Factors Affecting Farming Flashcards
What are the physical factors affecting farming?
- Temperature
- Rainfall amount
- Rainfall variability
- Gradient
- Wind
- Soils
How does temperature affect farming?
Plants have a minimum temp they grow in and a minimum growing season in which they grow. In Britain wheat and barley will only grow when the average temperature is above 6 degrees. Ties closely with last frost of spring and thirst of autumn. Within the tropics there’s an almost continual growing season
How does the amount of rainfall affect crop growth?
Few crops can grow when there’s less than 250mm of rainfall a year grasses will predominate above this figure
Rainfall variability- affect on plant growth
E.g. Summer droughts can limit growth in the Mediterranean but reasonable yearly precipitation can help, snow and hail also damage crops
How does gradient affect farming?
Steep gradients encourage pastoral farming as machinery can only really work on slopes less than 11 degrees. In south east Asia terracing has been used to overcome this problem as population densities are high and the amount of flat land is low
How can wind affect farming?
Strong winds can damage plants and increase evapotranspiration rates
How can soils affect farming?
Their qualities e.g. Depth, stoniness, texture, water retention capacity, pH and mineral content
What human factors can affect farming?
Capital Land tenure Inheritance laws Farm size Technology State influence
How does capital affect farming?
Money to Renton buy materials and machinery can have a massive impact upon farming systems
How can land tenure affect farming?
The owner of the land can dictate what is grown there. E.g. In communist china in 1958 farming was run along the lines of people’s communes, where a whole community farmed the land collectively, sharing the produce. They were also responsible for research, organising housing and services as well as irrigation/flood control. This changed in 1979 when families began to run farms as private businesses leading to increased productivity and standards of living
How can inheritance laws affect farming?
In many countries the land is passed on to the siblings of the deceased leading to fragmentation and a decrease in productivity
How can farm size affect farming?
Larger farms are more effective as they can take advantage of economies of scale- e.g. Large commercial farms in developed countries
How can technology affect farming?
New technology can make different forms of crop or pastoral farming possible in areas where they weren’t before. E.g. Green revolution
How can state influence affect farming?
Can control prices, investment and what is grown
