1 / 24

Land and Water Use

Land and Water Use. Part 3. Rangelands. What is Rangeland?. Uncultivated land dominated by native plants: grasses, grass-like plants, or shrubs. All land that is not farmland, dense forest, barren desert or land covered by solid rock, concrete, or glaciers. How much rangeland is there?.

damien
Download Presentation

Land and Water Use

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Land and Water Use Part 3

  2. Rangelands

  3. What is Rangeland? • Uncultivated land dominated by native plants: grasses, grass-like plants, or shrubs. • All land that is not farmland, dense forest, barren desert or land covered by solid rock, concrete, or glaciers

  4. How much rangeland is there? 47% of the EARTH is rangeland 36% of the US is rangeland 53% of Western States is rangeland

  5. Issues Facing Rangelands • Overgrazing • Desertification

  6. How Overgrazing Kills Plants • When grazed severely, use energy stored in roots for regrowth • Roots die back • Severity depends on grazing • Grazed again before roots recover

  7. Positive Effect of Root Dieback • Adds organic matter • Increased soil porosity • Increased infiltration • Increased moisture holding capacity

  8. Consequences of Overgrazing

  9. Causes of Desertification • Overgrazing • Soil erosion • Prolonged drought or climate change • Overuse of available resources

  10. Who owns rangeland? • “Public Land” is owned and managed by federal and state governments • Bureau of Land Management (BLM) • U.S. Forest Service

  11. What is rangeland management? • The careful use and management of rangeland resources (plants, animals, soil, and water) to meet the needs and desires of society

  12. Rangeland Management Goals • Controlling the number and distribution of livestock • Restoring degraded rangeland • Moving livestock to allow recovery • Reduce damage to sensitive areas (riparian zones) • Boundary zone between land and stream

  13. Rangeland Management Goals • Suppress growth of invasive species • Reduce soil erosion • Replant native grasses • Provide supplemental feed • Locating water holes, water tanks, salt blocks in areas where will not affect environment.

  14. Mining

  15. Overview

  16. Will Site be Profitable?

  17. Extraction • Site development

  18. Extraction • Surface Mining • Pros: • Cons

  19. Extraction • Underground Mining • Pros • Cons

  20. Extraction • In-situ Leaching • Pros • Cons

  21. Processing • Intensive chemical processing • Often uses extreme heat and toxic chemicals • Chemical frequently leak into ground water

  22. Global Reserves • 2 billion tons of minerals extracted in US every year • Oil • Coal • Natural Gas

  23. Relevant Laws • General Mining Law 1872 • Free access to prospect for minerals on federal lands • Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 1977 • Regulates surface coal mining and reclamation activities

More Related