Chapter 14 Vocab

Visible alterations to the landscape resulting from the interactions b/t farming activities and a location's natural environment....

• cultural landscape

• agricultural landscape

• physical geography

• political geography

Agroecosystems .......

• are ecosystems modified for agricultural use.

• are exemplified by shifting cultivation like the variety of farming techniques used by the Ban Tat people of Vietnam

• Do not have negative consequences for the environment.

• Have consequnces that are easily resolved after changing farming practices.

Slash and burn agriculture .....

• is prevalent in less-developed tropical areas.

• often leads to massive deforestation.

• has been greatly reduced since farmers have been made more aware of it's negative environment impact.

• accounts for about 7% of the world's agriculture

_______________ is commonly practiced by subsistence farmers, involves carving out parts of a hillside into small, level, growing plots.

One common source of irrigation for crops in the USA, they are created by building dams across streams and rivers.

• aquifers

• canals

• reservoirs

• aqueducts

Some water sources that are tapped for irrigation lie below the land's surface, these layers of underground sand, gravel and rocks that contain and release a usable amount of water are called .......

• aqueducts

• aquifers

• reservoirs

• canals

Areas of land that are covered by or saturated with water, such as swamps, marshes and bogs are called _______________.

Desertification....

• is a form of land degradation that can be caused by pastoral nomadism

• can lead to the expansion of deserts.

• only occurs in arid or semi-arid climate zones.

• occurs when soil deteriorates into desert like conditions.

The variety of organisms living in a location....

• population density

• biovariety

• biodiversity

• agroecosystem

This negative impact of farming on the environment occurs when water soluble salts build up in the soil and prevent plant roots from getting the water they need.

• soil-salinization

• irrigation

• desertification

• deforestation