Land Land Use –Forest/ Woodland 30% –Rangeland/ Grassland 29% –Cropland 17% –Wetland/ Tundra/ Desert 13% –Wilderness/parks/wildlife refuge 9% –Urban 2%
Land Use Urban area- A place with greater than 5000 people per square mile Rural area- Area that has few people and is mainly forest, agriculture land or rangeland
Land Use People in urban areas depend on rural areas for most of their needs –Raw materials- Wood, minerals, oil etc. –Food- Crops and livestock –Water- Reservoirs
Land Use Urbanization- The movement of people from rural areas to cities –Due to rapid industrialization and mechanization of farming People move to the cities for work Occurred rapidly between 1880 and 1950
Land Use Urban Crisis- When people move to cities faster than the infrastructure can be built to support them –More people become homeless, needs of people are not met, poverty becomes rampant
Land Use Suburban sprawl- Expansion of a cities borders which consumes rural lands and increases the demand on local resources
Land Use Planning Allocating land and resources in a sustainable manner –Results in well developed cities where resources are preserved and infrastructure is capable of supporting the population
Land Use Mass transit- Economical efficient means of moving people from one place to another –MARTA- Atlanta's mass transit system
Land Use Inner city renovation –Taking run down areas in the inner city and making it more attractive to people Reduces urban sprawl Reduces traffic Saves resources
Land Use Green Space- Areas left near a city where forest and natural resources are left intact. –Reduces stress –Allows wildlife to flourish –Reduces pollution
Land Use Rural Land Use –Harvesting Trees Used for paper, lumber and manufacturing –Increased demand is putting stress on forestlands
Land Use Deforestation- Clearing of forest land for timber, agriculture and cities –More land is being cleared than reforested –Clear cutting- Cutting all of the trees on a piece of land
Land Use –Selective cutting- Cutting mature trees and leaving smaller ones to maintain the forest –Reforestation- Replanting trees in an area that has been clear cut in the past
Land Use Protecting Forests –Setting aside forest lands –Replanting previously cut areas –Protecting forest lands from fire, cutting or any other destructive force.
Land Use Ranching- Using land for raising cattle or other livestock –Problems Overgrazing Desertification Destruction of forests
Land Use Mining- Taking mineral resources from underground –Open pit mining- Large hole is dug to remove the ore from the ground –Strip Mining- Strips of land are removed to reach the ore
Land Use Effects of mining –Pollution of water resources –Land is consumed –Toxic chemical released into the environment
Land Use Reclamation- Renewing mined lands in order to return them back into a usable tract of land
Land Use Public Lands- Lands that are available for anyone to use 40% of land in the US –National Parks –Rangeland –Wilderness areas –National forests