Key Geographical and Agricultural Terms Defined

Key Geographical and Agricultural Terms

Asylum: Protection granted by a state to a foreigner who cannot return to their country of origin due to a well-founded fear of persecution.

Real Growth: The balance of population change, considering net migration.

Emigration: The act of people leaving one place to settle in another, often due to compelling reasons.

Rural Exodus: The movement of population from rural areas to urban centers.

Immigration: The arrival of people into a particular place to live.

Migration: A change of residence from one municipality to another, either within the same country or across international borders.

Swings: Daily population movements from a place of residence to work or other activities.

Refugee: A person persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, who is outside their country of nationality and unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country.

Returnees: People returning to their home country after a previous displacement to another country.

Net Migration: The difference between the number of immigrants and emigrants.

Illegal Immigrant: A person who enters a country in an irregular manner, without legal documents.

Intensive Agriculture: Agriculture that maximizes land use, employing technically advanced methods to achieve high yields and productivity.

Fallow: Leaving land uncultivated for one or more cycles to allow it to recover its organic richness.

Monoculture: The practice of cultivating a single crop in a region.

Polyculture: The cultivation of multiple different species in a region.

Transhumance: The seasonal movement of livestock in search of natural pastures, traditionally practiced by shepherds.

Extensive Agriculture: Agriculture characterized by low yield per unit area and per worker.

Pasture: A forest clearing or area designed for livestock keeping.

Agrarian Holding: A technical unit of primary production within the agricultural sector.

Estates: Large areas of land with low yields, characterized by extensive land use.

Smallholding: A small piece of land, often used for subsistence farming.

Rotation Cropping: Alternating plants from different families with different nutritional needs in one place for different cycles, preventing soil exhaustion and disease perpetuation.

PAC (Common Agricultural Policy): A policy aimed at increasing productivity, reducing food dependency, and managing imports.

Aquaculture: The cultivation of aquatic animals for controlled harvesting.

Territorial Waters: The area of seas and oceans where states have full powers.

Fishery: A suitable area for fishing.

Fishing: The act of catching fish at sea.

Inshore Fishing: Fishing activities taking place near the coast.

Continental Shelf: The prolongation of continents under the sea, reaching an average depth of about 200 meters, with its limit marked by the continental slope.