Agriculture and farming systems represent fundamental aspects of how humans interact with and modify their environment to produce food and other resources.
AP Human Geography Unit 5 covers essential agricultural concepts, including both intensive agriculture and extensive agriculture. Intensive farming involves high inputs of labor and capital on smaller land areas to maximize yields, typically seen in densely populated regions. Examples include wet rice cultivation in Asia and market gardening near urban centers. In contrast, extensive agriculture operates on larger land areas with fewer inputs per unit of land, such as ranching in the American West or grain farming in the Great Plains.
Climate plays a crucial role in determining agricultural patterns. The Mediterranean climate supports distinctive crop patterns, including olives, citrus fruits, and grapes, particularly in regions like Southern Europe and California. Tropical climate zones enable year-round cultivation but face challenges like soil depletion. This connects to practices like shifting cultivation, where farmers rotate through forest plots, clearing land through slash-and-burn techniques before moving to new areas when soil fertility decreases. Commercial agriculture has evolved significantly, with various forms emerging to meet global market demands. This includes specialized production of drug crops in certain regions and the development of large-scale farming operations. The relationship between agriculture and natural resources, including mineral fuels, has become increasingly important as farming practices mechanize and rely more heavily on petroleum-based inputs. Modern agricultural systems must balance productivity with sustainability, considering factors like water usage, soil conservation, and energy efficiency. Understanding these patterns and processes is crucial for analyzing global food production and distribution systems, as well as their environmental and social impacts.
