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Rural Land Management

• The main categories of rural land

– farmland

– rangeland

– forest land

– national and state parks, and wilderness

• Condition of rural land important because it provides ecological services

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Farmlands

• Used to grow crops and fruit

– U.S. >100 million hectares of prime farmland

– urban development threatens some productive farmland

• Farmland Protection Program, 1996

– protect farmland from development

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Rangelands

• Supports different vegetation types, not used for farming or timber production

– can be arid or relatively wet

• Most common human use- grazing of livestock

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• Common livestock: cattle, sheep, and goats

– provide meat, milk, wool, and hides

– native wildlife also graze here

• Essential for maintaining the world’s food supply.

• Population growth may require a 40 percent increase

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Problems on the Range

• Overgrazing

– depletion of vegetation due to the continuous feeding of too many animals

– changes plant community, less desirable replace more-desirable species

• Severe overgrazing

– all the vegetation eaten, soil erodes

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Maintaining the Range

• Most public land managed by the federal government

• The Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978

– to reverse harm, improve land management practices

– main tool: limit herd size

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Improving degraded rangeland

• Kill invasive plants, plant native vegetation, fence off areas

• Provide many small water holes so that the vegetation around a single water hole is not overgrazed

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Forest Lands

• Provide paper, furniture, lumber and plywood for our homes

• Provide food, chemicals

– Ex: syrup and turpentine

• Important for removal of CO2 from the air

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Harvesting Trees

• 1,800 cm3 of wood/ person / day

– U.S. uses about 3.5 times world amount

• Developing countries: firewood main source of fuel

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Three categories

• Virgin forests: forests that have never been cut.

• Native forests: forests that are planted and managed

• Tree farms: areas where trees are planted in rows and harvested like other crops

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Clear-cutting

• Process of removing all of the trees from an area of land

– destroys wildlife habitat and causes soil erosion

Selective cutting

• Process of cutting and removing only middle-aged or mature trees

- more expensive than clear-cutting

- usually much less destructive

- practiced on smaller areas owned by individuals

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Harvesting Trees

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Deforestation

• Process of clearing forests

• convert the land into farmland, and to make space for roads, homes, factories, and office buildings

– reduces wildlife habitat

– soil erosion usually results if the area is not quickly planted with a cover crop

• rate of deforestation is especially high in tropical rain forests

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Reforestation

• Reestablishment and development of trees in a forest land.

• Some places this is happening faster than trees are being cut down

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• Some governments require reforestation after timber has been harvested from public land.

• More than 90 percent of all timber comes unmanaged lands

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Parks and Preserves

• First national park, Yellowstone, created 1870

– U.S. currently has about 50 national parks

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• Most public lands not as protected as national parks

– leased to private companies for logging, mining, and ranching.

– maintained for hunting, fishing, wild-life refuges, or to protect endangered species

• Biosphere Program: include people in the management plan of the reserves

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Wilderness

• Region that is not cultivated and not inhabited by humans

• U.S. Wilderness Act, 1964, designated wilderness areas

– 474 regions covering 32 million acres

– open to hiking, fishing, and camping.

– no roads, structures and or motorized equipment allowed

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Benefits of Protected Areas

• Provide the only place where unspoiled forests, deserts, or prairies remain.

• Serve as outdoor classrooms and research labs

• Provide recreation, such as hiking and camping, for many people

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Threats to Protects Areas

• Litter and traffic jams now plague many of our national parks.

• Rangelands, mining and logging sites, oil and gas operations, power plants, and urban areas are often close enough to affect the parks.

• Climate change, air and water pollution also problems

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Protecting wilderness

• Limit number of people permitted in an area at any given time

• Some areas are completely closed to people

• Volunteers help pick up trash, build trails, control invading or exotic species, educate the visiting public