agriculture and the physical environment + intensive farming

Question 1

define agriculture

Answer 1

the purposeful cultivation of plants or raising of animals to produce goods for survival

Question 2

food crops:

Answer 2

fruits, vegetables, and grains

Question 3

most widespread food crops:

Answer 3

corn (maize), wheat, and rice

Question 4

animal feed:

Answer 4

oats and alfalfa

Question 5

fiber crops:

Answer 5

cotton

Question 6

oil crops:

Answer 6

olives, corn, soybeans

Question 7

what are the 4 most important environmental factors?

Answer 7

climate, elevation, soil, & topography

Question 8

tropical

Answer 8

equal periods of daylight/nighttime, 100+in. Of rain/yr., avg. temp: 64°F

Question 9

dry

Answer 9

less than 14 in. of rain/yr, temps: 25-100°F

Question 10

temperate

Answer 10

all 4 seasons, long summers, short winters

Question 11

continental

Answer 11

all 4 seasons, but more inland so less impacted by the oceans

Question 12

polar

Answer 12

COLD, dry

Question 13

mediterranean

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Intensive

Answer 14

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)

Question 15

Extensive

Answer 15

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)

Question 16

Market Gardening

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Plantation

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Mixed Crop & Livestock

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Shifting Cultivation

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Shifting Cultivation

Answer 20

1. Slash/burn the field
   Swidden: cleared field
   Potash: potassium rich ash used to fertilize
2. Work the land for about 3 years
   2nd year is the best
3. Move on to next field, slash/burn
4. Leave original field to fallow
5. Make your way back to original field in about
   20 years

Question 21

Nomadic Herding (Pastoral Nomadism)

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Ranching

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Linear Pattern

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Clustered Pattern

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Dispersed Pattern

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Township & Range

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

Long-Lot

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Metes & bounds

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Why did we domesticate crops/animals??

Answer 29

Changing environmental conditions: needed to find a new food source

Changing social conditions: wanted to remain sedentary