AGRARIAN SPACES

Is the land where agrarian activities are undertaken.

It includes:
Cultivated land.
Pastures.
Meadows
Woodland.
AGRARIAN POPULATION
UNDERDEVELOPED COUNTRIES: more than a 50% of the population works on agrarian
activities. This provides a 10% of the nation's wealth.
In other countries ( located in Sub-Saharan Africa) more than a 80% works on agrarian
activities and provides a 50% of the nation's wealth.

DEVELOPED COUNTRIES: only 10% of the population works on agrarian activities.And

accounts less than 4% of the GDP.
AGRARIAN ACTIVITIES
AGRARIAN ACTIVITY: PHYSICAL FACTORS
AGRARIAN ACTIVITY : HUMAN FACTORS
AGRARIAN LANDSCAPE AND ITS ELEMENTS
They are inhabited spaces and spaces farmed to obtain agrarian products.
AGRICULTURE: DIVERSITY AND TYPES
GOAL!
AGRICULTURE AND

AGRARIAN SPACES
It involves the cultivation of land in order to obtain plants for food.
This food is used for : 
People ( wheat and cereals ).
Livestock ( corn and alfalfa ).
Industry ( raw materials: flax ).
AGRICULTURE
It involves the domestication of animals for human use.
Provides:
Food .
Fertilizers.
Raw materials ( for industry).
Labour force.
LIVESTOCK FARMING
It involves the use of woodland.
Provides:
Food ( nuts and wild mushrooms ).
Raw materials ( furniture and paper ).
SILVICULTURE
CLIMATE
RELIEF OF THE LAND
SOIL AND VEGETATION
Agriculture is impossible in regions with temperatures below 0ºC or above 45ºC, as well as in
very arid regions or very cold or wind areas.
But there are some crops that adapt better to different climatic conditions:
Maize and rice, need a lot of humidity.
Potatoes, can support cold temperatures.
Sugar cane and coffee , require high temperatures.
Farmers prefer to grow their crops on plains, because they avoid soil erosion, the use of
mechanic tools, the construction of hillside terraces.

But there are certain crops that are adapt better on mountainous terrains, such as, shrubs and
trees.

The most important characteristics of a fertile soil are:

DEPTH: soil with well-developed layers is more fertile.
TEXTURE: soil with a good texture has more capacity to retain water.
POROSITY: soil has to be able to let air reach plant's roots.
ACIDITY AND ALKALINITY: a good soil doesn't have acid or alkaline , because it's toxic.
Vegetation conditions certain agrarian activities such as, silviculture and livestock farming.
DEMOGRAPHIC PRESSURE
TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ORGANISATION
Due to the increase of population, there is 
deforestation 
and 
reduction of natural vegetation.
There has also lead to
overexploitation 
or 
excessive use 
of the agrarian spaces.

FARMING TOOLS: In 

traditional 
societies, basic tools were used.
In 
advanced
societies, modern tools are used.

FARMING TECHNIQUES: In 

traditional
societies , soil was farmed until it was exhausted, a section of land is left fallow or natural
fertilizers are used for the soil to recover its nutrients.

Advanced societies
, chemical fertilizers are used , crops are irrigated with advanced systems, pesticides are used,
crops are protected in greenhouses, genetically-modified crops, etc.
AGRARIAN ECONOMIES
SUBSISTENCE ECONOMIES
They only produce enough to cover all their food needs.
MARKET ECONOMIES
They produce food in order to sell it, and they tend to specialise in one crop or type of livestock
SOCIAL 
ORGANISATION
DIRECT EXPLOITATION
Landowners or their employees, work their land themselves.
INDIRECT EXPLOITATION
If the owner allows a tenant or partner to work the land.
AGRARIAN 
POLICIES
AGRARIAN REFORMS
The aim s to provide a more balanced distribution of property.
AGRARIAN POLICIES
The aim is raising levels of modernisation and competitiveness.
INHABITED SPACE
Spaces inhabited by the people who work or live in the countryside is different from both
agrarian habitats populated by human settlement.
SETTLEMENT
The way the agrarian population is distributed across the land.
DISPERSED
CONCENTRATED
INTERSPERSED
HABITATS
DWELLINGS
They are made by materials taken from the environment and their distribution varies according
with the areas of agrarian activity.
FARMLAND
The houses are separated from each other and surrounded by pastures.
The houses have been built next to each other and arranged alongside a central point.
They are both concentrated and dispersed settlements.
The land dedicated to agrarian activities are divided into fields. Types of fields distinguished by:
Their 
size
: 
small
(- 10 hectares). 
medium-sized 
(10-100 hectares). 
large
(+100 hectares).
Their 
shape
: 
irregular.

regular.
Their 
location
: 
openfield
(separated from each other by a boundary marker). 
closed
(surrounded by fences, trees, walls, etc.).
Their 
use
: for agriculture, livestock farming or silviculture.
CULTIVATION METHODS
These are the procedures that farmers use to grow agrarian products.
Crop varieties: 
Monoculture
: used when fields are used to grow just one crop, they are exported to other countries.
Polyculture
: 
used for various crops,

this is used in poor societies.

Water supplies for plants:
Dryland crops
: only receive rainwater.
Irrigated crops
: receive water from river, wells, etc.Irrigation requires a lot of farmers' effort, so that's why
crops have a high market value.
Soil use: 
Continual cultivation
: they don't leave the land fallow for a period of time.
Crop rotation
: they alternate the crops grown in fields.
Degree of land use:
Intensive
: the land is used to its full potential.
Extensive
: the land isn't used to its full potential.
TYPES OF AGRICULTURE
Traditional
: used to supply the farmers' needs and his families'.They have an extensive use of the land and
they also use their crops for polyculture. 

Modern
: growing crops for selling them on national or international markets. There are two types:

Industrial agriculture
: the aim is the mass-production of agricultural products. To obtain this , they use chemical
products inorganic fertilizers and genetically modified seeds. 
Organic farming
: the aim is to grow healthy products without harming the environment. They use organic
fertilizers and the rotation of local crops.
Migratory or slash-and-burn agriculture
Location:
equatorial and humid tropical climate, like, Africa, Central and South America and lesser extent,
Asia.
Agrarian landscapes:
irregular shaped fields created in forests, by cutting back the trees and then burning them along
with undergrowth. Used for polyculture farming, to produce: cereals, maize, yams , millet,etc.
Soil:
intensive farming and when the land is exhausted, the move to another place.
Sedentary dryland agriculture
Location:
tropical areas, such as, African savannah and South America and Asia.
Agrarian landscapes:
vegetable plots and fields.Vegetable plots are near the farmer's house and it is fertilized with
refuse and animal fertilizer.
The land surrounding the hamlet is divided into three types of fields: main crop (maize or
millet), complementary crop (groundnuts or tubers) and land that has been left fallow and
fertilized with livestock manure.
Soil: 
extensive farming and the population is sedentary.
Irrigated monsoon agriculture
Location: 
tropical monsoon climate, such as, India, China,Vietnam,etc.
Agrarian landscapes: 
paddy fields, located in alluvial plains and river deltas.Rice is grown in small fields, separated
by trenches so the fields can be flooded. 
Soil: 
intensive farming. 
Industrial agriculture
Location:
some tropical coasts and Europe.
Characteristics:
uses manure, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, mechanisation and scientific advances for having
high yields with less labour force,advanced farming methods facilitates mass production.Used
for mass-agrarian production.
Agrarian landscapes:
large regular-sized fields that belong to high skiled farmer or large multinational companies
(Monsanto)

Plantation agriculture
Location:

coastal areas in countries with humid tropical climate (Central and South America, South East
Asia and the gulf of Guinea).
Agrarian landscape: 
enormous fields, only one crop grown.Belong to multinational companies in developed
countries (Chiquita).They grow food (bananas, pineapples, cocoa, etc.) and industrial products
(rubber, cotton and palm oil), which are a high requested things in wealthy countries.
Techniques:
use of fertilizers, pesticides, selected seeds, etc.They have extensive labour force.

Organic agriculture
They use evironmentally friendly techniques.They use organic fertilizers to avoid soil depletion
and to control pests in a natural way. This techniques need more labour force, and they provide
a lower, less economical yield.
This figure is growing across all continents. 
The most typical crops are: cereals, coffee, olive oil and cocoa.This crops have a high quality.