Key Terms in Agriculture, Environment, and Fisheries

Posted on Oct 4, 2025 in Geography

Environmental and Fishing Terminology

  • European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD): Funds rural development programs.
  • Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Fisheries: Jurisdictional waters or the area over which a state has exclusive fishing rights.
  • Biological Rest Periods: Temporary cessation of fishing in areas with overfishing problems to allow resources to recover.
  • Noise Pollution: The presence of noise and vibrations in the environment that cause discomfort, risk, or harm to people, or which have significant effects on the environment.
  • Salinization: Increased concentration of salts in the water of an aquifer.
  • Eutrophication: The process where a river, lake, or reservoir suffers from an enrichment of its waters with excessive amounts of nutrients, such as nitrates. This causes excessive growth of plants and other organisms. When they die, they rot and consume large amounts of dissolved oxygen, causing odors and the destruction of the ecosystem.
  • Desertification: The degradation of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas, caused by natural and human factors.
  • RESELER Network: The Network for Experimental Monitoring and Assessment of Erosion and Desertification.
  • Environmental Impact: The effect of an activity on the environment.
  • Environmental Audit: The process of identifying environmental problems at every stage of a production process and elaborating a report with conclusions and recommendations.

Key Agricultural Concepts

  • Extensive Farming: A farming method that requires large tracts of land and provides low yields due to reduced investments and/or the use of traditional techniques.
  • Intensive Farming: A farming method located on a reduced area of land that provides high yields due to high investments in labor or the use of advanced techniques.
  • Agricultural Yield: Production per unit of area.
  • Agricultural Production: The total tonnage of agricultural products produced or the total value of agricultural production.
  • Part-time Farming: Combining an occupation in agriculture or livestock with work in industry, construction, or services.
  • Plots: Can be classified by several criteria. Boundaries: Closed or open, depending on whether they have a physical separation. Shape: Regular or irregular. Size: Small, medium, or large.
  • Holding: A techno-economic unit where agricultural products are obtained under the responsibility of an entrepreneur.
  • Owner: A person who has the exclusive right to use and dispose of an asset, subject only to what is established by law.
  • Utilized Agricultural Area (UAA): The total area of arable land and permanent pastures.
  • Agro-cities: Population centers whose activities are mainly agricultural, of a size that could be considered cities.
  • Peri-urban Area: A space located on the urban periphery, representing a transition between town and countryside, where land uses and lifestyles typical of both are mixed.
  • Final Agricultural Production: The total value of agricultural production minus the elements reused in the production process.
  • Transgenic Crops: Plants that have been genetically modified to provide them with certain properties.
  • Crop Rotation: The succession of different crops in time and space on a cultivated plot of land.