APES Chapter 9 Flashcards
Agriculture
the practice of raising crops and livestock for human use and consumption
Cropland
land used to raise plants for human use
Rangeland
land used for grazing livestock
Soil
a complex system consisting of disintegrated rocks, organic matter, water, gases, nutrients, and microorganisms
Traditional agriculture
cultivating, harvesting, storing and distributoing crops performed by human and animal muscle power
Industrial agriculture
replacing the horses and oxen with more powerful means to harvest, cultivate, transport and process the crops
Soil degradation
soil that deteriorates in quality and declined in productivity
Monoculture
uniform planting of a single crop
Green Revolution
new technologies, crop varieties, and farming practices to help the developing world
Parent material
the base geologic material in a particular location
Bedrock
a continuous mass of solid rock that makes up the Earth’s crust
Weathering
physical, chemical, and biological processes that convert large rock particles in to smaller rock particles
Leaching
the process where solid particles are suspended or dissolved in liquid are transported to another location
Horizon
each layer of soil
Soil profile
the cross section as a whole
Topsoil
the A horizon that is crucial for agriculture and ecosystems, conisting of inorganic mineral components and organic matter
Clay
particles of dirt that are less than .002-.05 mm
Silt
particles of dirt that are .002-.05 mm
Sand
particles of dirt that are .05-2 mm
Loam
soil with an even mixture of clay, sand, and silt
Land degradation
a general deterioration of land that diminishes its productivity and biodiversity impairs the functioning of its ecosystems, and reduces the ecosystem services the land can offer us
Desertification
a form of land degradation in which more than 10% of productivity is lost as a result of erosion, soil compaction, forest removal, overgrazing, etc.
Dust Bowl
a drought that caused the topsoil to erode and dust storms to erupt
Conservation districts
areas that are controlled by federal govt but the states organize them, they implement soil conservation programs to help empower and help set priorities and goals in areas
Natural Resources Conservation Service
the soil conservation service that changed its priorities to include water quality protection and pollution control
Crop rotation
when farmers alternate the type of crop in a given field from one season or year
Contour farming
plowing furrows sideways across a hillside, perpendicular to its slope and following the natural contours of the land
Terracing
transorming spoes into a series of steps so farmers can farm on hillsides without a lot of topsoil erosion
Intercropping
planting different types of crops in alternating bands
Shelterbelts
rows of trees or tall plants that are okanted along edges of fields to slow the wind
Irrigation
artifical provision of water to support agriculture
water logging
when the water table rises to the point that water bathes plant roots, depriving them of access to gases and suffocating them
salinization
the build up of salts in the surface soils
fertilizer
any of various substances that contain essential nutrients
inorganic fertilizers
synthetically manufactured mineral supplements
organic fertilizers
the remains or wastes of organisms
overgrazing
too many livestock eat too many of the plant cover, not allowing plants to grow back or replacing biomass
Conservation Reserve Program
a program that pays farmers to stop cultivating highly erodable cropland ad place conservation reserves instead
