People and Economic Activity - Short Answer Flashcards
Outline how two biophysical factors affect the spatial pattern of an economic activity. (6)
Climate/Temperature - Ideally needs to be 10-20C year round, so it location is usually between 30-50 north and south of equator. Global warming -> shift to higher latitudes/altitudes
Topography/site - Slope/aspect influence sunlight, runoff, erosion, soil structure so it needs to be optimal for the amount of water soaked up of 700mm/year
Identify how and why an economic activity can be ecologically sustainable. (4)
Concerns due to the use of agrichemicals such as synthetic fertilisers which are harmful to marine life in waterways. In response, there has been a shift to ecologically sustainable practices to better maintain areas such as using natural oils instead of artificial insecticides and fresh manure from cows as part of biodynamic farming, practised in Lark Hill
Explain how economic factors influence the nature and future direction of a global economic activity. (4)
Factors of competitive advantage as the Old world has the benefit of being close to traditional wine markets, subsidies from EU and reputation. New world has innovation in marketing and technology, fewer regulations and economies of scale. These differing advantages affect the demand for wines from different areas, so affecting how they are made
Describe how sociocultural factors have affected an economic activity. (5)
Tradition and cultural reasons have allowed wine to be a culinary staple throughout Europe for over 2000 years, allowing for the growth of the industry. However, there have been declines in consumption per capita due to fewer lunches with wine, driving restrictions and changing attitudes. In other countries such as Australia, US and China, it has become more fashionable and seen a status symbol by some, with sparkling wine consumption increasing by 57% since 2002.
Discuss the social and economic impacts of an economic activity. (6)
Social - Brings people together/social activity + health benefits of antioxidants in red wine. But it can lead to binge drinking which can lead to alcohol-fueled violence + health concerns in liver disease.
Economic - Wine sector contributed $45.5B in gross output + 164,000 jobs in 2019. But, increases casualisation of workforce -> exploitation of workers/unemployment. Also highly dependent on S (extreme weather) + D (China) -> job losses + business closures
Discuss how the use of technology has affected the nature of an economic activity. (4)
Applications of new technology have mainly been in New World countries such as the US and Australia, where traditions aren’t culturally embedded. These include the use of GIS in site selection, monitoring + management which allows producers to optimise their growth, as well as the use of near-infrared technology in the Coonowarra Region to be able to measure the amount of water in leaves to optimise irrigation
Viticulture definition
The science and practice of grape growing in the vineyard, the first stage in the economic activity of the wine industry
Winemaking definition
The process of converting the sugar in the grapes into an alcoholic beverage in a winery, the second stage in the economic activity of the wine industry
Describe the nature of the economic enterprise (2)
Bimbadgen is a vineyard and winery located in Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley. It is a family run business owned by Mulpha Australia, which also has a cellar door and wine tourism.
Describe two locational factors of the economic enterprise (4)
The biophysical factors such as climate as well as the sociocultural and locational factors are affect the location of Bimbadgen. The average yearly temperature of 24oC and soils formed by ancient volcanic activity make it ideal for growing grapes. Being about 2.5 hours from Sydney, it makes the location ideal for wine tourism.
Describe two ecological dimensions associated with the economic enterprise. (4)
Environmental constraints such as the dynamics of weather and climate have affected it. In 2017, only 551mm fell which was not enough water to irrigate, so this led to Bimbadgen getting a licence to irrigate the Hunter River at 40mL/year through the PID (4 consecutive years of drought). Human impacts on the environment such as the use of water as 900L of water is used to produce 1L of wine, with excess irrigation causing high salinity content. So, rainwater captured on the winery roof is used
Outline one internal and external linkage associated with this economic enterprise. (4)
The internal flow of people as there are about 25 full time employees under the direct control of Richard Done. External flow of goods such as 40mL of water from the PID from the Hunter River, providing water security
