Topic 4 - Key terms Flashcards
Population change
Change not only brought about by birth, death and migration but also changes relative to the rest of the world’s population.
Population growth
Change to a population overtime, this includes size and other demographic factors such as age and race.
Birth rate
Number of live births/1000
Death rate
Number of deaths/1000
Infant mortality
Number of children that die before age 5/1000
Life expectancy
Average age to live up to in a certain place
Population distribution
Pattern of where people live, measured as People/km2
Fertility rate
Average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime
Carrying capacity
The limit to which an environment can support a population at a high standard of living
Exponential growth
Increasingly rapid growth at a constant rate.
Population density
Intensity of human occupation in an area, measured as People/km2
Food security
The state of having reifiable access to a sufficient amount of affordable, nutritious food.
Malnutrition
Consuming an unsuitable amount of energy, protein and nutrients.
Undernutrition
Consuming too little food, resulting in loss of body mass.
overnutrition
Consuming excess food resulting in gain of body mass.
Depth of food deficit
Parameter provided by the world bank, measuring the difference between average food consumption and average food requirements.
Slash and burn
Burning of vegetation on a small area of land and using the burnt material as fertiliser, it is sustainable on a small scale but not on a commercial scale as vegetation does not have time to regrow.
Shifting cultivation
Farming a small area of land, eg rainforest. Cultivating the land for 5 years or so and moving as the soils there lose fertility quick without vegetation. People only return when the area has been fully regenerated.
Zonal soils
those that have been forming for long periods of time under the influence of climate and vegetation.
soil erosion
removal of soil particles
Soil degradation
Quality of soils decline to point where they can’t support plants/animals
Water logging
Excess water in soils depriving them of oxygen
Soil managament
The application of operations, practices, and treatments to protect soil and enhance its performance
Food availability
Food must be available in sufficient quantities and on a consistent basis. Dependent on trade, climate and wealth
Food access
People need to be able to acquire sufficient amounts of food. Wealth, trade, and transport routes influence this
Food utilisation
Food consumed must have a positive nutritious impact on health. Influenced by fast food chains and globalisation
Green revolution
Transfer of farming methods such as agrochemicals, mechanisation and high yield crop varieties from developed to developing countries.
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering used to produce GMOs with desirable characteristics, involves cutting genes from one organism and transferring it to another, producing a modified organism.
Mortality
death
Perinatal conditions
deaths of babies within the first week of life
Infant mortality rate
Number of deaths of infants under age 1/year/live births/1000
Health
Mental, physical and social well-being
Morbidity
Rate of disease in a population
HALES
The average number of years that the average individual lives in full health (point till which they suffer a health illness, eg after age 60 you get dementia)
DALYS
Measures the gap between current health and ideal health. Essentially one DALY Is one less year of “healthy life.”
Extreme poverty
Having a household income of less than US$1/day
Blue zones
(currently) 5 regions of the world where populations live long, healthy lives
Anthropocene
Unit of geographical time describing the most recent period in Earth’s history where human activity started to have a significant impact on Earth’s climate and ecosystems
Replacement rate
Shows the extent to which a population is replacing itself – one measure could be the difference between birth and death rates or net reproduction rate
Replacement level
Shows the extent to which a population is replacing itself – one measure could be the difference between birth and death rates or net reproduction rate
Net reproduction rate
Average number of daughters produced by a woman in her reproductive lifetime
Cultural controls on natural population
Religious commitment, status of women within society, attitudes towards abortion and community norms on family sizes can affect demographics
Demographic dividend
Shows how sustainable a population is in terms of their ability to generate income and develop economically
Migration
Population movement: forced/voluntary, temporary/permanently
Carrying capacity
Refers to the availability of food and other resources in an environment
Ecological footprint
The impact of a person on the earth’s biosphere as a result of their consumption of resources and generation of waste. Can be measured from a village to global scale
Ozone depletion
Thinning of the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere resulting in a hole above Antarctica
Malthusianism
the idea that population growth is potentially exponential while the growth of the food supply or other resources is linear, which eventually reduces living standards to the point of triggering a population die off
Neo-malthusianism
the belief that population control through the use of contraception is essential for the survival of the earth’s human population
Boserup’s theory
population change drives the intensity of agricultural production
Epidemiological model
Process by which patterns of mortality and disease of a population transition from high infant
mortality rates and infectious diseases (affecting all age groups) to HAIS, NCDs and chronic diseases
