UNIT 5 REVIEW HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

Agricultural Hearths

also known as centers of domestication; places where the first agricultural revolution occurred; occurances are independent of each other

EX: Fertile Crescent and the Nile, Indus River Valley, Southeast Asia, Central America (5.1)

Extensive vs. Intensive Land Use

extensive– uses a large area; low inputs of labor, low output

intensive– uses a small area; high inputs of labor, high output (5.1)

1st Agricultural Revolution

also known as the neolithic revolution; first domestication of plants and animals other than dogs; decreased human health upon adoption of agriculture

~12,000 years ago

hallmarks: mostly subsistence, simple tools, manual labor (5.1)

2nd Agricultural Revolution

utilized the advances of the industrial revolution; allowed for fewer, larger, more productive farms and declined the need for large numbers of farm laborers, as well as increased food supply, diets, life spans, and populations; created inventions like the seed drill and barbed wire

started in the 1700s

hallmarks: mechanization, transportation improvements, refrigeration, natural fertilizers, soil science, increased selective breeding of plants and animals, large scale irrigation projects (5.1)

Enclosure Movement

occurred during 2nd agricultural revolution; laws enacted (starting in Britain) that allowed for more private ownership of the commons; allowed wealthy farmers to purchase and enclose lands, which made it nearly impossible for underclasses to farm and pushed them to cities to fight for industrial jobs (5.1)

3rd Agricultural Revolution

also known as the green revolution; triggered by Norman Borlaug when he genetically modified wheat and increased carrying capacity and the ability to operate at an economy of scale with technology

started in the 1960s

hallmarks: development of higher-yielding, disease-resistant, and faster growing varieties of grains; double-cropping; increased use of fertilizers and pesticides; agribusiness model/industrial agriculture and factory farms; hybrids; GMOs (5.2)

Hybrids

breeding two plants that have desirable characteristics (5.2)

GMOs

crops whose genetic structure has been altered to make it more useful and efficient for human purposes

positives: increased yield, disease resistant, herbicide resistant, weather resistant, spoilage resistant, more nutritious

negatives: seeds are expensive, African export issues, potential health problems have not been adequately studied (5.2 & 5.5)

Negatives of the Green Revolution

environmental damage; lack of sustained investment; disregard for local needs; intensity of land use drained soil of natural nutrients; pollution from increased mechanization (5.2)

Causes for Africa’s Failure in the Green Revolution

diverse soils and climates; seed and fertilizer development was complicated and expensive; harsh environmental conditions (insects, viral strains, etc); African staple crops not often included in hybrid research; political turmoil; increasing instability and food insecurity (5.2)

Subsistence vs. Commercial Agriculture

subsistence– farmers focus on raising the food they need to survive

commercial– farmers focus on raising one specific crop to sell for profit (5.3)

Land Use Methods + Economic Interaction

see table above (5.3)

Pastoral Nomadism

AGRICULTURAL REGION!

nomads move their herds to different pastures within their territory

typically in arid or semi-arid regions with cattle, goats, camels, reindeer, yaks, sheep, and horses (5.3)

Shifting Cultivation

AGRICULTURAL REGION!

when farmers clear the land by burning vegetation, which enriches the soil by adding nitrogen to it

typically in tropical regions with rice, maize, millet, and sorghum

*viewed as destructive and primitive and is linked to the destruction of rainforests and climate change (5.3)

Plantations

AGRICULTURAL REGION!

large, monocultural commercial farms that typically labor intensive and exploitative of cheap labor

typically in the tropics or other hot, humid climates with substantial precipitation; common crops are coffee, cocoa, rubber, sugarcane, bananas, tobacco, tea, coconuts, palm oil, and cotton (5.3)

Mixed Crop/Livestock Farming

AGRICULTURAL REGION!

crops and livestock located near each other; livestock are fed with grown grains and used for slaughter or dairy, manure is used as fertilizer; allows farmers to work year-round

commonly found in the United States, Europe, and Argentine; grains are commonly corn or soybeans in the US (5.3)

Grain Farming

AGRICULTURAL REGION!

farmers raise wheat in old prairie or plains land to be consumed by people

typically in regions too dry for mixed crop agriculture; China, India, Russia, and the United States are the world’s top wheat producers

either spring wheat (planted in early spring, harvested early autumn; colder regions) or winter wheat (planted in fall, harvested early summer; warmer regions) (5.3)

Commercial Gardening

AGRICULTURAL REGION!

farming done for products that are mostly sold to companies for canning and freezing for increased shelf-life

typically in areas with long growing seasons, like the American southwest and southeast (5.3)

Dairy Farming

AGRICULTURAL REGION!

farms that specialize in the production of milk and dairy products; mostly corporatized nowadays

most commonly located in the US, Canada, and Europe; traditionally localized due to perishable nature of products, and this pattern carries over in the developing world (5.3)

Milkshed

the ring surrounding a city from which milk can be supplied without spoiling (5.3)

Mediterranean

AGRICULTURAL REGION!

the farming of figs, dates, olives, and grapes as well as the usage of transhumance with sheep and goats

typically in regions with hot-dry summers, mild winters, narrow valleys, and ample irrigation, like the Mediterranean, California, southwest Australia, and Chile (5.3)

Transhumance

seasonal herding of animals in higher elevations in summer and lower elevations in the winter; commonly in the Mediterranean agricultural region (5.3)

Livestock Ranching

AGRICULTURAL REGION!

commercial grazing of animals confined to a specific area

typically in regions too dry for growing crops, like the western US, pampas in Argentina, southern Brazil, Spain, Portugal, China, and Australia

*great growth in the developing world, providing 2/3 of meat production (5.3)

Agribusinesses

transnational corporations involved in agriculture that operate at an economy of scale as vertical monopolies- controlling every aspect of one product’s production (5.3)

Monoculture

the raising of a single cash crop on large plots of land; very common on plantations and is the typical method of large-scale farming (5.3)

Commodity Chain

the process used by corporations to gather resources and transform them into goods and transport them to consumers

typical process: raw materials = supplier = manufacturing = distribution = customer = consumer (5.3)

CAFOs

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations; animals kept in high-density settings and are fattened for market with cramped conditions and weight-gaining foods (5.3)

Clustered Rural Settlement Pattern

families live in close proximity to each other; often agricultural based, close-knit communities surrounded by fields that have easily shared services like schools

typically found in the European countryside (5.3)

Dispersed Rural Settlement Pattern

farmers live on their own, individual farms; often isolated, spread out communities due to how governments gave land to farmers

typically found in North America (US and Canada) (5.3)

Linear Rural Settlement Patterns

buildings run along a fixed landscape (roads, rivers, canals, etc), resulting in a straight line landscape (5.3)

Metes and Bounds

SURVEY METHOD!

metes– used for short distances

EX: “from the oak tree,” “100 yards north,” “to the corner of the barn”

bounds– cover larger areas, based on larger features like streams or roads (5.3)

Township and Range

SURVEY METHOD!

government divided land into townships that were 6 miles long and 6 miles wide, with each square mile being able to be divided into smaller lots; some sections were reserved fro schools and railway lines

seen in the US due to the Public Land Survey System in 1785 (5.3)

Long Lot

SURVEY METHOD!

system was used to give more farmers access to waterways

seen in French holdings in North America like Louisiana; Quebec; St. Genevieve, Missouri (5.3)

5 Zones of Von Thunen’s Model

1. Central City/Market

2. Horticulture – intensive farming and dairying (close to market due to perishability, esp. before refrigeration)

3. Forests – wood was super important back in the day and it’s weight made it difficult to transport

4. Grains – increasingly extensive field crops, like wheat and corn

5. Grazing – less intensive and easily transportable (animals can walk themselves) (5.4)

Problems with Von Thunen’s Model

expects isotropic world when physical features are everywhere; ignores that places have competitive advantage (better soils, located on a river, etc); expects one market when there are always many potential markets; product changes (wood’s decreasing importance, increased shelf-life); transportation changes (flowers flown overseas, refrigeration for perishable goods, etc) (5.4)

Bid Rent Curve

see image above (5.4)

represents the farmer’s willingness to pay for land at various distances to the market

Desertification

the transition of land from fertile to desert; this can happen naturally or as a result of human actions

EX: the Sahel region in Africa – very prone to desertification (5.5)

Deforestation

the removal of large tracts of forest (5.5)

Terracing

the process of artificially modifying mountainous landscape to better suit agriculture; reduces erosion and collects rainfall better but requires significant labor to build and maintain

EX: East Asia (rice), North Africa (fruit and olive trees), South America (potatoes and maize) (5.5)

Irrigation

the process of diverting water from its natural course or location to aid in the production of crops; disrupts natural drainage and regeneration of water and can lead to land subsidence

EX: Ogallala Aquifer serving Nebraska to northern Texas (5.5)

Subsidence

the compaction of soil and rock when the waters are removed; commonly occurs with the overuse of ground water; results in the land “sinking” (5.5)

Organic Foods

foods grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or any other unnatural processes

negatives: more labor-intensive, more expensive, requires more land, can produce more greenhouse gases, farmers use natural chemicals which still damage the environment (5.5)

Locovores

participants in the “eat local” movement; closely associated with the organic movement

pros: uses less fossil fuel in transportation; supports local farmers

cons: inefficient (5.5)

Aquaculture

the cultivation of seafood under controlled conditions as a response to overfishing; has been called the blue revolution (5.5)

Open-Pen System

where farm fish are able to interact with the environment; essentially an aquatic CAFO

issues: high density of fish leads to faster spread of disease and parasites; fish can escape and breed with native stock; disrupts traditional fisherman economy (5.5)

Fair Trade Movement

an effort to promote higher incomes for producers and for more sustainable farming practices; attempt to combat neocolonialism’s impact on the economy of developing countries (5.5)

Doomsday Vault

contains copies of seeds from across the planet in case of disaster (5.5)

Subsidies

government support in the developed world provided to farmers to ensure that consumers have a dependable, low-cost supply of food

*critics of the program complain that the majority of the subsidies go to agribusinesses instead of small family farms (5.5)

3 Goals of Subsidies

1. national security – dependable food supply

2. help farmers by increasing agricultural exports

3. help consumers by reducing food costs (5.5)