Chapter 8: Land

The City California did a study from to see how the land was being used in the state During this 8 year timeframe, about 210,000 acres was converted from productive farmland, rangeland and woodland to towns and cities

Urban area or city – a place with at least 5,000 people per square mile. Almost 80% of Americans live in urban areas These areas draw heavily on the surrounding resources Unable to exist without these resources

Urbanization began in about the 1850’s. Urbanization – people moving from rural to urban areas. Advances in machinery and methods allowed for fewer people needed to run agricultural establishments. Efficient transportation of products allow production of items farther away from the customers, rather than in the local mill or mine like what was done in the past. Most urbanization in the developed countries occurred from 1880 to around 1950 Now it is occurring in the developing countries

Pop, Pop. 55, Pop. 1,698,575

An adequate infrastructure is needed to support the influx of people Infrastructure includes roads, sewers, railroads, bridges, canals, fire and police stations, schools, libraries, hospitals, water mains and power lines. An urban crisis develops when this infrastructure is inadequate.

A consequence of this is suburban sprawl Development characterized by houses and strip malls Spread out around cities Offer more living space for less money, lower crime rates and more privacy. Since 1992, more Americans live in the suburbs than in the cities and countryside combined. Suburbs spread over another 2.5 MILLION ACRES every year! Due to this sprawl, areas began to develop plans for how their land would be used.

This land use planning involves determining in advance where people will live, businesses will be located and where land will be protected for wildlife, recreation and other uses. Planners also determine best location for shopping malls, roads, sewers, landfills, electric lines and other components of the infrastructure.

In areas where plans have not been able to be composed or followed other options my improve the existing conditions Use of mass transit Buses, subways and trains Economical & efficient use of land and resources Inner-city renovation Renovate and give new life to areas that have fallen into disrepair due to businesses following people to the suburbs

Protection of open spaces Parks, trails, historical settings, gardens, agricultural areas Give people a place to escape the noisy, crowded conditions of the city Greenery absorbs CO2, filters pollutants and releases O2 Also may give a cooling effect in summer Reduce drainage problems – absorb rainwater and melt water Central Park NYC – 843 acres

How we use land It has to do with trees…. Harvesting trees For paper, furniture, lumber and plywood Americans use (on average) the amount of wood contained in a 30 m tall tree each year Firewood Deforestation - Clearing trees from an area without replacing them Especially serious in rainforests Poor soil can only support crops for a short time, so more forest is cleared to find suitable land

Clear-cutting – removing all trees from an area destroys habitats, increases soil erosion Popular because it is least expensive Selective cutting – removing only middle-aged to mature trees from a site Cut trees are naturally replaced by reseeding.

Reforestation Process of replacing trees that die or are cut down May occur naturally or manually when humans replant seeds and seedlings Protecting forests Forest preserves may be set up. By governments and private conservation groups and citizens Tree planting programs

Ranching Done in areas that support grasses and shrubs Grazing animals such as cattle, sheep and goats are common Grasses are resilient – they grow back from the base of the leaf if the upper part is broken away Are also important in preventing erosion root systems of neighboring plants intertwine and aids in preventing soil erosion

Overgrazing – when grass is grazed by too many animals for too long and the grass is damaged beyond its ability to recover and it dies off. When overgrazing has eliminated the plants to an extent that they never recover then desertification occurs and the useful rangeland becomes wasteland.

Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 has aided in improving the management of rangeland in the United States Highlights grazing management and range management This includes limiting animal herd size, moving herds, eliminating weeds that invade rangeland, planting vegetation in bare spots, fencing areas to allow them to recover from overgrazing, digging water holes to allow for more areas for animals to graze.

Mining Mining for mineral resources uses a large amount of land. Iron, copper and aluminum are common mined minerals Two methods for mining Open-pit mining a large hole is dug from which the ore, or mineral containing rock, is removed. Strip mining large machinery (bulldozers and such) are used to clear away large strips of surface rock. Phosphorite (used in fertilizer) is often mined this way.

Effects Disruption of land surface Vegetation is cleared and habitat is lost Erosion and landslides Toxic chemicals used in the extraction of the ore are often left behind and may pollute water and air Mines in the US collectively produce more waste than all American cities and towns combined Example: For every metric ton of copper produced there are 1200 metric tons of waste material

Responsible mining Reclamation is the restoration of mined land to how it was before mining began Reduce need for mined materials by recycling existing products.

Public Land in the US The first national park was established in the early 1870’s Yellowstone National Park Today there are 55 national parks, and numerous other protected public lands throughout the US. 40% of the land in the United States is publicly owned. May be managed by federal, state or local governments May have several uses for the same area of land (multiple use management) Recreation, logging and conservation area for example This sometimes leads to conflicts between differing viewpoints on how the land might best be used.

Wilderness areas are those areas that the land and the ecosystems it supports are protected from all development. There are 657 regions, covering more than 104 million acres designated as wilderness right now in the US These are open to hiking, fishing, boating (without motors) and camping. No motorized equipment

Some wilderness areas are not doing so well Crowding by thousands of tourists, waste from their passing of paper, aluminum and plastic pollute these protected areas Some areas are even still being mined thanks to last minute claims made by mining companies. Air pollution from nearby urban areas, factories and power plants obscure scenic views Limits on numbers of people that may go into some wilderness areas are being set, and a permit system has been set up. Some areas are being set up as off limits to camping. Volunteer programs to keep the areas clean and education programs to educate the public on how to use these areas are being instituted.