You will need to be able to discuss factors that affect the global distribution of agricultural systems.

The reasons are

outlined below:

Physical

Climate

Climatic factors include...

1. Temperature:

Most plants cannot grow if the temperature falls below 6°C or the soil is frozen for five consecutive months. As a consequence
many areas are unsuitable for crop cultivation.

2. The growing season:

The number of days between the last frost of the spring and the first of the autumn. Different crops require different lengths of
growing season. Cotton needs 200 days so could not survive in a British climate. Cereal crops are grown in the South-east of
Britain as this is the area most likely to meet the necessary growing season. The shorter the required growing season the further
north that crop can be grown. Oats can be found in Northern parts of the UK because they have a very short growing season.

3. Altitude:

This affects temperature so it also affects farming. In the Alps for example you will find dairy farming in valley bottoms and
coniferous forestry further up.

When temperatures are consistently high with sufficient precipitation high yield crops such as rise can be grown. These have the
added advantage of producing up to three crops a year.

4. Rainfall:
Water is obviously a key factor in plant growth. The greater the average temperature the greater the amount of water required
for plant growth. Seasonal variation is important as different crops require water at different times. Coffee for example must
have a period of drought before and during harvest whilst maize would benefit from heavy rain in the same period. A farmer is
therefore looking for rainfall reliability so that he can select the most appropriate crop for the area.

Rice is the principal crop in the tropics because it requires substantial quantities of water, is a very high yield crop and has good
nutritional value. With the addition of consistently high temperatures it can also produce two or three crops a year.

In the Mediterranean crop growth is affected by the summer drought despite high annual rainfall. The rainfall is very high in
winter months but infiltration rates are comparatively low. In summer temperatures are very high, encouraging high rates of
evapo-transpiration and consequently very dry soil and a low water table. There is a soil moisture deficit. These conditions are
not conducive to plant growth.

5. Wind:

Wind can have a destructive effect on crops. At its most severe a hurricane can physically destroy thousands of acres of
farmland. Less severe but also harmful are the winds that dry soils so reducing moisture and increasing the potential for soil
erosion.

Soil

Soil type will influence crop cultivation because different crops prefer different soils.

Clay soils with their high water retention are well suited to rice whilst sandy soils with good drainage are good for root
vegetables.

Soil type can be influenced through the input of lime, clay or fertilizer but this can only make limited differences.

Slope

The angle of slope will affect the type, depth and moisture content of soil.

It will also affect the rate of soil erosion. Some of the most unique farming landscapes of Bali are a consequence of having to
cultivate steep slopes that are prone to soil erosion. Here terraces are cut in to steep slopes to retain the soil that otherwise would
be easily removed due by the heavy rains. The need to cultivate such steep slopes is a consequence of population pressure and
very small farms due generations of sub-dividing amongst sons.
 The degree to which a farm can be mechanised is influenced by slope. Many vineyards in Germany are still harvested by hand
at great cost because of the steep slopes. This is despite the fact that Germany is one of the richest countries in the world with
capital to take advantage of the latest technology.

Human

Land tenure

In the developed world a large percentage of farmers are owner-occupiers. Consequently they have a large incentive to become
more efficient and improve land and buildings. The extent of their investment and success will depend on the market place and
political systems.

In the developing world farmers are less likely to be owner-occupiers. Instead they will probably be tenants or landless
labourers.

In Brazil, the majority of land is owned by a small minority. As a consequence many of the farmers are 'landless' and sell their
labour to the large plantation owners.

Tenants can operate under two systems:

 A cash tenant will pay a fixed rent or percentage of profits to the landowner. This can lead to over cultivation especially if the
rent or profit share is excessive. A long-term lease provides the farmer with more incentive to invest in the farm.
 A crop sharing agreement can be reached where the farmer gives a significant percentage of his harvest to the landowner. These
arrangements are likely to be skewed in favour of the landowner so the farmer remains poor.

The most likely outcome for both of these tenancy systems is that the landowner will benefit form the hard work of the farmer
who is likely to remain poor.

In communist countries the collective system is more common. Communities are set up with state owned farms. The
community must then manage and work the farm to achieve state targets of production.

Farmers who do not have security of tenure are less likely to invest in future improvements.

Market
 For any commercial farm to succeed there must be demand. If the demand for a crop drops then profits will fall. That crop will
then be replaced by a more profitable one.

Conditions in the market place can be a consequence of numerous factors:

1. Changes in society - the move towards vegetarianism or panic about beef.

2. Health reasons - increased demand for olive oil or panic about beef.
3. Health scares - the BSE crisis or panic about beef.
4. Religion - Jews do not eat pork.
5. Marketing - campaigns promoting products such as new breakfast cereals.

Transport

Transport is an important factor in determining location of farm types. If a product is bulky such as potatoes then it should be
grown close to the market place to cut down on transport costs. If the good is perishable then again it should be grown close to
the market place.

The effects of transport have been greatly reduced in the developed world because of innovations such as refrigerated lorries. It
is still an important factor in many parts of the developing world.

The transportation available and the transport network will have a large influence on the distribution of agricultural systems.
Many subsistence farms could not sell surpluses even if they had them because of the costs involved in transporting the surplus
to the market place.

Capital

In the developed world there is a well-established system of supportive banks, private investors and government subsidies. This
means that agriculture is likely to be capital intensive and highly mechanised. Cereal growing and dairy farming are good
examples.

In the developing world the systems of capital support are less developed. In addition farmers have little capital of their own.
Borrowing is difficult (especially with the small farms typical of many subsistence farmers) and incurs high interest rates.
Therefore the farm will be very labour intensive.

If a farmer has little capital reserve then certain types of farming are not an option.

Whilst his crop is maturing the farmer will have no income, if the crop takes several years to mature then he needs substantial
financial backing to cover costs of production (e.g. labour) and basic living costs like mortgage and food.

Tree crops take several years to mature so the farmer will have to wait a long time for return on his investment. If he does not
have a capital reserve then this is not an option.
 Technology

New technology is always increasing efficiency and yields but technology costs money. Therefore the gap between the
developed and developing world is growing.

The one exception is the green revolution.

The green revolution was the result of an intensive plant-breeding programme in Mexico. It resulted in very high yield crops.
Wheat varieties from Mexico and rice varieties from the Philippines literally doubled world food output.

The green revolution spread throughout much of the developing world and these new high yield crops - particularly rice became
a common feature of agriculture. They did increase the need for irrigation and agro-chemicals that were too costly for small
farmers and larger farmers with more financial backing gained the most benefit from these crops. Although there were
improvements in quality of life for the poorer farmer.

As the rice produced such high yields farmer could dedicate more land to other crops that could be sold for cash.

Government

Government policies will have a direct or indirect effect on the prevalent agricultural system. The communist governments
encourage collectives as already seen whilst farming in Europe is indirectly manipulated by the agricultural policies of the
European Union.

Two examples are:

1. Common agricultural policy: the common agricultural policy was a response to food shortages during and after world war
two. In 1957 it was decided that several European countries would all follow a common agricultural policy.

The aims of that policy were to:

 Increase productivity and ensure a regular food supply

 Improve farmers standard of living
 Stabilize market prices at a level beneficial to farmers and reasonable for consumers

There were several policies designed to fulfill these aims. Amongst these were the price support policies. A price support
policy aimed to guarantee a price to the farmer for a particular product and discourage competition from farmers outside the
participant countries.

Basically a high price was set for any imports - this would be maintained by heavily taxing imported produce.

A lower guaranteed price was set for home grown products. If the market price fell below this then the European Commission
would buy produce at the guaranteed price.

Put simple the EC said, "we'll give you so much per tonne for this crop. If you can sell it for more then do so if you can't then
we'll buy it. Also you won't get any competition from outside the EC because we'll put a big import tax on their stuff so it is
really expensive."

This gave farmers a great incentive to grow crops. So much so that they were soon producing far more than was needed. In
1990 the EC had food surpluses in milk, wheat, sugar, barley, rye, butter, beef, cheese, vegetables, chicken, pork, eggs, wine,
margarine and potatoes.
So as a result of political policy the Europe had extremely efficient agricultural systems that were actually typified by over
production.

In response to this a new policy of Quotas was set up where farmers were penalized for producing too much and "set aside":

2. Set aside: as a response to surpluses caused by the EC's price support system, farmers could receive substantial income for
'setting aside' land. Many British farmers received money to do nothing with their land in an attempt to reduce surpluses. This
was also seen as a way of allowing the land to recover following many years of very intensive use.
 BIOMES

Climate and vegetation

The dominant influences on vegetation type and productivity are temperature and availability of water.
Extremes of temperature and lack of water tend to go together so ice deserts ocur at the poles and hot deserts
near the tropics.

Two factors determine temperature: available sun (angle and daylength) and altitude. There is a tendency to
see similar vegetation changes progressing south or north from the equator or rising in altitude:

1. rain forest
2. temperate forest
3. taiga (boreal forest)
4. tundra.

This pattern is modified by availability of water, particularly in the tropics where prevalent winds carry
moisture towards the equator. The winds converge at the equator; the rising air cools depositing rainfall and
maintaining rainforest. The interiors of continents close to the tropics tend to be very dry - deserts.

Looking at the vegetation map of the world we are struck by the fact that much of the land surface is
unfavorable for plant growth. Desert is the largest of the biomes.

Tropical rainforest
It is only in the tropical rainforest that water and temperature are continuously favorable for plant growth.
This makes it the most diverse and productive biome. There can be as many as 10,000 species of plant per
hectare. In this environment nutrients are mostly in living organisms and cycle rapidly; so that soils are
deficient in nutrients. Microbial activity is very rapid and little organic matter accumulates in the soil.

Fertility declines after

clearance and the soils quickly
become useless for agriculture.
The loss of diversity,
productivity and fertility make
clearance a threefold tragedy.
(Countries are driven to
clearance by their burden of
debt not by wickedness.)

Mixed deciduous forest

When temperature and water supply are temporarily favorable for plant growth we tend to
get mixed deciduous forests. These conditions exist mostly in the Northern hemisphere. In
the summer these systems approach tropical rain forest in terms of productivity and species
diversity can be up to 2,000 per hectare. In winter water is often frozen and with low
temperatures most plants become dormant (after leaf fall or death of topgrowth).

This is the climax vegetation for most of Ohio. In the South-East on rolling drier areas
(white, scarlet, shingle) oaks and hickories dominate. In the North-West maples, beech,
linden, ash, tuliptree, red oak are more common. Beneath the dominant trees small trees and
shrubs occur: buckeye, flowering dogwood, and viburnum in oak- hickory woods; service
berry, hornbeam and witchhazel in maple-linden woods.

The trees take most of the light in late spring and summer so annual plants have little chance
to get established. Herbaceous perennials have two strategies:

1. rapid growth before the trees come into leaf: (bulbs and spring flowers)
2. slower shade-adapted growth and flowering in late summer (Asters etc.)

The litter layer is often quite deep in temperate forests and the soils may have a higher
organic content, but nutrients are mostly tied up as they are in the tropical rainforest. Soils
tend to be acidic and do not support crops for many years after clearance. Agriculture on
these soils tends to require high inputs. Nearly 95% of the original forest in the US has been
cleared in the last 200 years.

Grasslands
Moving west from Ohio the climate becomes drier passing through a transition zone of oak
savannah to the prairies from Montana and Minnesota to West Texas and Oklahoma. First
comes the tall-grass prairie - a region of higher rainfall - and then the short grass prairie which
grades into desert. Perennial grasses dominate and flowering perennials (Liatris),
coneflowers, golden rod, asters) can compete but there are few annuals. These plants survive
cold winters and fires through underground storage organs and thick stem bases.
Historically these areas were kept free of trees and shrubs by periodic fires and they were
home to roaming herds of grazing animals such as the American bison (buffalo). Without
grazing and periodic burning, tall-grass prairie tends to become deciduous woodland.

Smith Cemetery Prairie (near Plain City OH) Relict savannah near Marion (OH)

The deep, organic-rich soils built up by tall

grass prairie are well adapted to agriculture -
they retain fertility and good structure. The
corn-belt from Kansas to Oklahoma is
probably the best agricultural land in the
world. The short-grass prairie is not so well-
suited to agriculture. Its use as grazing for
static herds of cattle carries the risk of
degradation and invasion by cactus. Much of
the desert of Arizona was short- grass prairie
before Europeans arrived.

World wide, no biome is more threatened than grassland; in the US only 1% of the prairie
remains.

Wetlands
Wetlands are not a biome, but areas with high water table tend to occur in many different
biomes. They are often perceived as useless or undesirable by developers and agriculturalists
who have set about draining them for their own uses. Wetlands, as we are beginning to
realise, are important for several reasons:

 They are buffer zones that hold back water, preventing sudden overload and flooding
of rivers.
 In dry seasons they hold water that can delay drying out of surrounding areas.
 They provide refuge and food reserves for animals and birds
 They remove nutrients and sediments from water moving through them. This cuts
down pollution and silting of watercourses.

Thus wetlands can be a stabilizing component preventing collapse of a biome. Nationally

about 50% of wetland has been reclaimed; most of what remains is in Alaska. Of all the
states, Ohio is second to California in terms of percentage of wetland drained, although Ohio
had more wetland in the first place so that a greater area has been drained than in California.

The deliberate reconstruction of wetlands is now part of urban and agricultural land use
planning. Constructed wetlands are one solution to the problems of fertilizer run-off from
horticultural and agricultural operations.

Agriculture
Human-manipulated ecosystems (including agricultural areas) now cover 37% of the land
surface of the world. Although not generally regarded as a biome, we cannot ignore the
ecology of these areas.

Area (million ha)

Use World U.S.A.

Crops 1,441 188

Pasture 3,357 239

Forest 3,897 287

Urban ? 99

None 4,345 202

Total 13,041 917

(1 hectare (ha) is about 2.5 acres)

The Russian botanist N.I. Vavilov pioneered investigation of the origins of crop plants and
came to the conclusion that most came from a few centers of origin that we now know as the
Vavilov Centers. The crops that we grow today originated mainly in a "fertile crescent"
extending from the Mediterranean to India in five centers of origin. Other centers were in
the Horn of Africa and in the New World Tropics. Eighty percent of our food calories derive
directly or indirectly from just six species of plant that were brought into cultivation in these
areas 4 to 8,000 years ago:

 corn (Zea mays - Poaceae)

 wheat (Triticum aestivum - Poaceae)
 rice (Oryza sativa - Poaceae)
 white potato (Solanum tuberosum - Solanaceae)
 sweet potato (Ipomea batatas - Covolvulaceae)
 cassava. (Manihot esculentum - Euphorbiaceae)

The fields in which these crops are grown have become the dominant ecosystems of the
world

As population has increased, production has intensified and people have become dependent
on a food supply with a dangerously narrow genetic base. Plant breeding struggles to keep
up with the challenge to increase food supply with growing danger of crop failure through
disease or climatic disaster. In order to improve crops breeders often return to their centers
of origin in search of wild species that can broaden the genetic base.

As agriculture develops, these wild species are displaced and genetic resources are lost.
Marginal land is brought into production and all too often becomes degraded under the
pressure of use. Along with crop production, animals have been domesticated and the
attempt to intensify their production has usually been disastrous. It is only possible in a
country like the US with abundant land and natural resources at its disposal. Reflecting on
the extent of habitat loss in the US, how can we expect poor countries to hold back from the
exploitation of their remaining natural areas?

Human beings now consume 40% of the earth's primary photosynthetic productivity and
population is set to double in the next 50 years. The future of plant life and all life on the
planet, including our own is bound up with our cultivation of the earth and its biomes.
Agriculture has traditionally focused on a narrow range of plant species that are likely to
remain the dominant food crops, whereas horticulture has maintained a plurality of edible
and ornamental plants (and may have seemed something of a luxury).

Agriculture is necessary to maintain the food supply. As natural areas and their genetic
diversity disappear under increasing pressure from the human population, horticulture offers
the only hope of preserving our genetic heritage and providing an environment that people
will want to live in.