Patterns & Processes
Vocabulary
Chapter 11: Origins, Patterns, and Settlements of Agriculture
5.1 Intro to Agriculture
Agriculture is the process through which humans alter the landscape to raise crops and livestock for consumption and trade. Climate refers to long-term regional weather patterns. Subsistence Agriculture is primarily used to grow food for consumption, while Commercial Agriculture is meant for profit. Intensive Agriculture involves farmers using larger inputs to maximize outputs, whereas Extensive Agriculture involves using smaller inputs to minimize outputs.
Intensive Commercial Agriculture requires heavy investment in labor and capital to produce more yields and profits. Capital refers to money invested in land. Intensive Subsistence Agriculture/Wet Rice Dominant is labor and animal-intensive agriculture, while Extensive Commercial Agriculture uses low inputs to sell crops for profit. Extensive Subsistence Agriculture involves few inputs and is typically practiced in extreme environments. Pastoral Nomadism involves nomads relying on animals for food, and Shifting Cultivation is a type of subsistence extensive where farmers grow on land for a year or two then move on. Plantation Agriculture is commercial agriculture that replaced subsistence farming during colonialism, and it refers to large commercial farms that grow one crop. Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming is an intensive commercial system that demonstrates independence between crops and animals. Grain Farming exclusively grows grain in extreme environments, while Commercial Gardening/Truck Farming refers to large-scale vegetable and fruit farming that is shipped to distant markets. Market Gardening is local commercial gardening, and Dairy Farming refers to farms that make milk and milk products. The Milk Shed is the geographical area milk is delivered to. Mediterranean Agriculture is produced in regions with hot, dry summers and mild winters with some irrigation. Transhumance is the seasonal herding of animals from high elevations in summer to low elevations in the winter, and Livestock Ranching involves the commercial grazing of animals in a small area.
5.2 Settlement Patterns and Survey Methods
Clustered/Nucleated Settlements are settlements with groups of buildings close together, while Linear Settlements involve buildings lined up along a transport route or body of water. The Metes and Bounds System is a British system used to divide land among factors called metes and bounds. The Public Land Survey System/Township and Range System created rectangular plots of land at similar sizes, with Townships being areas of 6 x 6 square miles and Sections being areas of 640 acres of land. The French Long Lot System consists of long, thin strips of land that are perpendicular to a river.
5.3 Agricultural Origins and Diffusions
The First Agricultural Revolution marked the origin of farming and was characterized by the domestication of animals. The Fertile Crescent was the first major hearth of agriculture. Independent Innovation involves the same crops or animals being domesticated in different areas with no interaction between them. The Columbian Exchange was the global movement of plants and animals between the Old World and the New World.
Chapter 12: The Second and Third Agricultural Revolutions
5.4 The Second Agricultural Revolution
The Second Agricultural Revolution began in the 1700s and applied the advances of the Industrial Revolution to agriculture. The Enclosure Acts were a series of laws passed by the British government to enable landowners to purchase and enclose land for their own use. The Iron/Steel Plow was invented in 1819 to reduce human labor and increase agricultural efficiency. Mechanized Seed Drilling is a machine that covered seeds quickly to increase yields, and the McCormick Reaper and Harvester was a machine that increased harvest and decreased work for people. Crop Rotation is the technique of planting different crops in a specific sequence on the same plot of land, and Irrigation is the process of applying controlled amounts of water using various methods.
5.5 The Green Revolution
The Third Agricultural Revolution is a revolution born out of science and continues to this day. The Green Revolution involved advances in plant biology in the mid-20th century. Hybridization refers to breeding two plants that have desirable traits to produce offspring with the traits, and Genetically Modified Organisms involve humans engineering an organism to change its DNA.
Chapter 13: Spatial Arrangement of Agriculture
5.6 Agricultural Production Regions
The Bid-Rent Theory suggests that there is a distance decay relationship between the proximity of markets and land value. Capital Intensive involves using large amounts of machinery and labor, while Labor Intensive involves using large amounts of labor. Factory Farming refers to capital-intensive livestock production in which many animals are kept, bred, and fed in a controlled environment. Aquaculture is a type of farming specializing in fish and other marine animals, and Double/Triple Cropping involves planting and harvesting a crop 2 or 3 times a year on the same land. Intercropping/Multicropping involves farmers growing 2+ crops on the same land at the same time, and Monoculture refers to growing a single crop in a large area.
By improving the text and structuring it into different paragraphs with headings, the information becomes more organized and easier to understand. The vocabulary regarding agriculture, settlement patterns, and agricultural revolutions is well-explained, and the spatial arrangement of agriculture is detailed through the Bid-Rent Theory and different farming methods. The text provides a comprehensive overview of the key concepts in agricultural geography.
Keywords used: Agriculture, Subsistence Agriculture, Commercial Agriculture, Intensive Agriculture, Extensive Agriculture, Pastoral Nomadism, Plantation Agriculture, Green Revolution, Bid-Rent Theory, Capital Intensive, Labor Intensive, Factory Farming, Aquaculture, Double/Triple Cropping, Monoculture.
