Human Geography Unit Test - 5 Flashcards
What has caused increased demand for agriculture that places added stress on the environment?
- Global competition
- Local demand
- Population
Double cropping
Panting and harvesting on the same place of land twice a year
What is the impact of double cropping
- Reduces soil quality
- Prevents need for additional land for agriculture
Intercropping
Growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same field
What is the impact of intercropping
- Replenishes soil and reduces runoff
- Leads to higher yields
- Requires more irrigation and fertilizer
Terrace farming
When human farm off of hillsides built like stairs
Impacts of terrace farming
- Better access to crops
- Irrigation from mountain runoff
- Variety in foods grown
- Reduces soil erosion
- Can lead to mudslides
- Can disrupt normal water runoff patterns
Monoculture
Specialising in one crop
Impacts of monoculture
- Loss of biodiversity
- Makes ecosystems more vulnerable to diseases
- Loss of efficient absorption and breakdown of pollution
Draining wetlands
The draining of wetlands for agricultural and development purposes
Impacts of draining wetlands
- Loss of natural water, cleaning, and pollution absorption systems
- Loss of biodiversity and species
- Increased vulnerability of flooding
Irrigation
Diverting water from its original runoff rout to help grow crops
Impacts of irrigation
- creates arable land in dry places
- Improved crop yields
- Contributes to groundwater sources
- Disrupts natural runoff route
- Salinizes the soil
- Depletion of groundwater sources in some cases
Soil salinization
Evaporation of water that leaves salt residue behind
Impacts of salinization
- Prevents crops from absorbing nutrients
- Causes land to become infertile
Overgrazing
Excessive grazing in an area to the point where the soil becomes permanently damaged
Impacts of overgrazing
- Reduces biodiversity and productivity of land
- Cases vegetation to lose the ability to regenerate itself
- Lack of vegetation leads to severe soil erosion
Soil desertification
Transition of fertile land to desert
Impact of desertification
- Reduces biodiversity
- Depletes crop and pant life because it cannot support it
Slash and burn agriculture
All vegetation in an area being being cut down and burned
Impacts of slash and burn agriculture
- Ash can give soil nutrients
- Can contribute to climate change in the long term
- Can cause and reduce forest fires depending on how it is carried out
Pesticides
Chemicals that are sprayed on crops to ward off or kill any insects or animals
What are the impacts of pesticides
- Plants become resistant to bugs
- Higher yields
- Reduces need for intensive farming
- Pollutes groundwater and surrounding vegetation
- Reduces biodiversity
Fertilizers
Any substance added to soil to increase productivity
Impacts of fertilizers
- Excess can contaminate water sources
- Provides plants with a natural and beneficial source of nutrients
Feedlots
Place where livestock are fed and fattened up
Impacts of feedlots
- Poor conditions for animals
- Produces a lot of greenhouse gasses and liquid waste
Agriculture
How humans alter the landscape to raise crops and livestock for consumption an trade
When was the first agricultural revolution
10,000-12,000 years ago
Domesticationn
Raising plants and animals for human use
Subsistence farming
Consuming crops you grow and raise
Where does agriculture develop
Places with fertile soil, abundance of water, and percipitaion and moderate climates
What did the first spread of agriculture lead to
Increased trade between cultures
Columbian exchange
Global movement of plants and animals between Afro-Eurasia and the Americans after the voyage of Christopher Columbus
Second agricultural revolution
In the 1700s, it was the advances of the industrial revolution that was used to increase production of food and how people worked, behaved, and where they lived
What did the second agricultural revolution lead to
- Mechanized production
- Advanced transportation
- Developed large scale irrigation
- Changed consumption patterns
- Shifted subsistence farming to commercial farming
Subsistence farming
Farmers focus on raising food they need to live
Commercial farming
Farming that raises one specific crop for profit
What was the hearth for the second ar?
Britain (contagious diffusion)
What were the effects of the second ag
- Fewer, larger, more productive farms
- More people available for factory work
- Growth in urban centers
- Better diets and longer life expectancies
Green revolution
Agricultural revolution that developed more efficient farming equipment and practices that increased production around the world
What caused the Green Revolution
Massive population growth in the 20th century necessitated increase production
What were some traits of the Green revolution
- Use of biotechnology
- Development of higher yielding, disease resistant, faster growing varieties
- Increased use of fertilizers and pesticides
- Implementation of high scale irrigation
- Double cropping