Land Use Ch. 14

Land Use and Land Cover Urban land –Land covered mainly with buildings and roads Rural land –Land that contains relatively few people and large areas of open space

Primary Land Use Categories ~ Rangeland – livestock, wildlife ~ Forest Land – woods, wildlife, fish, nuts, other resources ~ Cropland – plant growth for food and fiber ~ Parks/Preserves – Recreation, scenic enjoyment ~ Wetlands/mountains/deserts/etc.. – Land difficult to use for human purposes ~ Urban Land - -houses, businesses, industry, roads

Urban Land Use Urbanization – movement of people from rural areas to cities

Urban Crisis When urban areas grow rapidly, they often run into trouble ~ Overwhelm infrastructure ~ Infrastructure – all things that a society builds for public use ~ Rapid expansion of a city into the countryside around the city is called urban sprawl ~ suburbs ~ commercial buildings ~ Urban Sprawl leads to increased commuters ~ increased pollution ~ Land for food production is built upon

Development of marginal land Land that is poorly suited for building ~ Los Angeles, Mexico City –slopes, cliffs

Other impacts of Urbanization Environmental conditions in the center of a city are different from those of the countryside ~ Heat Island - increased temperature of a city - heat generated by infrastructures that make a building run - roads / buildings absorb more heat than vegetation - retain heat longer as well - EX. Atlanta ~ Heat Islands can affect local weather patterns increased rainfall

Urban Planning Land-use planning - determine in advance how land will be used – where houses, businesses, and factories will be built

Land Use cont…

Land Management and Conservation –As the human population grows, the resources of more rural land are needed to support the population –Main categories of rural land are…. Farmland Rangeland Forest land National and state parks Wilderness

Farmlands –Used to grow crops and food –U.S contains more than 100 million hectares of prime farmland –Urban development threatens farmland

Rangeland –Land that supports different vegetation types like grasslands, shrublands and deserts] –NOT used for farming or timber –Used for grazing of livestock –Essential for maintaining world’s food supply

Problems for rangelands –Overgrazing –Allowing more animals to graze in an area that the range can support –Can change plant community –Soil erosion can occur

Forest lands –Trees are harvested to provide products we use everyday Paper Wood Furniture –Worldwide average is 1,800 cm3 of wood per person each day. –US average is 3.5 times this amount –Clear cutting Process of removing all trees from an area of land

Forest Lands cont.. Selective cutting i.. Process of cutting and removing only middle aged or mature trees More expensive but less destructive f. deforestation i. Clearing of trees without replacing them ii. Forests cleared to convert land into farmland Causes flooding, landslides, soil erosion, reduces wildlife habitat –New York »Hillside forests cleared for farmland in 19th century b. 90 % of soil eroded c. During great depression (1930’s), farmers went bankrupt due to lack of crops d. State bought up land and allowed it to regenerate e. Now used for recreation

Forest Lands Reforestation i. when clearcut forests are replanted or allowed to regrow naturally without human intervention –New England »Now contains more forests than it did a century ago.

Parks and Preserves Wilderness i. area in which the land and the ecosystems it supports are protected from all exploitation ii. 32 million acres have been designated as wilderness b. Benefits i. Saving endangered species ii. recreation iii. outdoor lab for studies of nature c. Threats i. growing population threaten lands ii. litter, pollution, traffic jams iii. Climate change by pollution