1. Chapter Fourteen:LAnd

2. Section One: How We Use Land
Land Use and Land Cover
Used for farming, mining, recreation, and building cities and highways
Urban land: land that is covered mainly with buildings and roads
Rural land: land that contains relatively few people and large areas of open space
Provides resources such as wood, forests, crops, and minerals

3. Section One: How We Use Land
Where We Live
Until 1850s most people lived in rural areas
After the Industrial Revolution, most moved to cities
The Urban-Rural Connection
We depend on resources produced in rural areas
Ecosystem Services: resources that are produced by natural and artificial ecosystems
People in developed nations use more ecosystem services than those in developing nations

4. Section Two: Urban Land Use
Urbanization
The movement of people from rural areas to cities
People usually leave for more plentiful and better paying jobs
Infrastructure: all the things that society builds for public use
Includes schools, roads, parks, bridges, power line, etc.
Urban sprawl: rapid expansion of a city into the countryside around the city
Occurs when suburbs are built

5. Section Two: Urban Land Use
Urbanization
Marginal land: land that is poorly suited for building
Heat island: increased temperature in the cities
Cities generate and trap heat
Roads and buildings absorb more heat from the sun and retain it longer
Atlanta is an example

6. Section Two: Urban Land Use
Urban Planning
Land-use planning: determining in advance how land will be used
Where will houses and offices be built?
Requires looking at the environmental impact
Geographic Information System (GIS): a computerized system for storing, manipulating, and viewing geographic data

7. Section Two: Urban Land Use
Urban Planning
Transportation
Cars and mass transit systems ( subways and buses)
Open Space
Land that is set aside inside urban areas for recreational and scenic enjoyment
Public parks, gardens, and biking and hiking trails

8. Section Three: Land Management and Conservation
Farmlands
Used to grow crops and fruit
U.S. has more than 100 million hectares
Threatened by urban development

9. Section Three: Land Management and Conservation
Rangelands
Land that supports different types of vegetation
Not used for farming or timber
Damaged by overgrazing
Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978
Sought to improve land management strategies

10. Section Three: Land Management and Conservation
Forest Lands
Harvested for timber
Clear cutting and selective cutting
Forest provide carbon dioxide removal from the air
Deforestation: the clearing of trees from an area without replacing them
Decreases wildlife habitat, increases erosion
Very high in the tropical rain forests
Reforestation: the process by which trees are planted to re-establish trees have been cut down in the forest land

11. Section Three: Land Management and Conservation
Parks and Preserves
U.S. has more than 50 national parks
Wilderness: an area in which the land and the ecosystems it supports are protected from all exploitation
Some are used for recreational purposes
Helps to protect species