Human Geo Chapter 9.3 - 9.4 Vocab

Question 1

Intensive Subsistance Agriculture

Answer 1

Characteristic of Asia’s major population concentrations; where farmers must expend a large amount of effort to produce the maximum feasible yield from a parcel of land. It involves careful agricultural practices refined over 1000s of years in response to local environmental/cultural patterns. Because there is a high ratio of farmers to arable land in east/south Asia, families must produce a lot from a small land area, and most work is done by hand (lack of $).

Question 2

Double Cropping

Answer 2

Harvesting twice a year from the same field. It is common in warm-winter places (like China & Taiwan), but is rare in India (with dry winters?). Usually, it involves alternating between wet rice (summer) and wheat, barley, or other dry crops (winter, drier season). This is how to use land MORE intensively in parts of Asia.

Question 3

Crop Rotation

Answer 3

The practice of rotating use of different fields from crop to crop each year to avoid exhausting the soil. This is how to obtain harvest in milder parts of the wet-rice non dominant region. In colder climates, wheat other crops are planted in spring & harvested in fall, but no crops can be sown through the winter.

Question 4

Wet Rice

Answer 4

Rice planted on dry land in a nursery and moved to a deliberately flooded field to promote growth. It occupies a small % of Asia’s farmland, but is their most important source of food. Intensive wet-rice farming is dominant in southeastern China, East India, & Southeast Asia.

Question 5

Sawah

Answer 5

A flooded field for growing rice

Question 6

Paddy

Answer 6

The Malay word for wet rice, increasingly used to describe a flooded field.

Question 7

Shifting Cultivation

Answer 7

A form of subsistence agriculture where people shift activity from one field to another; each field is used for crops for a few years and left fallow for many years. It is practiced in tropical (A) regions, with rain and high temperatures. 250 million people practice it, especially in rain forests of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, & Southeast Asia.

Question 8

Pastoral Nomadism

Answer 8

A form of subsistence agriculture based on herding domesticated animals in dry climates (no crops possible). Ex. Bedouins of Saudi Arabia/North Africa & the Masai of East Africa. The animals provide milk, and their hair/skins are used for clothing/tents. Not slaughtered. The size of the heard shows power & security. Nomads eat mostly grain (by raising crops/trading animal products), not meat.

Question 9

Transhumance

Answer 9

Seasonal migration of livestock between mountain and lowland pasture areas. Sheep or other animals may pasture in alpine meadows in the summer and go to the valleys for winter pasture. Some pastoral nomads practice it.

Question 10

Plantation

Answer 10

A large farm in tropical and subtropical climates that specialize in the production of 1 or 2 crops for sale, usually to a more developed state. Most are located in the tropics/subtropics (Latin America, Africa, & Asia). They are owned/operated by Europeans or North Americans, and sell their crops to developed countries. Plantations were important in the US south during the civil war (after, they were subdivided & sold to farmers or worked by tenants).

Question 11

Fishing

Answer 11

The capture of wild fish and other seafood living in the waters. Historically, the sea hasn’t provided much food supply, so increased use of food from the sea seems attractive, but overfishing has reduced fish supplies. The world’s oceans are divided into 16 fishing regions, and it is also conducted in lakes/rivers. Areas with largest yields: Pacific Northwest & Asia’s inland waterways.

Question 12

Aquaculture, or aquafarmiing

Answer 12

Seafood cultivation under controlled conditions.

Question 13

Overfishing

Answer 13

Capturing fish faster than they can reproduce. This leads to the decline of fish population. Overfishing has been acute in the North Atlantic & Pacific oceans, and has reduced the population of swordfish & tuna by 90%. 1/4 of fish stocks have been overfished and 1/2 exploited.

Question 14

Agribusiness

Answer 14

Commercial agriculture characterized by integration of different steps in the food-processing industry, usually through ownership by large corporations. It also encompasses tractor manufacturing, fertilizer production, & seed distribution. Farms are owned by families, other aspects by corporations. Products are sold to food-processing companies (General Mills/Kraft), not directly to consumers.

Question 15

Monocropping

Answer 15

The practice of growing the same single crop year after year. Typical to grain farms. Commercial grain farms sell their output to manufacturers of food products (bread, breakfast cereals).

Question 16

Horticulture

Answer 16

Growing of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and tree crops. Most Mediterranean crops are for human consumption, not animal feed. Tree crops and horticulture form commercial base of Mediterranean farming. Much of CA is devoted to fruit & vegetable horticulture, which supplies many of fruits/nuts eaten in the USA.

Question 17

Commercial (or market) gardening and fruit farming

Answer 17

Relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables, and other horticulture. Predominant in the southeastern US (long growing season, humid climate, accessible, etc.)

Question 18

Truck Farming

Answer 18

Commercial gardening & fruit farming, so named for the Middle English word truck, meaning “barter” or “exchange of commodities.” They grow many of the fruits/vegetables that consumers eat in developed countries. Most produce is sold to large processors for canning or freezing, not directly to consumers. Farms usually specialize in a few crops, and a few farms may dominate the national output of some fruits/vegetables.

Question 19

Ranching

Answer 19

The commercial grazing of livestock over an extensive area. Commercial ranching is conducted in a few developed countries besides the US and, increasingly in developing countries (ex. Australia’s interior was opened for grazing in 19th, though there are more sheep than cattle)

Question 20

Dairy Farm

Answer 20

A form of commercial agriculture specializing in production of milk and other dairy products. Because milk is perishable, dairy farms must be close to markets. Traditionally, milk was made/eaten in developed countries, but developing countries have increased (rising incomes let urban residents buy more dairy). Farmers sell their products to wholesalers (or butter/cheese manufacturers), who distribute it to retailers, who sell it to consumers.

Question 21

Milkshed

Answer 21

The area surrounding a city from which milk is supplied.

Question 22

Mixed crop & livestock farming

Answer 22

Commercial farming characterized by integration of crops and livestock; most of the crops are fed to animals rather than consumed directly by humans. The livestock supply manure to improve soil fertility. This farm devotes most of its land to growing crops, but 3/4 of its income come from animal products. It permits farmers to distribute the workload evenly throughout the year and reduces seasonal seasonal variations in income.

Question 23

Desertification

Answer 23

Degradation of land (especially in semiarid areas), mostly because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting. AKA semiarid land degradation. 100s of thousands of people have been forced to move from Sahel, North Africa, because of droughts (high pop growth, low rainfall). Historically, they were pastoral nomads. They’ve been forced to move into cities & camps, surviving on food donations

Question 24

Second Agricultural Revolution

Answer 24

An increase in agricultural productivity through improvement of crop rotation and breeding of livestock, starting in the UK in the 17th century. It helped to feed the rapidly growing population in stage 2 countries in the 19th. Productivity has also increased among commercial farmers recently (ex: # of US dairy cows decreased while milk production increased from 1980-2017 by 93%).

Question 25

Green revolution

Answer 25

Rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology, esp. new high-yield seeds and fertilizers during the 1970s-80s. Farming productivity has increased faster than pop growth. In developing countries, farmers can’t afford equipment to make the most effective use of miracle seeds (high energy costs), so their Governments must use funds to subsidize the cost of seeds/machines/fertilizers.

Question 26

Genetically Modified Organism

Answer 26

A living organism that possesses a novel combination of genetic material obtained through the use of modern biotechnology. They are modified to survive when herbicides/insecticides are sprayed to kill weeds/insects. AKA “Roundup-ready” seeds after the name their creator (Monsanto) sold it weed killers under.

Question 27

Organic Agriculture

Answer 27

Farming that depends on the use of naturally occurring substances while prohibiting or strictly limiting synthetic substances, such as herbicides, pesticides, & growth hormones. 1% of farmland was organic in 2016 (Australia was leader, then Argentina, China, & the US). Organic food accounts for 5% of food purchases in the US now.

Question 28

Herbicides

Answer 28

A chemical to control unwanted plants. Not used in organic farming.

Question 29

Pesticides

Answer 29

A substance to control pests, including weeds. Not used in organic farming.

Question 30

Conservation Tillage

Answer 30

A method of soil cultivation that reduces soil erosion and runoff. Under conservation tillage, some or all of the previous harvest is left on the fields through the winter.

Question 31

No Tillage

Answer 31

A farming practice that leaves all of the soil undisturbed and the entire residue of the previous years’ harvest left untouched on fields.

Question 32

Ridge Tillage

Answer 32

A system of planting crops on ridge tops (formed during cultivation or after harvest, on the same ridges/rows every year) in order to reduce farm production costs and promote greater soil conservation.