Human Geo 9.3 Questions

Question 1

What are the 5 predominant agricultural regions in developing countries identified by Whittlesey in 1936?

Answer 1

1. Intensive subsistence, wet rice dominant: the large population concentrations of East Asia and South Asia.
2. Intensive subsistence, wet rice not dominant: the pop clusters of East & South Asia, where growing rice is hard.
3. Pastoral nomadism: drylands of North Africa, Central Asia, Southwest Asia, & East Asia.
4. Shifting cultivation: tropical regions of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia.
5. Plantation: Tropical/subtropical regions of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, & Southeast Asia.

Question 2

What are the 6 predominant agricultural regions in developed countries identified by Whittlesey in 1936?

Answer 2

1. Mixed crop and livestock: US midwest & central Europe.
2. Dairy: Population clusters in Northwest US, SE Canada, NW Europe.
3. Grain: North-central US, south-central Canada, E Europe
4. Livestock Ranching: drylands of western North America, southeastern Latin America, Central Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, & the South Pacific.
5. Mediterranean: lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, the western US, the southern tip of Africa, and Chile.
6. Commercial gardening: southeastern US & SE Australia.

Question 3

Describe the typical farm in Asia’s intensive subsistence agriculture:

Answer 3

It is small, and may Asian farmers own several fragmented plots (dividing among children over centuries). They waste no land, paths/roads are kept narrow, livestock aren’t allowed to graze on potential crop land, and animals get fed little grain.

Question 4

Describe wet-rice not dominant areas:

Answer 4

Climate discourages wet rice in parts of Asia (with too dry summers & too harsh winters). Interior of India and northeastern China farming is devoted to other crops (wheat, barley, and other grains & cash crops). Other than what is grown, they share most other features of the wet-rice region, where land is used intensively.

Question 5

What are the 4 steps (all intensive) of growing rice?

Answer 5

1. The field is prepared (using animal power); hillsides are terraced because flat land is needed to grow rice.
2. The field is flooded with water (Sawah/Paddy).
3. Rice seedlings grown for the first month in a nursery are transplanted into the flooded field.
4. Rice plants are harvested with knives, & the chaff/husks are separated from the seeds by threshing/beating them on the ground. The threshed rice is put in a winnowing tray, where the lighter chaff is blown away.

Question 6

What are 2 distinctive features of shifting cultivation?

Answer 6

1. Slash & burn: farmers clear land by slashing vegetation & burning debris (what shifting cultivation can be called).
2. Frequent relocation: farmers crow crops on cleared field for a few years until soil nutrients are depleted, then leave it fallow for many years so the soil can recover.
   -People who practice these live in small villages. Each year villagers designate an area around the settlement for planting, but before they must clear the land (then burn).

Question 7

Describe key information and characteristics of a cleared land (or swidden):

Answer 7

Before planting, the it’s prepared by hand (with hoes). Not many fertilizers are available (only potassium from burning). The first year it is farmed, little weeding is done, but later, hoes can clear away weeds. The cleared land can only support crops briefly (bc of depleted nutrients and rapid weed growth), and the most productive harvest comes in the 2nd year. After the swidden is “done,” villagers move on but return to the field 6-20 years later and start the process of clearing land over again.

Question 8

Describe the Kayapo people of Brazil’s Amazon tropical rain forest and how they arrange/plant crops in concentric rings:

Answer 8

Innter: sweet potatoes/yams, THEN corn/rice, manioc, and more yams. In following years, the inner areas expands to replace corn and rice. The outermost ring has plants needing more nutrients, and that is where the leafy crowns of cut trees fall when the field is cleared, and their rotting releases more nutrients into the soil.

Question 9

Describe changes in past and present ownership in shifting cultivation, and how much of the world’s land is occupied by it?

Answer 9

1. In the past, the village owned all the land, and the chief allocated a patch to each family. Today, private individuals now own the land (esp. in Latin America).
2. 1/4 of the world’s land area is occupied by shifting cultivation, but less than 5% of people do it (bc moving from one field to another every few years requires more land per person than other types of farming).

Question 10

Is land devoted to shifting cultivation in the tropics declining or increasing?

Answer 10

Declining, along with tropical rain forest land area (deforestation). It is being replaced by logging, cultivation of cash crops, & cattle ranching (more effective development strategies). Developing countries see shifting cultivation as inefficient, and can only support a few people w/o causing environmental damage, and they’ve been pressured to restrict the destruction of rain forests.

Question 11

Explain the controversy over shifting cultivation:

Answer 11

Critics view it as a step in the process of economic development, and should be replaced by better agricultural techniques. Defenders say it isn’t harmful for tropics (because it doesn’t use fertilizers/pesticides). Elimination of shifting cultivation could upset local traditional diversity of cultures in the tropics.

Question 12

Identify 4 animals that are possible choices for nomad herds (their choice depends on the prestige of animals and their ability to adapt to a particular climate/vegetation):

Answer 12

1. Cattle are common in East Africa dry lands, where they eat grasses & scrub, & are valued for their high milk yield.
2. Camels are good for arid climates (they go long periods without water, carry heavy baggage, and move rapidly).
3. Goats need more water than camels, but are tough/agile & can survive on virtually any vegetation.
4. Sheep are slow-moving and affected by climatic changes; they need more water; and are selective about which plants they will eat.

Question 13

What did pastoral nomadism used to be regarded as and what is it now thought of as?

Answer 13

Pastoral nomadism was regarded as a stage in the evolution of agriculture between hunters/gatherers and sedentary farmers. But now, it is regarded as an offshoot of sedentary farming (a practical way of surviving on land with not enough rain/crops).

Question 14

What is happening to pastoral nomadism today?

Answer 14

Today, it’s declining (partly due to modern technology). With modern weapons, gov’t can control nomads and limit their movement. Gov’t force groups to give up pastoral nomadism so they can convert it to sedentary agriculture (or mining/petroleum industries). In the future, PN will be confined to areas without irrigation or raw materials.

Question 15

What are some similarities between agriculture and climate maps?

Answer 15

Pastoral nomadism & dry climate occupy the same areas, shifting cultivation is predominant in tropical climates, the division between SE and NE China in climate and agriculture (wet-rice dominant vs non-dominant), the division in the US (West has dry climate & livestock).

Question 16

How has human seafood consumption and production increased in the last half century?

Answer 16

Consumption increased, mostly due to developing countries. Still, seafood accounts for 1% of all calories humans eat. Fish production has greatly increased in the past 50 years, bc of the expansion of aquaculture, (capture of wild ocean fish has stagnated since the ’90s). Production is higher than human consumption, bc 15% is turned to fish meal and fed to poultry and hogs.

Question 17

Explain about grain farming and wheat:

Answer 17

Wheat is the most important crop grown (high price, useful), and is stored/transported easily and can be shipped profitably from remote farms to markets. Wheat production in developing countries has increased (growth in large-scale commercial agriculture). In the 20th, the US was #1 producer, but it now goes China, India, Russia, THEN US. Wheat is used more than any other agricultural product for international trade (world’s leading export crop). The US and Canada export the most, and it is a source of economic and political strength for them.

Question 18

In North America, large-scale grain production is concentrated in what 3 areas?

Answer 18

Grain is the major crop on most farms. It’s grown mostly for humans, not livestock. Large-scale grain production is mechanized & on large farms.
1. Winter wheat belt: through Kansas, Colorado, & Oklahoma, where planting is in the autumn and harvesting in the early summer.
2. Spring wheat belt: through Dakotas, Montana, & southern Canada, where planting is in the spring and harvesting in the late summer.
3. Palouse region of Washington State

Question 19

Describe Mediterranean agriculture:

Answer 19

It exists on lands bordering the Mediterranean. Farmers in CA, Chile, South Africa, & SW Australia also practice it. These areas share similar physical environments (bordering a sea, moderate winter temps, sea winds, hot/dry summers, hilly, narrow strips of flat land along the coast). Most important cash crops are olives & grapes.

Question 20

What is the new form of truck farming spreading to New England?

Answer 20

Specialty Farming: farmers are profitably growing crops with limited but increasing demand among affluent consumers (like asparagus, strawberries, peppers, & nursery plants). It is a profitable alternative for New England farmers as dairy farming is declining (due to high operating costs & low milk prices).

Question 21

What does meat production/livestock ranching look like in Argentina and in the US?

Answer 21

• Producers of meat: China #1, US #2, Brazil #3.
• The cattle industry grew in Argentina because the ranching land had ocean access. Due to the spread of irrigation & hardier crops, US land has turned from ranching to crop growing (ranching generates less income, though it has lower operating costs). Cattle are frequently sent for fattening to farms or to local feed lots along highways rather than directly to meat processors.

Question 22

How does choice of dairy product vary in the US?

Answer 22

Depending on whether farms are in the milkshed of an urban area). Farms located farther from consumers likely sell their products to processors making butter, cheese, or dried, evaporated, & condensed milk (they keep fresh longer than milk). In the East, all milk is sold to consumers in NYC, Philly, Boston, & other cities. In the West, milk is processed into cheese & butter.

Question 23

What is an example of a country specializing in a certain dairy product?

Answer 23

New Zealand, the world’s largest dairy producer per capita, devotes only 5% to liquid milk (compared to 50% in Europe, because they are too far away from North America & Northwest Europe (the 2 largest wealthy population concentrations).

Question 24

Dairy farmers face economic difficulties due to declining revenues & rising costs. What 2 distinctive features of dairy farming have exacerbated economic difficulties?

Answer 24

1. Labor-intensive: cows must be milked twice a day, and dairy farming requires constant attention for whole year.
2. Winter feed: expense of feeding cows in winter. Farmers usually buy hay or grain for winter feed, but in western US, crops are likely to be grown in the summer and stored for winter feed on the farm.

Question 25

Describe mixed crop and livestock farming in the US:

Answer 25

In the US, corn is most frequently planted in the mixed crop/livestock region (generates high yields per area). Some corn is consumed, but most is fed to pigs & cattle.
US Corn Belt is from Ohio to the Dakotas. Soybeans are the 2nd most important crop in US mixed commercial farming region, and they’re mostly used to feed animals. Tofu (from soybean milk) is a major food source (esp. for Chinese/Japanese), and soybean oil is a widely used US hidden ingredient.

Question 26

What is the use of land in developed countries determined by?

Answer 26

Supply & demand and value of land. Distance from farm to market influences choice of crop. The Von Thünen model (1826) explains importance of proximity to market. The farmer compares the cost of land and the cost of transporting products. The model assumes uniform land, but actually, a river can modify the shape (transportation costs change), and social customs/gov’t policies influence the attractiveness of plants/animals for a farmer.

Question 27

Von Thünen’s model (based of his experience owning an estate in Germany) found that crops were grown in what 4 different rings around the cities in the area?

Answer 27

1. First ring: gardens & milk producers (expensive/perishable)
2. 2nd ring: Wood lots (timber for construction/fuel), wood is heavy and hard to transport.
3. 3rd ring: various crops/pasture; the specific commodity rotated from 1 year to the next.
4. 4th ring: Animal grazing, which requires lots of space.