AP Human Geography
Chapter 10: Agriculture
Key Issue 4
CH 10 KI 4 STUDY GUIDE READING OUTLINE
Read Study Guide Unit 5 pages 144-153
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What is a “dispersed settlement pattern”?
people are settled far apart from each other
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What is a “nucleated settlement pattern”?
people settle very close together - like a nucleus = most common in world for agriculture
settlement
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Describe a nucleated settlement using the term hamlets and villages.
When living in a nucleated settlement, people cluster together in a small cluster of buildings
known as a hamlet or in a slightly larger cluster known as a village
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Identify 4 common building materials for rural areas.
wood, brick, stone, wattle (poles & sticks woven together & covered with mud)
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What is “wattle”?
poles & sticks woven together & covered with mud
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What makes a village?
a small number of people living in a cluster of houses in a rural area
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Identify the 5 village forms.
1. round, 2) walled, 3) grid, 4) linear, 5) cluster
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Define “primogeniture”.
the eldest son inherits
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How did the USA government get settlers to disperse evenly across the interior USA?
Used the rectangular survey system =dispersed pattern
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Identify 3 types of survey systems.
rectangular survey system, metes and bounds, and long-lot survey system
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What is “metes and bounds”?
use natural feature to mark irregular parcels of land
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What is the “long-lot survey system”?
divides land into narrow parcels that extend from roads, rivers and canals
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Define the following term: mercantilism
trade goods to get metals to profit the home country
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Define the following term: industrial agriculture
agriculture as a multi-step industrial process that begins at a farm and ends at a consumer’s table
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Define the following term: specialization
growing specialized crops because they are most profitable
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Define the following term: Third Agricultural Revolution
began mid 1900s; modern farming; associated with the Green Revolution; industrial agriculture;
diffusion of new agricultural technology - especially high-yield seeds & fertilizer; allows agriculture
to keep up with population growth
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Define the following term: biotechnology
use genetically altered crops & livestock to increase production
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Define the following term: Green Revolution
new agricultural techniques around the 1970s that included 1) higher yield seeds & 2) expanded
use of fertilizers
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Define the following term: organic agriculture
Organic agriculture produces products using methods that preserve the environment and avoid
most synthetic materials, such as pesticides and antibiotics.
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Explain how the Green Revolution is different from the Third Agricultural Revolution
The 3rd Ag Rev introduced the industrialization aspect to farming to increase production, but the
Green Rev focused on adding technology to increase production
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Compare one praise & one criticism of the Green Revolution
Praise = Larger production leads to better overall global health
Criticism = Doesn’t work for everyone - Sub-Saharan Africa often lacks resources to buy seeds,
fertilizer, machines, etc and has climate that makes many ag types difficult
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List four environmental impacts of modern agriculture
1) erosion,
2) changes to organic content of soil,
3) depletion of natural vegetation, 4) presence of chemicals in soils & water
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Explain the four strategies used to ensure food supplies for the future
1) expand ag land,
2) increase land productivity,
3) identify new food sources,
4) improve food distribution
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CH 10 KI 4 RUBENSTEIN READING OUTLINE
R351 Key Issue 4 – WHY DO FARMERS FACE ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES?
R351 Challenges for Commercial Farmers
R351
Overproduction in Commercial Farming
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Why do commercial farmers have difficulty generating enough income to continue farming?
They produce more food than is demanded by consumers = low prices for their output.
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What practices enable commercial farmers to increase yields?
new seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, mechanical equipment, management practices
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Describe the relationship between supply and demand for food in MDCs
supply has increased, demand has remained constant
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List the 3 US government policies to address excess productive capacity
1) farmers are encouraged to avoid producing excess supply
2) gov’t pays farmers when commodity prices are low
3) govt buys surplus and sells or donates it to foreign governments
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How are European subsidies different from American?
European farming is subsidized even more than the USA due to a commitment by the EU to
maintain agriculture in Europe
R352
Sustainable Agriculture
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What is sustainable agriculture? What are its costs and benefits?
an ag practice that preserves and enhances environmental quality;
costs = make less money; benefit = costs less to farm
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Why are some organic farms not practicing sustainable agriculture?
Some may rely on non-sustainable practices like fossil fuels to operate tractors
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List the three practices distinguishing sustainable agriculture from conventional agriculture
1) sensitive land management
2) limited use of chemicals
3) better integration of crops and livestock
R352
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Sensitive Land Management
Define: ridge tillage
planting crops on ridge tops that are formed during cultivation or after harvest which helps protect
soil; is a sustainable agriculture practice; lowers production costs & conserves soil
R352
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Limited Use of Chemicals
What are “Roundup Ready” seeds?
genetically modified seeds that survive when herbicides & insecticides are sprayed on the fields
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What is “Monsanto Corp”?
the creator of “Roundup Ready” seeds; Monsanto Company is a publicly traded American
multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation headquartered in Creve Coeur, Greater St.
Louis,
Missouri http://www.monsanto.com/pages/default.aspx
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What is sustainable agriculture?
limits herbicides to preserve and enhance environmental quality
R352
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Integrated Crop & Livestock
List the 3 complexities of biological & economic interdependence between crops & livestock
1) finding the correct # & distribution of livestock for the area based on the landscape
2) animal confinement
3) management of extreme weather conditions
R353 Challenges for Subsistence Farmers
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R353
Identify the two issues influencing crop choice for subsistence farmers
1) due to rapid pop growth in LDCs, they must feed a larger # of people
2) due to the use of the international trade approach, they must grow food to export
Subsistence Farming & Population Growth
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List the 2 ways intensification of production are achieved according to the Boserup thesis
1) land is left fallow for shorter amount of time =
expansion of amt of land devoted to crops at a time
2) adopt new farming methods
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List & explain the 5 basic stages of intensification of farmland
1) forest fallow - clear fields, use for 2 yrs, leave fallow 20 + yrs (so forest can regrow)
2) bush fallow - clear fields, use for 8 yrs, leave fallow 10 yrs (so bushes can regrow)
3) short fallow - clear fields, use for 2 yrs, leave fallow 2 yrs (so short grasses can regrow)
4) annual cropping - use fields every yr, leave fallow for a few months
5) mutlicropping - use fields several times a yr, never leave fallow
R354
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Global Forces, Local Impacts: Genetically Modified Foods & Sub-Saharan Africa
·
Discuss the pros & cons of genetic modification of crops and livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa
positives = higher yields, increased nutrition, more resistance to pests, taste
negatives = safety issues (less resistance to antibiotics), possibly destroy local ag balances,
possible European countries won’t buy their GMO foods
R355
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R355
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Subsistence Farming & International Trade
How do subsistence farmers expand production? How can they accomplish this? Where does the money come
from? What do they do with this money?
*need higher-yield seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, and machinery
*main way is to import them from other countries but can also obtain supplies from urban dwellers
*sale of crops to MDCs as well as some manufactured goods
*funds may be needed/used to feed the people who switched from subsistence farming
·
Drug Crops
Discuss the production of drug crops. Who, what, where,why?
especially in Latin America & Asia; marijuana = leading drug; cocaine & heroin = 2 leading especially
dangerous drugs and abused by 13 and 8 million people worldwide
*heroin is derived from opium and 60% comes from the Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia - Myanmar, Laos,
Thailand, Vietnam); most of the remaining 40% comes from the Golden Crescent (Southwest Asia Afghanistan & Pakistan)
*Coca leaf mainly grown in NW South America (Bolivia, Colombia, Peru)
R355 Strategies to Increase Food Supply
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R355
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R356
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List 4 ways to increase food supply – Summarize each & include challenges
1) expand the land area used for agriculture (via irrigation & limiting urban growth)
2) increase the productivity of land now used for agriculture (higher-yield seeds, fertilizers, etc.)
3) identify new food sources (cultivate oceans, aquaculture)
4) increase exports from other countries (export more from countries w/surpluses)
Increase Food Supply By Expanding Land Area For Agricultural Use
Define: “desertification”
deterioration of land (particularly semiarid/marginal land) to a desertlike condition as a result of human actions
What is a challenge to this strategy to increase food supply?
too much water, too little water, urbanization
Increase Food Supply Through Higher Productivity
Define: “Green Revolution”
the invention and rapid diffusion of more productive agricultural techniques durign the 1970s &
1980s - involves 2 main practices: intro higher yield seeds and expand use of fertilizer
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What are the two main practices of the Green Revolution?
intro higher yield seeds and expand use of fertilizer
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What is a challenge to this strategy to increase food supply?
high fossil fuel prices to make fertilizer; fossil fuels not distributed uniformly,
not everyone can afford the machines & equipment needed
Increase Food Supply By Identifying New Food Sources
List the 3 strategies that are considered as part of identifying new food sources.
1) cultivate oceans, 2) develop higher-protein cereals, 3) improve palatability (taste) of rarely consumed foods
R357
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R358
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R359
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What is a challenge to this strategy to increase food supply?
overfishing, difficult to add protein when food is grown but not processed, taboos and social customs
Increase Food Supply By Increasing Exports From Other Countries
What is a challenge to this strategy to increase food supply?
dependant on other countries for food
What regions of the world were once net-importers of grain and are now net-exporters?
South Asia & Southeast Asia
Africa’s Food-Supply Crisis
Where is the Sahel?
northern Africa, where the Sahara Desert is spreading southward
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How did the Green Revolution impact Africa?
food production increased but not as rapidly as population: production of 3 main grains tripled in the late 20th
century but food production only increased more rapidly than population until the 1970s
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Discuss the multiple difficulties facing Africa for food supply
over planting, soil erosion, declining productivity- government policies that keep food prices low
and result in little to no profit and discourage farmers from farming