Question

You and your life partner decide to move out of the city and into the rural hinterland. However, you note that there are no grocery stores, only gas station mini-marts. You decide to plant a number of gardens to ensure you have enough nutritious food. This is an example of:

a. anthropogenic landscape
b. environmental determinism
c. carrying capacity
d. horticulture

Answer 1

Planting gardens in response to an absence of grocery stores is an example of horticulture. It reflects the deliberate cultivation of plants to provide food and the creation of anthropogenic landscapes by modifying the environment to meet human needs.

Step-by-step explanation:

Planting gardens upon moving to a rural area lacking grocery stores is an example of horticulture. Horticulture refers to the small-scale, sustainable cultivation of plants for food, which is evident in the decision to create gardens to ensure a nutritious diet. This method of food production illustrates the reciprocal relationship humans have with nature, as it involves actively modifying the environment to improve food security and sustain a small community or household.

Biologists understand that human populations are embedded in ecosystems and depend on them, just as all species do. With the onset of agriculture, early societies shifted from a nomadic lifestyle to one where they settled in one place and heavily modified the environment. Such activities, including the planting of gardens, often lead to the creation of anthropogenic landscapes—landscapes heavily influenced and altered by human behavior.