8th Chapter Vocab Flashcards
Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)
British economist who maintained that increasing human population would eventually deplete the available food supply until starvation, war, or disease arose and reduced the population
IPAT model
A formula that represents how humans’ total impact (I) on the environment results from the interaction among three factors: population (P), affluence (A), and technology (T)
demography
a social science that applies the principles of population ecology to the study of statistical change in human populations
demographer
a social scientist who studies the population size, density, distribution, age structure, sex ratio, and rates of birth, death, immigration, and emigration of human populations
total fertility rate (TFR)
the average number of children born per female member of a population during her life time
replacement fertility
the total fertility rate (TFR) that maintains a stable population size
rate of natural increase (natural rate of population change)
the rate of change in a populations’s size resulting from birth and death alone, excluding, excluding migration.
demographic transition
a theoretical model of economic and cultural change that explains the declining death rates and birth rates that occurred in western nations as they became industrialized. the model holds that industrialization caused these rates to fall naturally by decreasing mortality and by lessening the need for larger large families. parents would thereafter choose to invest in quality of life rather that quantity of children
life expectancy
the average number of years that individuals in particular age groups are likely to continue to live
pre-industrial stage
the first stage of the demographic transition model, characterized by conditions that defined most human history. in pre-industrial societies, both death rates and birth rates are high
industrial stage
the third stage of the demographic transition model, characterized by falling birth rates that close the gap with falling death rates and reduce the rate of population growth
post-industrial stage
the fourth and final stage of the demographic transition model, in which both birth and death rates have fallen to a low level and remain stable there, and populations may even decline slightly
family planning
the effort to plan the number and spacing of one’s children so as to offer children and parents the best quality of life possible
contraception
the deliberate attempt to prevent pregnancy despite sexual intercourse
birth control
the effort to control the number of children on bears, particularly by reducing the frequency of pregnancy
reproductive window
the portion of a woman’s life between sexual maturity and menopause during which she may become pregnant
transitional stage
the second stage of the demographic transition model, which occurs during the transition from the pre-industrial stage to the industrial stage. it is characterized by declining death rates but continued high birth rates
demographic fatigue
an inability on the part of governments to address overwhelming challenges to population growth
no-till
agriculture that does not involve tilling (plowing, digging, harrowing, or chiseling) the soil. the most intense form of conservation fatique
cover crops
a crop that covers and anchors the soil during times between main crops, intended to reduce erosion
agriculture
the practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock for human use and consumption
cropland
land that people use for raising plants for food and fiber
rangland
land used for grazing livestock
sustainable agriculture
agriculture that can be practiced in the same way and in the same place far into the future. sustainable agriculture does not deplete soils nor reduce the clean water and genetic diversity essential to long-term crop and livestock production
substance agriculture
the oldest form of traditional agriculture in which farming families produce only enough food for themselves
industrial agriculture
a form of agriculture that uses large-scale mechanization and fossil fuel combustion, enabling farmers to replace horses and oxen with more powerful means of cultivating, harvesting, transporting, and processing crops. other aspects include irrigation and the use of inorganic fertilizers, the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides reduce competition from weeds and herbivory by insects
traditional agriculture
biologically powered agriculture in which human and animal muscle power, along side with hand tools and simple machines, perform the work of cultivating, harvesting, storing, and distributing crops
monocultures
the uniform planting of a single crop over a large area
polyculture
the planting of multiple crops in a mixed arrangement or in close proximity. an example is some traditional native american farming that mixed maize, beans, squash, and peppers
parent material
the base geological material in a particular area
bedrock
the continuous mass of solid rock that makes up earth’s crust
weathering
the process by which rocks are broken down, turning large particles into smaller particles. weathering may proceed by physical, chemical, or biological means