agriculture Flashcards
what are the natural inputs to the agricultural system
- temperature
- growing season
- soil type
- wind
- precipitation
what are the human inputs to the agricultural system
- farm size
- local diet
- machinery
- money available
- knowledge and skill of farmer
what are the processes in the agricultural system
- ploughing
- weeding
- harvesting
- breeding
- feeding
what are the natural changes in an agricultural system
- drought
- fire
- soil erosion
what is the 1 human changes in an agricultural system
-poorly stored crops
what are the outputs in a agricultural system
- crops
- animals
- products
- pollution
- soil erosion
- waste products
what 5 physical factors can influence agriculture
- temperature
- precipitation
- wind
- soil quality
- relief
how does temperature affect agriculture
- decides the length of growing season
- in the UK, a growing season needs to exceed 3 months
how does precipitation affect agriculture
- determines water supply
- the affectiveness of the mean rainfall depends on temperature and rates of evapotranspiration
- season distribution is more important than annual
how does wind affect agriculture
- restricts cultivation of grain crops
- wind can be beneficial, certain winds can melt snow in North America which increases the growing season
how does soil quality affect agriculture
- it is determined by factors such as depth, texture, structure
- in the UK, potatoes fail if the soil acidity is less than 4
How does relief affect agriculture
- altitude and angle of slope
- in the UK, the upper limit of hay and potatoes are 300m , slopes of more than 11 degrees fail and aren’t safe for ploughing
what is arable farming
farming of cereal and root crops on flat land for example slash and burn in Latin America
what is pastoral farming
livestock rearing and subsidence for example herding sheep and cattle in West Africa
what is mixed farming
the production of both arable crops and livestock which is most common in the UK
what is intensive farming
it can be labour and capital, from a small farm for example fruit, flowers and veg in the UK
what is extensive farming
large scale farming, with high labour and a high capital input for example quality seeds or animals in Canada
what is commercial farming
specialising in single crops and the income provides a livelihood for the workers, for example cattle ranching in South America
what is subsitence farming
the direct production of suffiencent food to feed the family for example slash and burn in Latin America
what is sedentary farming
in one place a settled farmers rotates fields for example in Africa
what is a positive and negative of arable farming
+ large amount of the land is ploughed in a short time
-can lead to the depletion of soil humus
what is a positive and negative of pastoral farming
+ can be dry land where crops cant grow
- overgrazing and erosion
what is a positive and negative of mixed farming
+ it enhances productivity of the farmer
- farmer needs to be knowledgable
what is a positive and negative of intensive farming
+ easily supervised and monitored land
- various fertilisers produce pollution
