Unit 5 Vocab Flashcards
a change in farming practices, marked by new tools and techniques, that diffused from Britain and the Low Countries starting in the early 18th century
second agricultural revolution
a farming management concept that uses technology to apply inputs with pinpoint accuracy to specific parts of fields to maximize crop yields, reduce waste, and preserve the environment
precision agriculture
a form of aid and insurance given by the federal government to certain farmers and agribusinesses
farm subsidy
cost reductions occur when production arises
economy of scale
a form of land degradation that occurs when soil deteriorates to a desertlike condition
desertification
a landscape resulting from the interactions between farming activities and a location’s natural environment
agricultural landscape
a method of agriculture in which existing vegetation is cut down and burned off before new seeds are sown; often used when clearing land
slash and burn
a model that suggests that perishability of the product and transport costs to the market each factor into the location of agricultural land use and activity
von Thünen model
a movement that tries to provide farmers and workers in peripheral and semi-peripheral countries with a fair price for their products by providing more equitable trading conditions
fair trade
a network of people, information, processes, and resources that work together to produce, handle, and distribute goods around the world
global supply chain
a network of people, information, processes, and resources that work together to produce, handle, and distribute a commodity or product
commodity chain
a plant or animal with specific characteristics obtained through the manipulation of its genetic makeup
genetically modified organism (GMO)
a rural settlement pattern in which houses and buildings are isolated from one another, and all the homes in a settlement are distributed over a relatively large area
dispersed settlement
a rural settlement pattern in which houses and buildings form in a long line that usually follows a land feature or aligns along a transportation route
linear settlement
a rural settlement pattern in which residents live in close proximity to one another, with farmland and pasture land surrounding the settlement; also known as a nucleated settlement
clustered settlement
a shift to further mechanization in agriculture through the development of new technology and advances that began in the early 20th century and continues to the present day
third agricultural revolution
a theory that describes the relationships between land value, commercial location, and transportation (primarily in urban areas) using a bid-rent gradient, or slope; used to describe how land costs are determined
bid-rent theory
a type of agriculture based on people moving their domesticated animals seasonally or as needed to allow the best grazing
nomadic herding
a type of agriculture based
on people moving their domesticated animals
seasonally or as needed to allow the best
grazing; also called nomadic herding
pastoral nomadism
a type of farming in which both crops and livestock are raised for profit
mixed crop and livestock systems
a type of farming that produces fruits, vegetables, and flowers and typically serves a specific market or urban area
market gardening
a type of large-scale commercial farming of one particular crop grown for markets often distant from the plantation
plantation agriculture
agreement between a bank and a peripheral country in which the bank forgives a portion of the country’s debt in exchange for local investment in conservation measures
debt-for-nature swap
an agricultural practice in which farmers expend a great deal of effort to produce as much yield as possible from an area of land
intensive agriculture
an agricultural practice that consists of growing hardy trees and shrubs and raising sheep and goats
Mediterranean agriculture
an agricultural practice that focuses on producing crops and raising animals for the market for others to purchase
commercial agriculture
an agricultural practice that provides crops or livestock to feed one’s family and close community using fewer mechanical resources and more people to care for the crops and livestock
subsistence agriculture
an agricultural practice with relatively few inputs and little investment in labor and capital that results in relatively low outputs
extensive agriculture
an area that has similar climate patterns generally based on its latitude and its location on a coast or continental interior
climate region
an area where different groups began to domesticate plants and animals
agricultural hearth
an artificial lake used to store water
reservoir
an economy having two agricultural sectors that have different levels of technology and different patterns of demand
dual agricultural economy
an ecosystem modified for agricultural use
agroecosystem
area where residents lack access to healthy, nutritious foods because stores selling these foods are too far away
food desert
layers of sand, gravel, and rocks that contain and can release a usable amount of water
aquifer
loss of forest lands
deforestation
movement beginning in the 1950s and 1960s in which scientists used knowledge of genetics to develop new high-yield strains of grain crops
Green Revolution
reliable access to safe and nutritious food that can support an active and healthy lifestyle
food security
small, nomadic groups who had primarily plant-based diets and ate small animals or fish for protein
foragers
system in which communal lands were replaced by farms owned by individuals, and use of the land was restricted to the owner or tenants who rented the land from the owner
enclosure system
the agricultural practice of growing crops or grazing animals on a piece of land for a year or two, then abandoning that land when the nutrients have been depleted from the soil and moving to a new piece of land where the process is repeated
shifting cultivation
the central location where the majority of consumer services are located in a city or town because the accessibility of the location attracts these services
central business district (CBD)
the combining of a company’s ownership of and control over more than one stage of the production process of goods
vertical integration
the cultivation of one or two crops that are rotated seasonally
monocropping
the deliberate effort to grow plants and raise animals, making plants and animals adapt to human demands and using selective breeding to develop desirable characteristics
domestication
the disruption of food intake or eating patterns because of poor access to food
food insecurity
the exchange of goods and ideas between the Americas, Europe, and Africa that began after Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492
Columbian Exchange
the large-scale system that includes the production, processing, and distribution of agricultural products and equipment
agribusiness
the many systems and facilities that a country needs in order to function properly
infrastructure
the movement of herds between pastures at cooler, higher elevations during the summer months and lower elevations during the winter
transhumance
the process by which water-soluble salts build up in the soil, which limits the ability of crops to absorb water
salinization
the process of carving parts of a hill or mountainside into small, level growing plots
terracing
the product created by breeding different varieties of species to enhance the most favorable characteristics
hybrid
the purposeful cultivation of plants or raising of animals to produce goods for survival
agriculture
the science of altering living organisms, often through genetic manipulation, to create new products for specific purposes, such as crops that resist certain pests
biotechnology
the shift from foraging for food to farming about 11,000 years ago, marking the beginning of agriculture
first agricultural revolution
the shifting of population away from cities into surrounding suburbs
suburbanization
the variety of organisms living in a location
biodiversity
the variety and variability of plants, animals, and microorganisms that are used directly or indirectly for food and agriculture
agricultural biodiversity
the varying of crops from year to year to allow for the restoration of valuable nutrients and the continuing productivity of the soil
crop rotation
