unit 5: agricultural geography Flashcards
Subsistence agriculture
self-sufficient agriculture that is small scale and low technology and emphasizes food production for local consumption, not for trade
Seed crops
crop that is reproduced by cultivating the seeds of the plants
Root crops
crop that is reproduced by cultivating the roots or cuttings from the plants
1st Agricultural Revolution
Dating back 10,000 years, achieved plant domestication and animal domestication starting with domestication of seed crops in Nile River Valley
2nd Agricultural Revolution
same time as Industrial Revolution (16-1700s), improved methods of cultivation, harvesting, and storage of farm produce
3rd Agricultural Revolution
Currently in progress, (since 1930s) development of GMO’s
Shifting cultivation
cultivation of crops in tropical forest clearings in which the forest vegetation has been removed by cutting and burning. These clearings are usually abandoned after a few years in favor of newly clear forestland
Slash-and-burn agriculture
A kind of shifting cultivation, where Machetes/knives slash trees down and existing vegetation is burned off. The ash from the fire fertilizes the soil
Von thunen model
a model that explains the location of agricultural activities in a commercial, profit-making economy.
rings:market-fruits,veggies, dairy-forest-grains-ranching livestock
Green revolution
the recently successful development of higher-yield, fast growing varieties of rice and other cereals in certain developing countries, which led to increased production per unit area and a dramatic narrowing of the gap between population growth and food needs
Biotechnology
tech designed to manipulate seed varieties to increase crop yields
GMO’s
genetically modified organisms, crops that carry new traits that have been inserted through advanced genetic engineering methods
mixed farming
integrated agricultural system where crops are grown and fed to livestock
factors on what is grown where3
- environment (rice needs a lot of water)
- culture (no pork in islamic or jewish areas)
- economic (von thunen model)
labor-intensive agriculture
employs large #s of people and small capital (machines), most work done by hand
intensity of agricultural land use2
- intensive agriculture: yields large output per acre through concentrated application of labor and/or capital, usually to small land holdings
- extensive agriculture: yields smaller output per acre, labor and capital spread over large area of land
sedentary
farmers who live and work in a single location
nomadism
livestock herders who move place to place in search of a fresh pasture
irrigation
artificial watering of farmland (wells, tunnels, dams)
types of agricultural land ownership7
- family farm:traditional american farm
- tenant farm: farmers rent land and struggle to produce enough to pay rent
- sharecroppers: farmers pay rent in form of percentage of crop
- plantations: located in LDC, historical leftover from colonialism
- state-owned farms: experiment in socialist countries where farms are state owned
- garden farms: state-owned farm where worker has small garden plot where they farm very intensively
- agribusiness: industrialized agriculture organized into integrated networks of agricultural inputs and outputs controlled by a small # of big corps
comparative advantage
when one region is relatively more efficient at producing a particular product compared with other regions
monoculture
agriculture that uses a large area of land for production of a single crop every year
global-local continuum
interaction between global processes and local lifestyles, how they shape each other
land use vs land cover
use: class of activity for which land is used by humans in an area
cover: class of material or vegetation that dominates the surface of the land
Township-and-range system
a rectangular land division scheme to disperse settlers evenly across farmlands of the US interior
Metes-and-bounds survey
system of land surveying east of the Appalachian Mts that relies on descriptions of land ownership and natural features (streams/trees). US abandoned technique in favor of rectangular survey system
Long-lot survey system
distinct regional approach to land surveying where land is divided into narrow parcels stretching back from rivers, roads or canals
Commercial agriculture
arge scale farming and ranching operations that employ vast land bases, large mechanized equipment, factory type labor forces and the latest tech
Climatic regions
area of the world with similar climatic characteristics
Plantation agriculture
production system based on large estate owned by an individual/family/corporation and organized to produce a cash crop
Livestock ranching
raising of domesticated animals for the production of meat and other byproducts such as leather and wool
Mediterranean Agriculture
specialized farming that occurs only in areas where the dry-summer Mediterranean climate prevails
Cash crops
a crop produced for its commercial value rather than for use by the grower
Luxury crops
non-subsistence crops such as tea, cocoa, coffee, and tobacco
Agribusiness
general term for the businesses that provide the vast array of goods and services that support the agriculture industry
Food desert
area characterized by a lack of affordable, fresh, and nutritious food
capital-intensive agriculture
1 single farmer, substitutes capital (machines) fro labor
issues that affect food security4
- varying abilities to balance production and consumption across regions
- accelerating agriculture land–>urban land
- increasingly energy-intensive food production methods but shrinking fossil fuels
- expanding use of crops for biofuel production
primary activities
extraction of materials from earth (fishing/mining)
secondary activities
manufacturing materials into products
tertiary activites
trade/facilitate/use goods (banker/doctor/teacher)
quaternary and quinary activities2
- quat-concerned with info or exchange of money/goods (finance/admin)
- quin-research and higher education
hearths throughout the world
eastern SA, north central china, SW asia, etc. all located in warm climate, not in mts or deserts. You need warm, fertile land to begin farming
primogeniture
land passes to the eldest son (northern europe)
dispersed settlement
where houses lie far apart and the land is cultivated by machines rather than by hand (US)
nucleated settlement
villages are located off of a road and houses are nucleated (formed around) the village. work is done by people and animals
types of villages5
- linear (oriented around road/dike/levee)
- cluster
- round/roundling (circular with central cattle coral)
- walled
- grid
koppen climate classification system
classifies climates based on temperature and precipitation
subsidy
money granted by the government to assist an industry or business so that the price of a commodity or service may remain low or competitive
terracing2
- growing crops on sides of hills or mountains by planting on graduated terraces built into the slope, labour-intensive
- practiced in non flat land: China, Japan, the Philippines, Oceania and Southeast Asia; around the Mediterranean; in parts of Africa; and in the Andes of South America
desertification
- the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture
- occurs in drylands in sub-Saharan and Central Asian because there is scare water
causes of food insecurity3
- declining control over local food resources,
- lack of political power
- political-economic structures that foster security
regions with countries still in subsistence agriculture4
SE asia, sub saharan Africa, north SA, central america (very poor and dont have modern tech or methods to produce surplus
koppen climate categories
humid equatorial(equator), dry(n Africa/australia), humid temp(w. europe), humid cold(n europe), cold polar(poles)
dairying3
- 1st largest commercial
- northeast US, North Europe
- milk, yogurt
fruit, truck, specialized crops3
- 2 commercial
- market gardens (von thunen model first ring)
- e/se US
mixed livestock and crop farming3
- 3 commercial
- humid parts of midlats: e US, w Europe, w Russia
- both animal and crops are farmed in the same area.
commercial grain farming3
- 4 commercial
- drier midlats:russia, canada
- wheat
subsistence crop and livestock farming
central/ south America, some parts of middle east
mediterranean agriculture2
- around mediterranean
- citrus,palms, olives, artichokes, grapes
intensive subsistence farming2
- rice: s china, south asia
- wheat and other crops: india, n china, se asia
shifting cultivation (map)
-n s america, sub sah africa, se asia
livestock ranching2
- us, canada, s america, austrailia, s africa
- live stock ranching on periphery and consumers in cities (refrigeration/transportation)
neolithic revolution
The shift from hunting animals and gathering food to the keeping of animals and the growing of food (8,000 BC).
effects of neolithic revolution8
- demand for better tools
- population increase
- technological advances
- permanent settlement
- food surplus
- rise of social class
- division of labor
- trade
causes an effects of 2nd ag. rev.(5,6)
causes:
-more tech(machines)
-efficient farming methods (planting turnips gives nutrients back)
-colonization(americas, new crops introduced)
-innovations (fertilizers)
-selecting seeds with most yields
effects:
-population increase(death rate drops)
-trade of new crops/livestock (corn/potatoes)
-rise of commercial farming
-less farmers (2nd and tertiary sector increase)
-larger farms
characteristics of modern agriculture5
- most food sold year round(kept ripe with chems)
- monoculture farms
- agribusinesses control entire ag economy
- most food is rearrangements of corn because corn is cheap and genes are easily modified
- goal: produce lots of food over small land for low price and low time
political decisions on food production3
- past:government paid subsidies to farmers not to produce(decreases supply, increases demand=farmers good wage)
- now:government pays farms to produce as much as possible, pays big farms more because they produce more (most produce corn)
- farms use fertilizer(higher yield), machinery(faster process), and pesticides(kill weeds)=all easily attainable by bigger farms bc they richer
food in global market3
- truck farming (producing fruits, etc for places that cant grow them)
- vertical integration (all parts of production are controlled by a single company)
- globalization, decreased # of people working in ag
agriculture effect on environment5
- deforestation: forests replaced by livestock or crops
- new irrigation and tech allows crops to grow in dry places: using up water
- water mining: seas and lakes drying up
- atmosphere: lots of greenhouse gas emissions
- climate change
truck farming
Commercial gardening and fruit farming, so named because truck was a Middle English word meaning batering or the exchange of commodities
green revolution pros and cons4,2
pros: -reduced famine -higher crop yield -less crop failure -population increase cons: -pesticides-->cancer -over irrigation
issues surrounding luxury crops4
- farmers can’t live off of luxury crops
- monoculture of lux crop =soil erosion, nutrient loss
- fair trade deals: protects workers, better for environment
- produced in LCD, sold in upscale MDC
issues over food deserts2
- opening new stores without transportation does not help (elderly, cold)
- college students, undoc immigrants dont qualify for food stamps
solutions for food production4
- aquaculture
- stop pesticides, organic compost, stop GMO seeds (less pollution, cuts expenses)
- urban gardens
- alternative protein sources (meat emits gas)
organics pros cons4,2
pros: -healthier -ethical for animals -manure and cover crops are more sustainable and add nutrients to soil -less agribusiness cons: -more expensive -takes more farmland
von thunens assumptions 6
- transportation uniform (now planes, trucks, boats)
- flat landscape
- all soil arable (now overused/dry space)
- no preservatives (GMOs, refrigeration)
- no global market(now truck farming)
- now changing ag practices(cattle in feedlots, no roaming space)
vertical integration
Andrew Carnegie was this idea’s pioneer. Created business so that all parts were controlled from within. Tyson doesn’t buy their chicken eggs from third party, they hatch and grow eggs. Tyson creates/hires their own transport, rather than paying separate company
women in agriculture
- most in africa, south asia, SE asia (subsistence ag)
- social customs (education) keep women in ag when men move to cities to make money
- lack of tech and money, women farm dont produce as much
- women run farm same time as run family
