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Ag and Rural Concept
APHG Unit 5 Vocabulary and Concepts (Agriculture/Rural Land Use)
Term | Definition |
---|---|
agribusiness | Commercial agriculture in which large corporations own and operate various steps in the production process with an emphasis on profit. |
agricultural density | The number of people living in rural areas per unit of agricultural land |
biotechnology | The application of scientific techniques to modify and improve plants |
conservation agriculture | A modern method of farming that balances maximum crop yield with sustainable farming methods and protection of the environment. |
desertification | The transformation of agricultural lands into deserts because of overgrazing and soil erosion. |
environmental determinism | The theory that human behavior is controlled by the physical environment |
environmental possibilism | The theory that the physical environment merely establishes limits of what is possible on the human population. |
First Agricultural Revolution | The domestication of plants and animals and the resulting start of a sedentary society (also called the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution) |
GMO (genetically modified organism) | An organism that is created when scientists take one or more specific genes from one organism and introduce them into another organism thus creating a new version. |
Green Revolution | The development and transfer from the developed world to the developing world |
Industrial Revolution | The movement from home-based cottage industries to factory industries with several workers under one roof that the use of machines facilitated in England in the late 1700s. |
intensive subsistence agriculture | a form of agriculture that depends on heavy inputs of fertilizer and human labor on a small piece of land for substantial crop yield. |
land survey | A method for parceling out land to its occupants |
less-developed countries (LDCs) | Countries located on the edge of the world core that are seeking improved conditions for their residents through economic growth. |
long-lots system of land survey | A land survey method used by French and Spanish charter groups in North America in which long lots of land extended outward from river frontage. |
Mediterranean agriculture | A form of specialized agriculture in which crops in a Mediterranean climate of warm year-round temperatures and sunny summers (grapes |
metes-and-bounds land survey system | A land survey system used in North America where natural boundaries such as rivers |
modern commercial agriculture | Large-scale agricultural production for profit using specialized methods |
monoculture | The production of a single crop for commercial markets (corn |
organic farming | The process of producing food naturally without the use of synthetic fertilizers |
pastoralism | A form of subsistence agriculture in which animals are herded in a seasonal migratory pattern. |
plantation agriculture | Monocropping |
polyculture | The production of several crops. |
primary economic activity | An economic activity that takes something from the ground (farming |
rectangular land survey system | A system using rectangular grid divisions to divide new land settlements after the United States won independence from England. |
Second Agricultural Revolution | An agricultural revolution starting in the seventeenth century that increased efficiency of crop production and distribution through use of new machinery. |
sedentary | The condition where a group of humans is able to live in one location and grow crops and raise animals. |
shifting agriculture | The form of subsistence agriculture in which crops are grown in different fields on a rotating basis. |
specialty farming | Farming that grows crops to provide small upscale niche markets with fresh produce. |
subsistence agriculture | A form of agriculture in which everything that is produced is consumed by that population. Forms of subsistence agriculture include shifting |
sustainability | The principle that we must meet our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. |
swidden agriculture | The form of subsistence agriculture in which crops are grown in different fields on a rotating basis. Also called shifting agriculture or slash-and-burn agriculture. |
Transhumance | The constant movement of herds in a set seasonal pattern of grazing. |
truck farming | Commercial gardening and fruit farming in the United States. |
urban subsistence farming | The cultivation of small city gardens for food in the cities of the developing world. |
vertical integration | Contracts between farmer and producer in the agricultural industry. |
Von Thunen Model | A model of agricultural land use that illustrates the relationship between the cost of land and transportation costs involved in getting a product to market. |