small-scale farmers often lose their land or sell it to large corporations or plantation owners, prompting small-scale farmers to relocate. This displacement impacts rural communities, including workers who supported family farms.
Which of the following best explains the significance of similarities between the farming practices for apple orchards and grape vineyards?
Both farming practices require considerable labor input because the fruit is picked by hand, making it a product of intensive agriculture. Reason: Both are intensive agriculture practices requiring large inputs of labor to prune, maintain, harvest, and process fruit.
Which of the following spatial patterns is best explained by bid-rent theory?
Concentric rings of different agricultural activities surrounding a city in the midwestern United States Reason: Bid-rent theory can be used to explain the pattern of concentric rings sometimes seen in agricultural practices. Market gardens and dairies are located closest to the city, surrounded by zones of field crops and ranches farther from the city center. This pattern is caused by land prices and transportation costs, as opposed to climate or terrain.
Which of the following explains an impact of globalized agricultural commodity chains on consumers as compared to producers?
Drought and depletion of groundwater sources in developing countries cause a rise in global grain prices and associated higher costs for food. Reason: Factors such as drought and depletion of groundwater sources that affect food production in different regions of the world affect and create higher costs to consumers globally.
Which of the following best compares a technological consequence of the Green Revolution in more developed and less developed countries?
Farmers in less developed countries were able to increase their profits from growing and exporting high-yield grain to levels similar to those in more developed countries. Reason: The high-yield grain produced from the seeds developed during the Green Revolution provided farmers in less developed countries with dramatic surpluses that were sold at a profit, increasing farm revenue and raising standards of living.
In less developed countries, pesticides are typically applied by hand, whereas pesticides are typically applied by tractors or aircraft in more developed countries. Which of the following best explains the risks associated with pesticide applications?
Farmers' health is at risk in less developed countries, whereas environmental pollution is a risk in more developed countries. Reason: In a country with a lower level of economic development pesticides would be applied by human labor putting the farmer and farm workers at risk. In countries with higher levels of economic development, pesticides are applied mechanically, or through crop dusting, which spreads the pesticides over a greater area and has a negative impact on the environment.
The two images represent two different methods of raising livestock in the United States. Which of the following statements most accurately compares these two agricultural practices?
Feedlots can minimize costs associated with livestock production because feedlots do not use as much space as cattle ranching. Reason: Feedlots are a more efficient way of raising livestock because a high number of cattle are placed in a more confined area compared to cattle ranching. Because feedlots use a smaller amount of land compared to cattle ranching, costs are minimized.
Based on the diagram of von Thünen's model of agricultural land use, which statement best explains the connection between land value and agricultural production regions?
Grain crops require extensive acreage and are grown on land that is less costly and farther away from the market than other agricultural land uses. Reason: Grain crops, which are durable and easy to transport, are usually located far from the market town where land is less expensive. Land used for grain farming is less costly than land used for market gardening, which has a higher value because of the proximity to the market town.
Which of the following best explains how a wheat farmer in the Northern Plains region of the United States is able to maximize profits?
Grain farming is an extensive farming practice that can maximize profits in part by lower land costs, lower transportation costs, and imperishability of the product. Reason: Grain farming is an extensive agricultural practice requiring large parcels of land for greater efficiency. Bid-rent theory suggests land further away from a market will be less expensive, allowing farmers to maximize profits. In this way, economic forces influence agricultural practices.
Which of the following explains the significance of the similarities between Asia and sub-Saharan Africa in terms of the percent of women working agriculture?
In the subsistence-based rural economies in these regions, female farmers produce much of the food that their families need for survival. Reason: The map shows that high percentages of women work in agriculture in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Women tend to grow the subsistence crops in these regions to feed members of their household.
Which of the following best explains how irrigated commercial agriculture in arid environments creates both environmental opportunities and challenges?
Irrigation increases production but potentially depletes water resources. Reason: Irrigated farmland in arid landscapes produces the vivid contrast seen in the image and allows farmland to exist in places it would not normally exist. This increases the ability to produce food in the area shown, but water supplies in both surface water and groundwater are often limited in such places and are at risk for overconsumption.
plantation agriculture
Labor intensive agriculture system that exploits cheap labor in former colonies Growing specialized crops such as bananas, coffee, and cacao in tropical developing countries, primarily for sale to developed countries.
Mixed crop and livestock
Labor intensive system where farmers grow crops to fatten livestock for slaughter Corn and soybean are farmed and then fed to cattle and pigs in feedlots which are then slaughtered in labor intensive meat packing plants
Extensive farming
Less money and labor being used compared to the amount of land farmed
Which of the following best explains why farmers would plant both strawberries and watermelons in the same field?
Limited farmland encourages intensive farming with intercropping to produce high yields. Reason: As a result of limited farmland, the price per unit of land is likely to be higher, requiring farmers to produce higher yields to maximize profits. This encourages more intensive land use, and often multiple crops are planted in the same field, a practice called intercropping.
Compare the two maps and examine the data for Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. Which of the following statements is supported by the comparison of the two maps?
Many women in these regions work on farms and grow food for their families, but not all are paid to do this work. Reason: The maps show that a number of countries in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia have more women working in agriculture than there are in the paid workforce.
Intensive Farming
Purpose: Local Amount of labor: High Amount of financial investment: Minimal Amount of land: Small
Intensive commercial
Purpose: Profiit Amount of labor: High Amount of financial investment: Minimal Amount of land: Small
Which of the following best explains why the New England region, located in the northeastern United States, would specialize in market gardening agriculture rather than other types of agriculture, such as grain farming?
Several large cities on the East Coast provide a growing market and shorter distances for transporting market gardening products. Reason: The large cities on the East Coast of the United States, such as Boston, New York, and the Washington, D.C., area, provide a market for the market gardening products grown in New England. This close proximity reduces transportation of the bulky products and minimizes spoilage and transportation costs.
In the South Asian country of Sri Lanka, tea is farmed as a monoculture. Which of the following best explains why tea plantations are common in Sri Lanka and tea exports are important to the country's economy?
Tea plantations were established in Sri Lanka by a former European colonial power. Reason: Tea farming began in Sri Lanka when the area was under British rule. Tea became a cash crop in the nineteenth century, with large amounts of tea being exported to the United Kingdom. Today, Sri Lanka remains one of the world's top exporters of tea.
Technological innovations, such as the devices shown in the images, and increased agricultural productivity led to better diets, longer life expectancies, and more people available for work in factories.
The Second Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution were interdependent and led to the mechanization of agriculture. The increased productivity in crop production led to better diets, longer life expectancies, and more people available for work in factories.
The two images show an agricultural transition that occurred in the twentieth century. Which of the following best explains how this transition helped meet a challenge of contemporary agriculture?
The increased crop yield produced more food for a growing global urban and industrial population. Reason: Mechanization increased outputs to produce more food and meet the needs of the world's increasingly urbanized population.
Which of the following explains the diffusion and successful cultivation of many plants and animals in new regions of the world through the Columbian Exchange?
The plants and animals diffused to a region with climate and geography similar to that of their point of domestication. Reason: Similar climates and geography allow for the successful adaptation of plants and animals to new regions far from their hearths.
Based on von Thünen's model of rural land use in an isolated state, which statement explains the most suitable place for a farmer to purchase a large parcel of land necessary for raising livestock?
The ring farthest from the market, because the land is less expensive and outweighs transportation costs to get the livestock to market. Reason: Land farthest from the market is less expensive than land nearer to the market, and as most meat processing takes place at the market, livestock is not highly perishable. Thus, livestock farmers can purchase cheaper land farther from the market and still realize a profit.
The two images represent different agricultural land survey patterns. Comparing the two images, which survey system was more efficient in terms of trade?
The river in the long lot survey system provided better access to waterways to transport goods to market. Reason: The river in the long lot survey system provided a source of water for irrigation and a means of transportation for moving harvested products to market, increasing profits for local farmers because they did not have to transport their products over land.
Based on the map, which of the following explains the similarities of the world regions where at least 51 percent of women work in agriculture?
These regions are composed of less-developed countries with large rural populations. Reason: The areas shown on the map with at least 51 percent of women working in agriculture are all less-developed countries that have large rural populations.
Which of the following correctly explains the relationship between wheat and its early hearth of domestication?
Wheat was first domesticated in Mesopotamia because of a favorable climate and a great diversity of wild grains that led to crossbreeding of seeds. Reason: Wheat was domesticated in Mesopotamia because a large variety of wild grains grew in this region. The hilly terrain provided drainage and sun exposure, and the seasonal climate was conducive to growing wheat.
Which of the following best explains patterns of subsistence and commercial agriculture in West African countries such as Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire?
While some farmers are engaged in subsistence agriculture practices, there is significant commercial farming focused on luxury goods for export, such as coffee and cocoa. Reason: Only about 20 percent of the people in West African countries are employed in commercial agriculture, and agriculturalists in these countries produce and export luxury crops such as coffee and cocoa.
Why have many family farms in North America been replaced by agribusiness farms since the 1980s?
Agribusiness farms have the resources to take advantage of economies of scale. Reason: Large agribusiness farms are generally better able to invest resources in technology such as computerized farm equipment. As farm size increases, the average cost per unit of production generally decreases. This allows agribusiness farms to take advantage of economies of scale.
Which of the following explains an economic benefit of cattle production using feedlots rather than grass pastures?
Agricultural technology has increased the economy of scale and the carrying capacity of feedlots, increasing profits for the farmer. Reason: Technology has led to higher yields of grain used to fatten animals in feedlots, and the carrying capacity of the smaller feedlots can support larger numbers of animals that are fed and watered in place.
Slash-and-burn cultivation is an agricultural practice used by subsistence farmers in tropical forest areas. Which of the following best explains an environmental effect of this practice?
Air pollution and long-term land-cover change are side effects of slash-and-burn agriculture that have a long-ranging effect on a broader region. Reason: Air pollution and long-term land-cover changes are environmental side effects of slash-and-burn agriculture that have been documented by environmental scientists.
Which of the following social or environmental impacts is most directly related to the use of chemicals in agriculture?
An increase in land and water pollution from agricultural runoff Reason: The use of chemicals in agriculture leads to runoff that draws the chemicals into surrounding land areas, polluting the land, streams, and other waterways.
The mechanization of farm work allowed many young people to migrate and join a growing urban industrial workforce
As mechanization increased, an agricultural surplus was created. It became more difficult for small farmers to make a living in rural areas, and many migrated to cities for more lucrative jobs in factories, which increased the urban industrial workforce. Related Content & Skills
Which of the following best explains the diffusion of plants and animals from their hearths of domestication?
Both domesticated plants and animals spread across the globe through contagious diffusion in early years by farmers and traders, and later by relocation diffusion through European exploration and colonialism. Reason: The diffusion of domesticated plants and animals spread slowly as early farmers shared seeds with nearby settlements and traders moved seeds and animals across early trading routes.
Which of the following explains the prevalence of banana plantations in Central America?
Banana plants were brought to Central America from Southeast Asia to be grown closer to markets in the United States and Canada. Reason: Due to their popularity, bananas were brought to Central America in the 1800s to be grown closer to consumer markets in the United States and Canada, enabling sellers to avoid high transportation costs.
Which of the following best explains a negative economic consequence of the Green Revolution in less developed countries as compared to more developed countries?
Because of the increased capital investment required to produce new crop varieties using technology that was pioneered in more developed countries, there was an increase in wealth disparity in many farming communities in less developed countries. Reason: There was an increase in wealth disparity in many less developed countries where Green Revolution crops were introduced. Those who could afford the new crop varieties continued to prosper while those who could not frequently languished.
Which of the following best explains the reasons for the similarities and differences between the two land survey systems shown?
Both systems require geometric calculations to survey property lines. However, the township-and-range system uses simplified calculation to create a more ordered landscape. Reason: Both systems require geometric calculations to survey property lines. The township-and-range system creates a geometric grid pattern of six miles by six miles. It is used in the western part of the United States. The metes-and-bounds system consists of irregularly shaped property boundaries that utilize landscape features (rivers, rock outcrops, etc.). It is used in the eastern part of the United States.
Which of the following agricultural practices has the most significant long-term environmental impact in tropical regions?
Burning extensive areas of forested land to create pasture, which decreases biodiversity Reason: When extensive areas of forested land are burned to create pasture, ecosystems may be damaged or destroyed. This leads to a decrease in biodiversity.
Which of the following explains the role of commodity chains in the average size of farms?
Commodity chains have led to changes in the spatial organization of agriculture from dispersed family farms to large corporate farms that produce, process, and distribute the products. Reason: Complex commodity chains that link production and consumption of agricultural inputs and outputs have reorganized the spatial organization of agriculture from dispersed family farms to large corporate farms that produce, process, and distribute the products.
Which of the following best explains the differences between countries with higher and lower percentages of women working in agriculture?
Countries with large percentages of female employment in agriculture tend to be mostly rural and are reliant on subsistence agriculture. Reason: Women in less developed countries are needed to work in subsistence agriculture. This is especially true in central Africa.
Which of the following best explains why in the model the amount of land used for dairying is much smaller than the pasture used for beef cattle?
Dairy cows must be kept close to farmhouses, as they require daily milking, and milk must be produced close to consumers, as it is highly perishable. Reason: In the model, the principle of cost-to-distance is regulated by the amount of labor required to produce a crop. Dairy requires high labor inputs and has a perishable product that require it to be produced in smaller farms close to market towns.
Which of the following scenarios best explains the Columbian Exchange?
Domesticated animals such as cattle, horses, pigs, and chickens were introduced to the Americas by European colonizers. Prior to this, very few animals had been domesticated in the Americas. Reason: Many different domesticated animals were introduced to the Americas as a result of the Columbian Exchange.
Since the mid-twentieth century, wheat production has risen dramatically in some regions of the world but not others, which may increase the uneven development among countries. Which statement best explains the increase in wheat production in Europe and the United States compared to sub-Saharan Africa?
Farmers in Europe and the United States use high-yield seeds and other technology but farmers in sub-Saharan Africa depend on low levels of mechanization and non-genetically modified seeds. Reason: Wheat production increased in developed regions of the world because farmers can afford high-yield seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, and irrigation technology needed to produce higher yields. Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa have not seen as dramatic increases in their yields because they often lack the capital to acquire new agricultural technology.
Which of the following explains a reason why education and employment rates for women are lower in less developed compared to more developed countries?
Females take primary responsibility for harvesting and cooking food in less developed countries. Reason: In rural farming areas in less developed countries, females assume responsibility for harvesting and food preparation. These tasks can limit a woman's ability to go to school or enter the workforce.
More developed countries tend to have greater access to agricultural technology and government-supported loans used to purchase computerized farm equipment. Which of the following best explains the significance of access to these resources?
Government financing and improved technology lead to larger economies of scale and improved efficiency. Reason: Farm loans and agricultural subsidy programs available in more developed countries make large amounts of money available to farmers who can purchase or lease larger farm vehicles and high-technology equipment.
The two images each show a different form of beef production. Which of the following statements explains a primary difference between the agricultural practices?
Image 1 shows traditional beef production, which has regained popularity because of perceived environmental and ethical benefits compared to the beef production shown in Image 2. Reason: Consumers in developed countries have started to seek out traditionally grown pasture-raised or grass-fed beef and dairy products, even though they are less efficient to produce and more expensive at the market. Consumers seek out beef raised according to more traditional methods based on perceptions that these traditional methods can allow for more ethical treatment of animals, as well as being more environmentally friendly.
Which of the following best explains the spatial patterns illustrated in von Thünen's model?
Labor-intensive farming of vegetables is done in small-scale plots in market gardens, while extensive grain crops are grown in large-scale fields far from the market town. Reason: Labor-intensive products such as vegetables or dairy are the done on the most expensive land at the center of the model. Less labor-intensive agriculture is done on less-expensive land farther away from the market town.
Which of the following best explains the importance of climate to agricultural practices?
Midlatitude climates tend to support similar agricultural crops and practices, such as wheat farming in the United States and China. Reason: Commercial grain farming is successful in the midlatitudes around the world, including the United States and China, generally in regions that are too dry for mixed crop and livestock agriculture.
The mechanization of farming in the Second Agricultural Revolution resulted in more reliable crop harvests and healthier populations in areas where the mechanization was adopted.
More reliable crop harvests were one of the significant byproducts of the mechanization of farming, leading to healthier populations during the Second Agricultural Revolution. The mechanization of farming resulted in more reliable crop harvests and healthier populations.
Which of the following best explains the potential impact of rising global temperatures on agricultural regions?
The wheat belt will shift northward. Reason: As temperatures rise, growing seasons will lengthen, with a corresponding movement of the wheat belt northward in the northern regions of the world.
Which of the following best explains the differences between the patterns of land use in the township-and-range system and the long-lot system, as shown in the images?
The township-and-range survey system was based on a geometric grid pattern, while the long-lot system was a rectilinear pattern based upon waterways or roads. Reason: The township-and-range survey system used more precise surveying methods to create uniformly sized plots of land, usually six miles by six miles in size. The long-lot survey system was based on either a river or a road for ease of transportation, which resulted in long, rectangular plots of land.
Between 1950 and 1990, wheat production in India in average pounds per acre more than tripled, which allowed India to meet its population's need for food. Which of the following best explains this change?
The use of improved plant hybrids and agricultural chemicals Reason: Wheat was a focus of Green Revolution research into more productive plant hybrids and thrived when provided with nitrogen-based fertilizers.
substinence agriculture
Agriculture designed primarily to provide food for direct consumption by the farmer and the farmer's family
Which of the following explains why multiple early hearths of domestication and diffusion of plants and animals arose across the world in Central America, the Fertile Crescent, the Indus River valley, and Southeast Asia?
Domestication of plants and animals evolved in each hearth independently of one another as societies in each area learned and applied the process to local plants and animals. Reason: Plants and animals were domesticated in each hearth independently without influence or diffusion of domestication and agricultural practices from other hearths.
A typical grocery store in the United States may sell oranges grown primarily in California during part of the year and oranges grown primarily in South Africa during a different part of the year. Which of the following explains why oranges are available year-round in the United States?
Grocery stores sell oranges that are grown in locations with similar climates but different growing seasons. Reason: Parts of California and South Africa share a Mediterranean climate ideal for growing oranges. However, these two regions have different growing seasons that allow the year-round demand for oranges in the United States to be met.
Using the data shown, which of the following best explains the spatial variations of rural women's roles in food production and food preparation?
In less developed countries, females and males tend to participate equally in harvesting and preparation tasks. Reason: The percent of females in the labor force working in the agricultural sector is 52.7% and the percent of agricultural workers who are female is 42.9% which closely aligns with male counterparts (47.3% and 57.1% respectively).
Based on the map above, which of the following best explains the production of lettuce in the United States?
Lettuce production in the United States is an example of commercial farming. Most lettuce is produced, processed, and packaged for sale in supermarkets that are a significant distance from where the product was grown. Reason: In the United States, large-scale commercial lettuce production is primarily limited to year-round farming locations with irrigated farmland. Lettuce is usually transported significant distances from where it is produced.
Which of the following best explains the farming practice related to plantation agriculture?
Plantation farming is considered to be an intensive farming practice because it requires large inputs of labor and capital to produce the crop. Reason: Plantation crops require large inputs of labor and capital that are characteristics of intensive agriculture.
The Green Revolution led to an increase in food production in many places around the world, but there have been some negative consequences. Which of the following explains one of the negative consequences of the Green Revolution that would be of greater concern for people in developing countries than for people in more-developed countries?
Runoff of agricultural chemicals into the local groundwater that pollutes water resources Reason: People in rural areas of less-developed countries are more likely to use groundwater directly for drinking, whereas in urban areas and more-developed countries, water is treated before drinking. Contamination of groundwater used for drinking is a negative consequence of the Green Revolution in less-developed countries.
Sheep production in New Zealand and poultry production in Arkansas produce food animals for human consumption. Which of the following best describes the differences in the agricultural practices and land use for these products?
Sheep production is an example of extensive agriculture requiring large pastures, whereas poultry production is an example of intensive agriculture often practiced indoors. Reason: Sheep production is an example of extensive agriculture, which requires small amounts of labor and capital in relation to the area of land being farmed. Poultry production is an example of intensive agriculture, which requires large amounts of labor and capital in relation to the area of land being farmed.
During the Green Revolution, agricultural practices from more developed countries diffused to less developed countries in Asia and Africa. Which of the following best explains the Green Revolution's highly variable level of success in increasing agricultural yields?
Small-scale farmers in Asia often lacked the resources necessary to acquire the hybrid seeds and the chemical inputs to grow them, leaving large gaps in the success of the Green Revolution outside of urban cores. Reason: The adoption and successful implementation of Green Revolution agricultural technologies was widely successful. The benefits, however, went primarily to the large corporate farms in Asia rather than the small subsistence farmers who generally lack the resources to acquire the genetically enhanced seeds and the necessary chemical inputs to grow them. This left large gaps in the geographic spread of the benefits of the Green Revolution.
Irrigation increases the salt content of the soil, which disrupts the growth of crops and degrades soil fertility.
The image shows an arid area, and the rectangular and circular fields are created by irrigation. Water contains dissolved salts, which accumulate as the plants use the water and the salts are left behind, eventually leading to soil degradation.
Which of the following best explains the differences between the patterns of land use in the township-and-range system and the long-lot system, as shown in the images?
The township-and-range survey system was based on a geometric grid pattern, while the long-lot system was a rectilinear pattern based upon waterways or roads.