Chapter 8: Land

Section 8-2: How We Use Land

As the human population grows, ever-increasing amounts of land and resources are needed to support it.

Non-urban Land Uses

Forests – paper, furniture, home constructionGrasslands – support livestock, farmlandMineral resources – power engines, become

skyscrapers/electronic devices

But as our population grows, non-urban land areas are put under great stress; often, the usefulness of these areas is even destroyed by overuse.

FACTS – HARVESTING TREES

The world-wide average is 1,800 cu. cm of wood per person per day.In the United States, the use is 3.5 times greater than the world’s consumption.This is the equivalent of each person in the U.S. cutting down a 30-m-tall tree every year.

Also, 1.5 billion people in

developing countries depend upon firewood as their major source

of fuel.

In some places, it’s not the trees but the forest land that is valuable – the trees are removed to make way for

farming.

Each year at least 2 million hectares or 4.9 million acres of forest are cut

down worldwide.

Deforestation involves clearing trees from an area without replacing them

–this occurs most commonly in tropical rainforests.

Because the poor soil in tropical rain forests can usually support crops for only a short period of time, farmers

must continually move from one parcel of land to the next.

This farming method is known as slash and burn, and is one of the oldest known

forms of agriculture.

Methods of Harvesting Trees

Clear cutting – process that involves removing all of the trees from a land area.Selective cutting – involves cutting only the middle-aged or mature trees.

Clear cutting

Destroys wildlife habitats.Increases soil erosion.Diminishes the beauty of forests.It is popular because it is the least expensive way of timbering.Requires very little road building to harvest the trees.

CLEAR CUTTING

Selective cutting

Main alternative to clear cutting.Trees are removed from forest individually or in small groups.With time, removed trees are replaced naturally by reseeding.It has less of an impact on the forest ecosystem.Requires roads to harvest a given amount of timber – causes soil erosion.

Reforestation is the process of

replacing trees that have died or been

cut down.

Some governments require reforestation after timber is removed

from public land; however, worldwide, more than 90% of all

timber comes from forests that are not managed.

Reforestation is required on public

lands in the U.S., but this law is not enforced,

and most of the country’s forest land is

privately owned.