AP Human Geography Exam Review

Von Thunen Model

• The model illustrates agricultural land use patterns based on transportation costs.
• Closer proximity to marketplaces leads to intensive land use; farther areas are reserved for extensive farming.
• Zones are organized in concentric rings around a central city.

Agribusiness

• Encompasses the entire food production process from seed development to market sales.

Agriculture

• Involves cultivation of plants and raising of animals for food and market sale.

Biotechnology

• Utilizes living organisms to alter or enhance plant and animal products.

Capital-intensive Farm

• Relies heavily on machinery for production processes.

Commercial Farming

• Focuses on producing food primarily for sale in markets rather than for personal consumption.

Dairying

• Centers around the production of milk and milk-derived products for markets.

Debt-for-nature Swaps

• Forgiveness of international debts for developing countries in exchange for conservation efforts.

Desertification

• Refers to the reduction of arable land due to desert expansion.

Double Cropping

• Involves growing and harvesting multiple crops in a single year from the same field.

Enclosure Movement

• Transitioned communal farming to individual plots as capitalism emerged, prompting rural migration to cities.

Ester Boserup

• Proposed that subsistence farmers prioritize leisure, adapting agricultural methods based on population growth and food needs.

Extensive Subsistence Agriculture

• Relies on large land areas to cultivate food exclusively for the farmer's family.

Famine

• Describes extreme starvation resulting from extended periods of undernutrition in a region.

First Agricultural Revolution

• Began approximately 12,000 years ago with the advent of seed agriculture and animal domestication.

Genetic Modification

• Involves altering the genetic makeup of crops and animals to boost agricultural efficacy.

Green Revolution

• Innovated in the 1940s, leading to enhanced crop yields through hybrid seeds and fertilizers.

Hunters and Gatherers

• Nomadic groups that engage in foraging and hunting for sustenance.

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture

• Maximizes efficiency of small land to produce food for the household.

Intertillage

• Combines different seed varieties within the same cultivation area.

Labor-intensive Farm

• Heavily relies on manual labor rather than machinery.

Land Rent

• Costs incurred by farmers for utilizing land.

Large-scale Grain Farm

• Focuses on producing grain primarily for export in extensive commercial operations.

Mediterranean Agriculture

• Characterized by cultivation of specific crops and grazing animals suited to Mediterranean climates.

Milkshed

• Zone around a city where milk can be produced and delivered fresh.

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming

• Involves simultaneous cropping and livestock raising by farmers.

Open-lot System

• Community farming model where villagers jointly cultivate a shared land parcel.

Pastoralism

• Centers on breeding and managing herds for basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing.

Plantation Agriculture

• Specializes in large-scale farming of high-demand export crops.

Ranching

• Involves raising livestock on expansive areas for grazing.

Seed Agriculture

• Involves planting seeds instead of vegetative reproduction methods.

Shifting Cultivation

• Farming method that rotates cultivated fields to maintain soil fertility.

Slash-and-Burn Agriculture

• Method used by subsistence farmers to clear land for farming by cutting and burning vegetation.

Soil Erosion

• Refers to the loss of the top nutrient-rich soil layer.

Subsistence Farming

• Focuses solely on producing food sufficient for farmers’ families.

Sustainable Yield

• Represents the long-term viable rate of crop production.

Swidden

• Land prepared through slash-and-burn techniques for subsistence farming.

Third Agricultural Revolution

• Marked by globalization and industrialization of agriculture, enhancing food supply through technology.

Transhumance

• Seasonal migration of livestock between highland summer pastures and lowland winter pastures.

Truck Farm

• Pertains to commercial farming of flowers and vegetables.

Undernutrition

• Condition resulting from insufficient nutrient or caloric intake.

Vegetative Planting

• Early agricultural method involving propagation through plant parts rather than seeds.