According to Meyer and Turner (1992), land use refers to the human employment of the land while land cover denotes the physical and biotic structure of the land surface. In most instances the former drives the later, even though there are circumstances where the latter dictates and governs what kind of use the land is suitable and deemed for. Lambini (2006), explains it as: land use refers to the purpose of land cover exploitation by humans that’s why it can be defined as the factor that cause land cover change. The author goes further to sate land cover change comprises the shift of a cover to one or more types. There are at least two factors that cause land cover changes (when artificially instigated) the proximate: which is the direct …show more content…
Further stating, of the land degradation in the world about 85% which is associated with soil erosion, most of which occurred since the end of World War II. From Review of RUSL p1 Excessive erosion degrades the landscape, reduces soil productivity, increases the difficulty of establishing and maintaining vegetation, inconveniences mowing, and produces sediment that cause downstream damage. From USLE vs RUSLE Soil erosion consists of two-phases, detachment of individual soil particles from the soil mass and transportation by erosive agents (Paland Samanta,2011). And these two phases are commonly followed by deposition, a third step, where sufficient energy is no longer available. Soil erosion can occur due to various phenomenons and factors. Phenomenon’s being: natural forces (rain, wind, ice, snow, e.t.c) and artificial (deforestation, construction, mining, e.t.c). However the extent of this phenomenon’s effect on the rate of erosion is dependent on or to some extent governed by certain factors: such as land use, land cover soil properties, topography and so forth. 2.2. 1 Factors affecting soil …show more content…
A) Climatic Factor These factors are natural phenomenons that are the forces behind detachment and transportation of soil particles. They can be wind, precipitation, snow or gravity, for this study the focus will be precipitation. Precipitation causes soil erosion, as rain droplets hit the ground surface they cause the detachment of soil particles, making them susceptible to transportation, following the cumulative effect of the rainfall results in runoff being formed at which point this horizontal movement of water carries/washes away the detached particles, thereby eroding them. B) Soil Characteristic Factor Soil characteristics factor refers to the nature of the soil and its degree of susceptibility of to be eroded: detached and transported by erosive agents. This is highly dependent on the physical and chemical property of a given soil: which dictates the infiltration capacity of soils and their tendency to be dislodged and carried away. According to (Fangmeier et al., 2006), the properties that influence erosion include soil structure, texture, organic matter, water content, clay mineralogy, and density, as well as chemical and biological characteristics of the soil. Depending on such characters the erodability nature and extent of the soil
Lake Huron on the other hand, has less dunes than Lake Michigan due to the fact that the western winds blow the sand back into the lake, making for a sandy bottom. Lake Superior has the only sand dunes on the Keweenaw Peninsula, which were blown in after the glacial departure. Glaciers may have played a large role in the shaping of Michigan but they were not the only foundation. There are actually three different groups of factors that cause erosion: terrestrial forces, aquatic forces and human activities. There are a handful of aquatic forces that have been a part of the shaping of
Now we can see that the more land the farmers use with heavy mechanisms like tractors, the more soil and dirt is exposed. With the grass gone and dirt open, wind and dust will carry it up in the air and collect more and more when time goes
Michael Boydstun ENVS 101-1998 Environmental Impact of deforestation In the Pacific Northwest The first people to explore the wilderness in what is now Oregon and Washington documented beautiful forests of mesmerizingly large trees as far as the eye can see. The explorer’s initial reports brought in people who came to make a profit off the forest and the vast amounts of lumber it could provide. Lumber mills were built before the area was even added to the union. The environmental footprint started out small, but the lack of regulation, lack of enforcement of the existing regulations, and an increase in technology quickly created a large environmental battle over the whole region.
Throughout the book, Changes in the Land, by William Cronon, ecological changes in colonial England are discussed, analyzed, and elaborated. The first part of the book, Looking Backward, talks of many comparisons between Henry David Thoreau and his outlook on his Concord home to William Wood’s perspective of New England. Through these comparisons, the ecosystem of New England is described, along with how the Europeans and the Indians interact with each other, which in turn affected the eventual outcomes of the ecosystem. The second part of the book, The Ecological Transformation of New England, speaks of how the Indians were reserved with their land and resources, never using more than they needed nor more than they knew they had. However,
William Cronon’s Changes in the Land shows the effect on the land of widely disparate conceptions of ownership owned by Indians and English colonists. He also interprets the situations occurring in New England with the plant and animal communities and the change from Indian to English take over. As residents of Europe were introduced to North America, the boundaries between the two were unclear. Cronon uses evidence to explain the situation that led to the ecological ramification of contact with New England. The law materialized land, making it material of which the purchaser had ownership.
4. Habitat alteration: Removal and reduction of natural habitat by flooding, soil erosion and water
The US uses 44.5% of the land for agricultural things wheras Peru uses 18.8% of its land for Ag. The United States is bordered by only 2 countries, Mexico and Canada, but Peru is bordered by 5, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, and
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/oka-crisis#:~:text=Overall%2C%20the%20crisis%20made%20more,across%20Canada%20to%20take%20action. The Oka Crsis Article During the Oka Crisis, the loss of land had significant consequences for the Mohawks of Kanesatake and impacted theirtraditional values. The expansion of a golf course and townhouse construction threatened their ancestral territory, leading to a strong resistance from the community.
This is a United States territorial acquisitions and conquests list, beginning with American independence. Note that this list primarily concerns land the United States acquired from other nation-states; the territorial acquisitions from Native Americans are not listed here. History of United States 1783–1853 The 1783 Treaty of Paris with Great Britain defined the original borders of the United States.
Many people lose their livelihood, for e.g. farmers. These people will need to be compensated, which is usually costly. The cost depends on amount of compensation to be paid to the local people affected by erosion. Land Management Maintenance of sand dunes provide a natural defence against the sea.
Argumentative Essay Zeena Morar 12J Climate change is currently being felt around the world and unless the developed world makes substantial changes to its selfish ways, we are all doomed to face the fires of hell on earth. One third of the earth’s land is currently threatened as what we do to the air, land and water affects the balance of ecosystems and ultimately the world. The developed world uses wood for mining, building, furniture and paper. Saw and paper mills that are used to create these products, pollute the air and water.
2.8.2 Urbanization Urbanization led many areas becomes more modernized. Lowland areas have been reclaimed by taking land from the hills. There are also small rivers that filled up to be used as a building site. Activities such as these are a common factor of flooding. In the past, creeks and valleys turned into water flow, now the area has been covered with soil.
Sustainable forest management requires three major criteria which are the maintenance of ecological processes within the forest (soil formation, energy flow, biogeochemical cycles (carbon, nutrient and hydrological cycles), maintenance of biodiversity of forest, improving the net social benefits derived from the mixture of forest uses within the constraints by considering the future. Forest provides habitats for more than half of the fauna and flora on the Earth (SCBD, 2001). Forest biome plays an important role in mitigating climate change by serving as carbon sinks (Hassan et al., 2005). Forest land is the most fundamental natural resources which become reduced mainly due to anthropogenic pressures. For proper management of land, it is essential to have information about existing land cover and about the naturalness of the land.
And one of the old solutions for this concern is to increase number of cultivation lands and exploit new fish stocks. But the competition for land from other human activities makes this an increasingly unlikely and costly solution .for example food producers are experiencing grater rivalry for land, water energy and the need to curb the many negative effects of food production on the environment becoming increasingly clear (Tilman et al. ,2001;
Nowadays, environmental degradation has become an important issue. This is because environmental degradation is one of the largest threats that is being looked at in the world today. This is because of the depletion of important resources such as air, water, and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. To limit the impact of these situations, it is important to know the possible side-effects of environmental degradation. Therefore, there are several causes and negative effects of environmental degradation provided in this essay with some recommendations to prevent it.