Name______________________________ Agricultural Geography Key Issue #2: Where are Agricultural regions in Less Developed Countries (PINGs)? Shifting Cultivation Where??? – – – Hallmarks o _______________________________ agriculture o Farmers grow crops on a cleared field for only a few years until soil nutrients are depleted and then leave it fallow (nothing planted) for many years so the soil can recover. The process: o Clear the dense vegetation o _______the debris o Prepare the fields by hand o Leave after about ______ years o Return in ____________ years Crops of Shifting cultivation – o Vary according to local custom and taste o SE Asia – _____________ o South America – __________ o Africa – ___________ and ____________________ Ownership and Use of Land o People who use shifting cultivation tend to live in small villages and use the surrounding land for agriculture. o The land is owned by the village as a whole, _____________________________. o The chief or ruling council allocates the land to the people. The Future of Shifting Cultivation • The use of shifting cultivation is decreasing by about ______ % each year. • ________________, cattle ranching, and cultivation of cash crops are replacing it. • Effect on the rainforest? Pastoral Nomadism • Pastoral nomadism: • Adapted to dry climates such as ______________, the Middle East, and Central Asia • There are only about 15 million pastoral nomads, but they occupy about 20% of Earth’s land area. Characteristics of Pastoral Nomadism • Depend on __________________rather than crops for survival • Animals provide milk and skins for clothes and tents • The people primarily eat grain • Women and children plant crops • Size of the herd – source of power and protection during adverse conditions Choice of Animals • The type of animal and size of the herd is selected based upon the local culture and physical characteristics • The Middle East – • Central Asia – Movement of Pastoral Nomads • Pastoral nomads do not wander randomly; they have a sense of territoriality • Every group controls a territory • Transhumance – seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowlands pasture areas • Pasture – The Future of Pastoral Nomadism • Today, pastoral nomadism is declining, partially due to modern technology • In the future, pastoral nomadism will be confined to areas that cannot be irrigated or that lack valuable raw materials Intensive Subsistence Agriculture • Shifting cultivation and pastoral nomadism exist in areas of low population density • Intensive subsistence agriculture: Intensive Subsistence with Wet Rice Dominance • • The term wet rice refers to the practice of : The most important food source in: – Southeast China – East India – Much of SE Asia The process of “Wet rice” • First, a farmer prepares a field for planting, using a plow drawn by buffalo or oxen • Then, the plowed field is flooded with water. The flooded field is called a “___________.” • Rice plants are harvested by hand, usually with a knife Double Cropping • Double cropping – • Common in places with warm winters • Usually involves wet rice in the summer and wheat, barley, or another dry crop in the winter Intensive Subsistence with Wet Rice not Dominant • Interior India and Northeast China • Wheat is the most important crop, followed by barley • Crop rotation – Plantation Farming • Plantation – • Generally found in PINGs, they are often operated by Europeans or North Americans • The crops are often for sale PEDs Crops of Plantation Farming • ________________, sugarcane, coffee, _______________, and tobacco • Before the Civil War, plantations were important in the U.S. South • After the war, the plantations were subdivided and sold to individual farmers or worked by tenant farmers