Types of Farming, Field Patterns and Settlement Systems

Agriculture and Geographical Factors

Agriculture: Relies on geographical factors: climate, relief, and soil.

Agricultural Landscape and Components

Agricultural landscape: Transformed land by farming activity over time for growing and obtaining crops. Includes plots, farming systems, and local settlements.

Plots and Field Characteristics

Plots: Vary in size (big, small), shape (irregular, regular) and are separated by different types of borders (enclosed, open).

Enclosed Fields

Enclosed fields: Irregular plots separated by walls or hedges.

Open Fields

Open fields: Regular plots without boundaries.

Crop Patterns and Farming Methods

Polyculture: Divided into small plots with a variety of crops.

Monoculture: Single crop cultivation over a larger area.

Irrigated Farming

Irrigated farming: Water from groundwater, reservoirs, or rivers is brought to fields.

Dryland Farming

Dryland farming: Relies on rainfall.

Intensive Farming

Intensive farming: Found in densely populated areas with small farms; depends on fertilizers, improved seeds, and requires manual labour.

Extensive Farming

Extensive farming: Found in sparsely populated areas with large land areas; limited manual labour and greater use of machinery.

Rural Settlements

Rural settlements: Where people in the countryside live. Settlements can be scattered or concentrated.

Subsistence Agriculture

Subsistence agriculture:

Slash-and-burn shifting cultivation

Slash-and-burn shifting cultivation: Involves cutting and burning forest or savannah to create fields. The ashes act as a fertiliser; farmers work the land with manual tools.

Extensive dryland farming

Extensive dryland farming: Combination of agriculture and livestock farming. A three-year crop rotation system: land is divided into three parts, one part is left fallow and plants that grow there are used for livestock; the other two parts are used for growing crops.

Irrigated rice farming

Irrigated rice farming: Practised in areas with warm winters, fertile soil, and heavy rainfall during the monsoon season. Farmers grow rice because it produces high yields and provides very nutritious food that can feed many people. This system is very intensive.

Commercial Agriculture

Commercial agriculture: Advances in agriculture have increased production, making it possible to feed the population and provide surplus crops. The two main goals are to increase sales and reduce costs.

Mechanisms and features include:

• Agricultural mechanisation and modern farming technology: Saves on manual labour costs, increases production, and can lead to price reductions for products.
• Product specialisation: Reduces costs, increases yield, and improves sales.
• More efficient sale and transport of agricultural products: Shorter transport times and appropriate transport methods improve marketability.

Examples include Mediterranean and tropical agriculture.