Human Geo 9.3 Questions Flashcards
What are the 5 predominant agricultural regions in developing countries identified by Whittlesey in 1936?
- Intensive subsistence, wet rice dominant: the large population concentrations of East Asia and South Asia.
- Intensive subsistence, wet rice not dominant: the pop clusters of East & South Asia, where growing rice is hard.
- Pastoral nomadism: drylands of North Africa, Central Asia, Southwest Asia, & East Asia.
- Shifting cultivation: tropical regions of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia.
- Plantation: Tropical/subtropical regions of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, & Southeast Asia.
What are the 6 predominant agricultural regions in developed countries identified by Whittlesey in 1936?
- Mixed crop and livestock: US midwest & central Europe.
- Dairy: Population clusters in Northwest US, SE Canada, NW Europe.
- Grain: North-central US, south-central Canada, E Europe
- Livestock Ranching: drylands of western North America, southeastern Latin America, Central Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, & the South Pacific.
- Mediterranean: lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, the western US, the southern tip of Africa, and Chile.
- Commercial gardening: southeastern US & SE Australia.
Describe the typical farm in Asia’s intensive subsistence agriculture:
It is small, and may Asian farmers own several fragmented plots (dividing among children over centuries). They waste no land, paths/roads are kept narrow, livestock aren’t allowed to graze on potential crop land, and animals get fed little grain.
Describe wet-rice not dominant areas:
Climate discourages wet rice in parts of Asia (with too dry summers & too harsh winters). Interior of India and northeastern China farming is devoted to other crops (wheat, barley, and other grains & cash crops). Other than what is grown, they share most other features of the wet-rice region, where land is used intensively.
What are the 4 steps (all intensive) of growing rice?
- The field is prepared (using animal power); hillsides are terraced because flat land is needed to grow rice.
- The field is flooded with water (Sawah/Paddy).
- Rice seedlings grown for the first month in a nursery are transplanted into the flooded field.
- Rice plants are harvested with knives, & the chaff/husks are separated from the seeds by threshing/beating them on the ground. The threshed rice is put in a winnowing tray, where the lighter chaff is blown away.
What are 2 distinctive features of shifting cultivation?
- Slash & burn: farmers clear land by slashing vegetation & burning debris (what shifting cultivation can be called).
- Frequent relocation: farmers crow crops on cleared field for a few years until soil nutrients are depleted, then leave it fallow for many years so the soil can recover.
-People who practice these live in small villages. Each year villagers designate an area around the settlement for planting, but before they must clear the land (then burn).
Describe key information and characteristics of a cleared land (or swidden):
Before planting, the it’s prepared by hand (with hoes). Not many fertilizers are available (only potassium from burning). The first year it is farmed, little weeding is done, but later, hoes can clear away weeds. The cleared land can only support crops briefly (bc of depleted nutrients and rapid weed growth), and the most productive harvest comes in the 2nd year. After the swidden is “done,” villagers move on but return to the field 6-20 years later and start the process of clearing land over again.
Describe the Kayapo people of Brazil’s Amazon tropical rain forest and how they arrange/plant crops in concentric rings:
Innter: sweet potatoes/yams, THEN corn/rice, manioc, and more yams. In following years, the inner areas expands to replace corn and rice. The outermost ring has plants needing more nutrients, and that is where the leafy crowns of cut trees fall when the field is cleared, and their rotting releases more nutrients into the soil.
Describe changes in past and present ownership in shifting cultivation, and how much of the world’s land is occupied by it?
- In the past, the village owned all the land, and the chief allocated a patch to each family. Today, private individuals now own the land (esp. in Latin America).
- 1/4 of the world’s land area is occupied by shifting cultivation, but less than 5% of people do it (bc moving from one field to another every few years requires more land per person than other types of farming).
Is land devoted to shifting cultivation in the tropics declining or increasing?
Declining, along with tropical rain forest land area (deforestation). It is being replaced by logging, cultivation of cash crops, & cattle ranching (more effective development strategies). Developing countries see shifting cultivation as inefficient, and can only support a few people w/o causing environmental damage, and they’ve been pressured to restrict the destruction of rain forests.
Explain the controversy over shifting cultivation:
Critics view it as a step in the process of economic development, and should be replaced by better agricultural techniques. Defenders say it isn’t harmful for tropics (because it doesn’t use fertilizers/pesticides). Elimination of shifting cultivation could upset local traditional diversity of cultures in the tropics.
Identify 4 animals that are possible choices for nomad herds (their choice depends on the prestige of animals and their ability to adapt to a particular climate/vegetation):
- Cattle are common in East Africa dry lands, where they eat grasses & scrub, & are valued for their high milk yield.
- Camels are good for arid climates (they go long periods without water, carry heavy baggage, and move rapidly).
- Goats need more water than camels, but are tough/agile & can survive on virtually any vegetation.
- Sheep are slow-moving and affected by climatic changes; they need more water; and are selective about which plants they will eat.
What did pastoral nomadism used to be regarded as and what is it now thought of as?
Pastoral nomadism was regarded as a stage in the evolution of agriculture between hunters/gatherers and sedentary farmers. But now, it is regarded as an offshoot of sedentary farming (a practical way of surviving on land with not enough rain/crops).
What is happening to pastoral nomadism today?
Today, it’s declining (partly due to modern technology). With modern weapons, gov’t can control nomads and limit their movement. Gov’t force groups to give up pastoral nomadism so they can convert it to sedentary agriculture (or mining/petroleum industries). In the future, PN will be confined to areas without irrigation or raw materials.
What are some similarities between agriculture and climate maps?
Pastoral nomadism & dry climate occupy the same areas, shifting cultivation is predominant in tropical climates, the division between SE and NE China in climate and agriculture (wet-rice dominant vs non-dominant), the division in the US (West has dry climate & livestock).