agriculture and the physical environment + intensive farming Flashcards
define agriculture
the purposeful cultivation of plants or raising of animals to produce goods for survival
food crops:
fruits, vegetables, and grains
most widespread food crops:
corn (maize), wheat, and rice
animal feed:
oats and alfalfa
fiber crops:
cotton
oil crops:
olives, corn, soybeans
what are the 4 most important environmental factors?
climate, elevation, soil, & topography
tropical
equal periods of daylight/nighttime, 100+in. Of rain/yr., avg. temp: 64°F
dry
less than 14 in. of rain/yr, temps: 25-100°F
temperate
all 4 seasons, long summers, short winters
continental
all 4 seasons, but more inland so less impacted by the oceans
polar
COLD, dry
mediterranean
MDCs, Commercial, Mixed between Intensive and Extensive
Where: Mediterranean Sea, West Coasts of continents (California, Chile, & South Africa)
Crops: horticulture–fruit, flowers, and veggies, some animal raising, some wheat production (in drier areas)
Most important crops: grapes and olives
Intensive
think intense): using every single inch as much as possible, A LOT OF WORK
Rely on heavy levels of “inputs”
Chemical fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, human labor, animal labor, natural fertilizers, etc.
Why? A LOT OF MOUTHS TO FEED, paid a lot of money for the land (none can be wasted)
Extensive
not using every single inch as much as possible
Few inputs and little investment into labor
Why? Didn’t pay a lot (can waste a little)
Market Gardening
MDCs, Commercial, Intensive
Where: SE U.S. (near urban areas)–nice long growing season, doesn’t have much of a winter, plenty of rainfall
Crops: fruits, vegetables, and flowers
Very efficient–takes full advantage of science, GMOs, technology, pesticides, etc.
Speciality farming has grown in the NE as many dairy farmers have switched to gardening (more profitable)
Farm-to-table movement has also helped to give new momentum to this agricultural practice
Truck Farming (used to be synonymous): similar product, but grown further from market and shipped in
Plantation
LDCs, COMMERCIAL, Intensive
Where: scattered in places along the Equator (Asia, Africa, and the Americas)
Climate: tropical
Crops: cash crops-coffee, sugarcane, bananas, rubber, tobacco, cotton, cocoa, tea, palm oil, etc.
Operate in LDCs, but owned by MDCs
* Why? LDCs have cheaper land, cheaper labor, less environmental regulations, many located in Southern hemisphere so can provide fruits/veggies to Northern hemisphere in the opposite season (Chile)
* Neocolonial relationships
* Transnational corporations
Mixed Crop & Livestock
MDCs, Commercial, Intensive
Where: Mid-West (MMMMMMidwest, MMMMMMMixed Crop)
Most common form of agriculture in the U.S.
Most of the land is dedicated to growing crops, but most of the profit comes from animal products
Most of the crops are actually fed to the livestock as feed
By having diversity of product–helps to off-set bad crop years
#1 crop: Corn
#2 crop: Soybeans
*Do use crop rotation
Shifting Cultivation
LDCs, Subsistence, Extensive
Where: rainforests of South America, Central and West Africa, and Southeast Asia
Climate: tropical
Crops: intertillage-a variety of crops, little bit of everything
Use hand tools and animal power to clear fields, plow, plant, and harvest
Since it is extensive, it most likely will not be sustainable into the future
Shifting Cultivation
- Slash/burn the field
Swidden: cleared field
Potash: potassium rich ash used to fertilize - Work the land for about 3 years
2nd year is the best - Move on to next field, slash/burn
- Leave original field to fallow
- Make your way back to original field in about
20 years
Nomadic Herding (Pastoral Nomadism)
LDCs, Subsistence, Extensive
Climate: too hot/dry/arid to raise crops, so they raise animals instead
Where: North Africa, SW Asia, Central Asia
Animals: camels, horses, goats, cattle, llamas, donkeys, sheep
They are nomadic–move around to known food/water sources, sense of territoriality
Transhumance: the seasonal migration from the highlands to the lowland pastures
Women normally stay put and grow grain to supplement diet
Since it is extensive–most likely will not be sustainable into the future
Ranching
MDCs, Commercial, Extensive
Commercial version of Pastoral Nomadism
Climate: hot/dry/arid, can’t grow crops
Where: The West (U.S.), Pampas (Argentina), Australia, & New Zealand
*Since it is extensive, need a lot of room to roam
Animals: U.S.-mainly cattle, New Zealand-mainly sheep
Became population in the late 1800s, when the East had a taste for beef, but didn’t have the room to raise them. The Cowboy/cattle drive era began.
*Popularity waned after the invention of barbed-wire
Linear Pattern
Houses and buildings extend in a long line that usually follows a land feature, such as river, coast, or hill, or along a transportation route
adv: Access to water or transportation
disad: Long skinny lots, so far end of field is a long distance from home
Clustered Pattern
People live in close proximity, and farmland is many discontinuous pieces all along the periphery of the settlement
adv: Promotes social unity and share common resources
disad: Too close could lead to social friction, and the discontinuous farmland making agriculture inefficient
Dispersed Pattern
Houses and buildings are isolated from one another, and farmland is one continuous piece surrounding house
adv: Promote independence and self-sufficiency
disad:Lack social interaction, make it hard to share institutions like schools, and hard to defend settlement
Township & Range
Designed to create survey townships of 6 miles x 6 miles, giving a total of 36 square miles. Each square mile contains 640 acres. Land was sold by the full, half, or quarter section. Made selling land very easy.
located:Most land west of the Mississippi River is surveyed in this fashion. You can see this while flying over the Great Plains, and why many states in the west are rectangular.
Long-Lot
Property was divided into a series of long strips of land stretching back from frontage along a river or lake.
located: Louisiana, parts of Missouri, and some Great Lakes states, French Canada, and along the Rip Grande.
Very French in style
Metes & bounds
Describes property boundaries in terms of lines drawn in a certain direction for a specific distance. These points of reference were typically natural features. This caused unusually shaped land parcels
located: Mid-Atlantic region
Why did we domesticate crops/animals??
Changing environmental conditions: needed to find a new food source
Changing social conditions: wanted to remain sedentary
