Unit 5 Vocab Flashcards
Agribusiness
Commercial agriculture characterized by the integration of different steps in the food - processing industry, usually through ownership by large corporations.
Desertification
Degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily because of human actions such as excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting. Also known as semiarid degradation.
Industrial Revolution
A series of improvements industrial technology that transformed the process of manufacturing goods.
Primarily economic activity
Primary economic activities are tied to the resources of the earth. These activities occur where people live in close contact with the resources of the land. Primary economic activities produce basic food staples and raw materials for industry.
Vegetative Planting
Reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants, such as cutting stems and dividing roots.
Agricultural Hearths
Agricultural hearths are areas from where the origins of agricultural ideas and innovation began and spread. Agricultural hearths were also areas where the earliest urban civilizations developed. Original agricultural hearths include the Fertile Crescent, Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Mesoamerica.
Domestication
The process whereby a population of animals through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control.
Irrigation
The term used to describe a man-made system whereby water is spread from its natural source (such as a lake or river) over a much larger geographic range to aid in agricultural production is “irrigation.”
Seed Drill
created by Jethro Tull, it allowed farmers to sow seeds in well-spaced rows at specific depths; this boosted crop yields
Columbian Exchange
The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus’s voyages.
Enclosure
The process of consolidating small landholdings into a smaller number of larger farms in England during the eighteenth century
Mercantilism
belief in the benefits of profitable trading; commercialism.
Seed Planting
N/A
Crop Rotation
The practice of rotating use or different fields from crop to crop each year to avoid exhausting the soil.
Hunters and Gatherers
For 1000’s of years humans sustained themselves with this practice. Hunters gained skills in capturing and killing animals, and gatherers learned which plants and fruits were edible and nutritious. industrial agriculture modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops.
Post - industrial societies
Countries where most people are no longer employed in industry. Post-industrial production is based on computers and other electronic devices that create, process, store and apply information
Aquaculture
The science, art, and business of cultivating marine or freshwater food fish or shellfish, such as oysters, clams, salmon, and trout, under controlled conditions. The cultivation of aquatic organisms (as fish or shellfish) especially for
Horticulture
The growing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers
Labor - intensive agriculture
large inputs of labor/money relative to the size of the farmland. Intensive farming is characterized by efficiency: higher crop yields from smaller farms and more meat and dairy from fewer animals in smaller spaces.
Plantation Agriculture
defined by the production of one or more usually cash crops on a large swathe of land. It is most common in tropical climates where cash crops generally grow more naturally
Terraces
N/A
