AP Human Geography Flashcards: Consequences of Agricultural Practices
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Review key ideas with interactive flashcards. This set includes 10 cards to help you master important concepts.
Define soil salinization in the context of agriculture.
Soil salinization is an environmental consequence of agricultural land use, often caused by irrigation, where the concentration of salt in the soil increases to levels that are toxic for plant growth.
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Define soil salinization in the context of agriculture.
Soil salinization is an environmental consequence of agricultural land use, often caused by irrigation, where the concentration of salt in the soil increases to levels that are toxic for plant growth.
What are the two primary categories of consequences resulting from agricultural practices?
The two primary categories of consequences from agricultural practices are environmental effects, such as pollution and land cover change, and societal effects, such as changing diets and economic purposes.
How does draining wetlands for agriculture represent an environmental consequence?
Draining wetlands for agriculture is a form of land cover change that alters the landscape, destroys crucial habitats, and disrupts local ecosystems and water cycles.
What is pastoral nomadism?
Pastoral nomadism is an agricultural practice based on the herding of domesticated animals, which alters the landscape through the continuous movement of herds for grazing.
A farmer in a hilly region carves steps into the mountainside to plant crops. What is this practice called and how does it impact the landscape?
This practice is called terracing. It fundamentally alters the natural landscape by transforming steep slopes into a series of flat, farmable surfaces.
A community clears a forest to create new farmland. What landscape-altering practice and what environmental effect are demonstrated?
This demonstrates the practice of deforestation, which is a form of land cover change that alters the landscape and can lead to other environmental consequences.
Besides land cover change, name two other environmental effects of agricultural land use.
Two other environmental effects of agricultural land use are pollution (from fertilizers and pesticides) and soil degradation issues like desertification and salinization.
Identify three societal effects of agricultural practices.
Societal effects of agricultural practices include changing diets, shifts in the role of women in agricultural production, and evolving economic purposes for farming.
What is desertification?
Desertification is an environmental effect of agricultural land use where fertile land degrades and becomes desert, often due to practices like deforestation or overgrazing.
List three specific agricultural practices that alter the landscape.
Agricultural practices that alter the landscape include slash and burn, creating terraces, irrigation, deforestation, draining wetlands, and shifting cultivation.