BELL WORK Pg. 224 Q.# 5

Human Impact on Land Lesson 2

WHY IS LAND IMPORTANT? Land supplies a solid surface for buildings and roads. The soil in land provides nutrients for plants and hiding places for animals. Minerals below the land’s surface can be used for construction materials. Fossil fuels underground can be burned to provide energy. 2 TYPES OF LAND Urban = Cities and Towns Rural = Open/Farm Lands

THERE ARE 5 DIFFERENT WAYS LAND IS USED 1. Recreational or natural areas are areas that humans have left alone or restored to a natural state. (ex. hiking, mountain-biking, hunting, camping) 2. Transportation is a large network of roads and train tracks that connect urban and rural areas all across the country. (ex. semi-trucks, cars, trains) 3. Agricultural is used in much of the open land in rural areas for farming. (ex. corn, soybeans, cattle)

4. Residential is where we call home. Residential can be either urban or rural areas. Urbanization exists when people continue to move into the cities. When an area becomes urbanized, its natural land surface is replaced by buildings, parking lots, and roads. 5. Commercial and industrial areas are built as cities and towns expand eventually replacing rural or natural areas. (ex. cement companies, fertilizer manufacturers, steel manufacturers)

WHY IS SOIL IMPORTANT? Soil is important because it provides habitat for organisms such as plants, earthworms, fungi and bacteria. Soil is a mixture of *Mineral fragments *Organic material *Water *Air Soil forms when rocks and dead organisms decay. Many plants get the water and nutrients they need from the soil.

Soil is a habitat for organisms such as earthworms, moles, badgers, and other burrowing animals that live in the soil. The soil also holds plant roots in place by providing support for the plant. Soil also stores water and nutrients which the plants take up, the animals that eat the plants eventually die and are broken down by decomposers, such as earthworms. The nutrients are released back into the soil and the cycle starts again.

DUST BOWL IN THE 1930’s Drought and Overuse

HOW CAN HUMAN ACTIVITIES AFFECT LAND AND SOIL? Land degradation is the process by which human activity and natural processes damage land to the point that it can no longer support the local ecosystem.

Urban sprawl is when urbanization occurs at the edge of a city or town. Can replace: *forests *fields *grasslands Erosion is the process by which wind, water, or gravity transport soil and sediment from one place to another. Nutrient depletion and land pollution can be caused by nutrients getting used up and by mining wastes, gas and petroleum leaks.

Desertification is the process by which land becomes more desert like and unable to support life. Deforestation is the removal of trees and other vegetation from an area.