impacts on land

Impacts on Land

Biblical Reference

When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?

Isaiah 28:21

• How do humans use land?– Agriculture– Resources– Housing

• How do these uses impact the environment?

Using Land Resources

• Wood and Paper Products– Furniture– Notebooks

• Fuel

• Clearing Land:– Housing– Farms– Malls– Highways

Forest Resources

• The removal of large areas of forests for human purposes

– Approximately 130,000 km2 of tropical rain forests cut down per year

• Home to almost 50% of the world’s animal species

– Soil Quality: Roots are natural anchors• More Landslides

– Air Quality: Photosynthesis• Increased CO2 in the atmosphere

Deforestation

Deforestation in Borneo

• 6.7 Billion people eat a lot of food– Farmers use fertilizers with nitrogen to increase crop

yield

• Nitrogen naturally cycles through ecosystems– Living things use nitrogen to make protein– When they die, they release nitrogen into soil &

atmosphere

• Nitrogen makes up 79% of the atmosphere, but it can’t be used in it’s gaseous form– Bacteria convert nitrogen into a useful form for plants

Agriculture & the Nitrogen Cycle

• Human activities have doubled the amount of nitrogen cycling in our ecosystem

• Excess nitrogen kills plants and the organisms that depend on those plants

• Fertilizers pollute drinking water

• Nitrogen-rich runoff enters the oceans and affects aquatic organisms

The Problem…

Cycles Video

• Soil erosion occurs when land is overfarmed or overgrazed

Desertification: The development of desert-like conditions due to human activities and/or climate change

• Land that has undergone desertification is no longer useful for farming.

Other Effects of Agriculture

• Mines are essential for acquiring much-needed resources– Copper, Coal, Limestone, Cement, Sand, Gravel,

etc.– Underground or surface mining

• Mining disturbs habitats and changes the landscape

• Runoff can contain heavy metals and pollute water supplies

Mining

Mountaintop Removal Mining

• Land, itself is a resource

• Schools, houses, factories, malls, highways, amusement parks, etc., all take up space

Construction & Development

• Suburbs started to grow in the1950’s

• When they became crowded, people moved even farther out, resulting in Urban Sprawl

Impacts of Urban Sprawl:– Habitat Destruction– Loss of Farmland– Light Pollution– Noise Pollution– Increased Runoff

Urban Sprawl

Light Pollution:– Artificial illumination of the sky– Interferes with studies in astronomy

Noise Pollution:– Unwanted or excessive noise from people,

transportation or machinery– Long-term exposure can cause hearing loss or

disrupt wildlife

Pollution

• Disturb habitats and divert animal migration paths

• Increase Runoff• U.S.

– Nearly 300 million registered vehicles– Over 4.07 million miles of roads

• 2.6 million miles are paved

Roadways

• 6.7 Billion people– 2.1 kg of trash per person per day– 230 million tons of trash each day

Waste Management

• Areas where trash is buried– Take up valuable land resources

• Highly regulated– Covered by soil to keep it from blowing away– Special liners prevent from contaminating soil and

groundwater supplies• Landfills can be capped and the land re-used

for parks, golf courses and ski resorts• Methane is collected and used to generate

electricity

Landfills

• Trash that contains substances that are harmful to soil, air and water quality– Affects the health of humans and wildlife

• Industrial example: – Medical Waste

• Household examples: – Cleaning chemicals or electronics

• Cannot be placed in landfills– EPA helps people safely dispose of Hazardous

Waste

Hazardous Waste

Government, Businesses and Individuals can work together to reduce the impact of human activities on land resources.

Positive Actions

• Yellowstone National Park was our first national park in 1872.– President Woodrow Wilson developed the

National Park Service in 1916– State and local governments created their

own park systems• National, state and local parks protect

wildlife habitats and allow people to enjoy the great outdoors

Protecting the Land

National Parks

• Forests are complex ecosystems• Methods of saving Forests:

– Select-Cutting• Only cutting down some trees in each area

– Reforestation• Planting trees to replace cut or burned trees

• Reclamation: restoring land disturbed by mining– Land is re-shaped, covered with soil and replanted

with trees or other vegetation– Comes from Latin word, reclamare, which means

“to call back”

Reforestation & Reclamation

• Areas that are left undeveloped amid the parking lots, streets, buildings and sidewalks of cities

Benefits:– Provide recreational opportunities for humans– Provide shelter for wildlife– Reduce runoff– Remove excess CO2

Green Spaces

• Turn off lights

• Turn down the thermostat

• Use cloth grocery bags

• Avoid single-serving items

• Get rid of junk mail

• Don’t buy bottled water

How Can You Help? (Reduce)

• Use cloth napkins

• Hold a yard sale

• Visit a yard sale

• Use the back side of paper for scratch work

• Donate to Goodwill

• Create a compost pile

How Can You Help? (Reuse)

• Aluminum Cans

• Newspapers

• Phonebooks

• Plastic Bags

• Plastic Bottles

• Yard Waste

How Can You Help? (Recycle)

Agree or Disagree?3. Deforestation does not affect soil quality.4. Most trash is recycled.

Landfills do which of the following to control pollution?

Pop Quiz

A. cover the landfill with clay and dirt

B. line the landfill with sand or gravel

C. monitor the quality of underground

oxygen

D. use groundwater to dilute liquid wastes

Which of these describes areas where trash is buried?

Pop Quiz

A. runoffB. landfillC. urban sprawlD. none of these

Which of these is NOT an impact of urban sprawl?

Pop Quiz

A. loss of farmland B. increase in runoffC. habitat destruction D. fewer cars on highways