AP Human Geography : Land Use & Cover

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Human Geography

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #1 :Deforestation

Which of the following is not a major cause of deforestation?

Possible Answers:

Paper and wood product production

Solar energy production

Slash and burn agriculture

Desertification

Correct answer:

Solar energy production

Explanation:

Deforestation is the destruction of forest or forested areas by human or natural means. Some notable human-based causes are slash and burn agriculture and production of forest products (i.e logging). Desertification can also lead to deforestation.

Solar energy production is not directly linked to deforestation, and is in fact a form of sustainable, renewable energy.

Example Question #2 :Deforestation

Land that has been cleared for agricultural use through slash-and-burn techniques is called__________.

Possible Answers:

Domesticated

Eradiated

Irrigated

Fallow

Swidden

Correct answer:

Swidden

Explanation:

The term “swidden” is used to describe land that has been cleared for agricultural use using slash-and-burn techniques. By “slash-and-burn” we mean that the land has cleared through burning of existing plants and is then used for agricultural purposes by the local community for a few years before they move on to “slash-and-burn” another piece of land.

Example Question #41 :Rural Land Use & Settlement Patterns

Slash-and-burn agriculture is best described as a form of__________.

Possible Answers:

capital-intensive cultivation

extensive cultivation

shifting cultivation

intensive cultivation

labor-intensive cultivation

Correct answer:

shifting cultivation

Explanation:

“Slash-and-burn” agriculture involves burning a portion of forest so that the soil there can be used for agricultural purposes. The community then uses this land for a short time, possibly a few years, and then moves on to a new area, which is, in turn, burned for agricultural use. This practice of agriculture is defined by a constant process of moving from one plot of land to another and is known as “shifting cultivation.”

Example Question #41 :Rural Land Use & Settlement Patterns

Which of the following is not a consequence of wetland destruction?

Possible Answers:

Loss of natural water filtration systems.

Increased resistance to storms and flooding.

Decreased biodiversity.

Decreased resistance to storms and flooding.

Correct answer:

Increased resistance to storms and flooding.

Explanation:

Wetlands provide many services. They filter water to make it cleaner, they absorb water from storms and decrease the probability of flooding in the surrounding area. They also tend to give a home to many different organisms. Destruction of wetlands impedes all of these services. Therefore, the correct answer must be "increased resistance to storms and flooding."

Example Question #41 :Rural Land Use & Settlement Patterns

The primary advantage of slash-and-burn agriculture is that__________.

Possible Answers:

it is environmentally friendly and sufficiently profitable

it allows for extremely profitable cultivation in temperate climates

it allows for extremely profitable cultivation in tropical climates

it allows for sustainable farming in relatively small tropical societies

All of these answers are correct.

Correct answer:

it allows for sustainable farming in relatively small tropical societies

Explanation:

The primary advantage of “slash-and-burn” agriculture is that it allows for somewhat sustainable farming in relatively small tropical societies. The soil in many tropical climates is relatively weak in nutrients and so must be constantly recycled. Through a controlled system of “slash-and-burn” agriculture tropical soil is given enough time to recover and tropical vegetation is allowed the opportunity to regrow.

问题# 44例子:Rural Land Use & Settlement Patterns

Which of the following terms best describes the name given to a system of agriculture whereby a landowner allows an individual to work the land they own in exchange for a share of the crops?

Possible Answers:

Sharecropping

Ranching

Serfdom

Plantation

Agribusiness

Correct answer:

Sharecropping

Explanation:

“分成制”是指一个系统的农业whereby a landowner allows an individual or a family to rent a portion of land in exchange for a share of the crops they harvest. “Serfdom” and “plantation” may seem like correct choices; however, “serfdom” refers to the status of many peasants under feudalistic rules that were considered to be part of the land that they farmed. “Plantation” refers to a large piece of land used to commercially produce a single crop.

Example Question #45 :Rural Land Use & Settlement Patterns

Which of the folloing terms is the name given to a piece of land that has been reclaimed from water using a system of dikes?

Possible Answers:

Kasbah

Terrace farm

Aquaculture

Polder

Irrigated

Correct answer:

Polder

Explanation:

A “polder” is a piece of farmland that has been reclaimed from water. They are usually from flooded plains, marshes, or—more recently—the sea. This is important for sustaining agricultural growth in regions of the world that are low-lying and easily flooded.

Example Question #46 :Rural Land Use & Settlement Patterns

A small shack in which thousands of chickens are raised in cramped and inhumane conditions for the purposes of being slaughtered en masse is an example of a(n)__________.

Possible Answers:

commodity

biotechnology

feedlot

aquaculture

free range farm

Correct answer:

feedlot

Explanation:

A “feedlot” is a place where a large quantity of livestock is raised in extremely cramped and inhumane, but cost effective, conditions. The factory farms where chickens are often produced in the United States are examples of “feedlots.”

Example Question #1 :Models Of Agricultural Land Use

The primary purpose of crop rotation is to__________.

Possible Answers:

provide a competitive advantage over other farmers

ensure that a community has a sufficiently varied diet in order to encourage overall health and wellbeing

None of these answers are correct; crop rotation offers little benefit and has been disavowed in recent years.

explore different agricultural techniques to improve scientific understanding

preserve the mineral health of soil used in agriculture

Correct answer:

preserve the mineral health of soil used in agriculture

Explanation:

“Crop rotation” is a system developed during the Second Agricultural Revolution in order to preserve the mineral health of soil used in agriculture and prevents patches of land from being exhausted. The idea is that by growing different crops, in the same soil, in the different seasons the soil can be preserved for a much longer period of time than it otherwise might be. The reasons for this are numerous and complicated, but the simplest explanation is that different crops drain the soil of different minerals and, additionally, replenish the soil with different nutrients.

Example Question #48 :Rural Land Use & Settlement Patterns

When is spring wheat traditionally harvested?

Possible Answers:

Late spring

Early fall

Early summer

Late summer

Early spring

Correct answer:

Late summer

Explanation:

“春小麦”是一个极为重要的馆藏n of crops that provides a great deal of the nutrition that is consumed by the planet. “Spring wheat” is planted in early spring and usually harvested in the late summer. In the United States “spring wheat” is generally harvested between mid-August and late-September.

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors