Agriculture and Rural land use

Agriculture Agriculture – the purposeful tending of crops and raising of livestock in order to produce food and fiber (consumables and byproducts) A primary sector job employing roughly 40% of the worlds population Soybeans in the semi-arid ranchlands of western South Dakota

Pre-Agriculture Society Hunter-Gathers Nomadic and lacked permanent settlements Location of temporary settlements depended upon availability of food Consistency in the quantity and quality of food varied daily Reasons why change happened Improving weather due to warming Better understanding of the interaction between plants and their environment Harnessing of fire as a tool Salt

The First Agricultural Revolution – Plant Domestication 12,000 B.C.E. Wild grasses and plants are harvested and replanted South East Asia: Taro, Yams and Bananas Middle East: Wheat, Oats, Barley (Cereals) Central and South America: Corn, Squash, Beans, and Potatoes Africa: Millet, Sorghum, Watermelons Right-wheat-one of the 1st seed crops to be domesticated.

The First Agricultural Revolution-Animal Domestication 8,000 B.C.E. Previously hunted herds of animals begin to be domesticated South Asia: cattle and elephants Middle East: goats, sheep and camels Central Asia: yak, horse, goats, sheep and reindeer Central and South America: Llama, alpaca, pig and turkey Africa: guinea fowl With sedentary communities wild animals kept as pets or ceremonial sacrifices-some wild animals hung around as scavengers of food and gradually were kept as protection against other predators or to aid in the hunt. Even today-in African Wildlife Preserves-wild animals hang around camps at night and scatter by day.

Types of Agricultural Practices Commercial Farms that produce a profit with surplus product beyond the farmers need – typically larger than traditional farms Subsistence Food production is primarily for the farmers own consumption with little commercial value Shifting Cultivation (Form of Subsistence Agriculture) Abandoning a field to allow soil regeneration, returns and farms then abandons again once the soil has been used up Slash and Burn Burning of virgin fields and forest to create open land, fertilize the ground and clear pests

Agricultural Villages Nucleated settlement: Intense cultivation surrounding homes clustered in a village Dispersed settlement: Individual housing spaced out over long distances with intense cultivation occurring between each unit of housing

Linear Village: Buildings are concentrated along a river or road system Cluster Village: Scattered buildings surrounding an intersection of major roads Round Village: Buildings ring a central area for protection or control of livestock Walled Village: A cluster of buildings ringed by large walls for protection Grid Village: Follows grid lines created by roads used to divide up agricultural land

Von Thunen Model Agricultural model based on the logical position of agriculture in relation to an urban area while considering transportation costs (weight and distance) and shelf-life (if and when it will spoil) Economic Rent Any payment to an owner or factor of production in excess of the costs needed to bring that factor into production

Bid-Rent Theory An economic theory that refers to how price and demand of real estate changes as distance changes Price and demand decrease as distance increases but varies depending on the type of economic output desired

Explain one of the three agricultural revolutions Chapter 10 Reading Check Explain one of the three agricultural revolutions Explain the relationship between shifting cultivation and slash and burn agriculture Explain the difference between pastoral nomadism and livestock ranching

Land survey Systems Township and Range System Metes and Bounds Survey A rectangular grid system overlaid on land regardless of natural barriers broken down into 1 square mile grids Metes and Bounds Survey The use of natural boundaries to break up land causing an irregular pattern of land use Long Lot Survey System Parcels of land are broken into elongated sections based off of roads, rivers, and coast lines Cadastral System-the method of land survey In Southern Europe, Asia, Africa and South America-land is divided up among sons with much fragmentation of farmland

Modern Agriculture Herbicides - Substance that is toxic to plants, used to destroy unwanted vegetation Pesticides - Substance used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to animals Food Security - The relationship of food supply to food access Climate Change – As climate change continues, agriculture must adapt or die in some places Food Deserts – Urban centers lacking stores that provide fresh food, not just processed or packaged