Land Resources

1. Land Resources Tirath, Mathew, Umal, Akshay, Sunjeet

2. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Land - The Basic Resource • Provides basic resources, arable (crop) and pastoral (animal) farming • 11 % of land is used to grow crops, Large parts like tundra, deserts are unsuitable, • Pasture lands occupy more space than crop lands • 31% forested timber, the land provides mineral resources, fossil fuels, living space; Forestry, Mining, Urban Land use affect the land Need of Space • Use land in many ways, farming, manufacture, business • ¼ of North America used for transportation • - Modern City for Residential Use e.g. gardens • Canadian wildlife like bears moose, beaver Pressure • Issues like Soil Fertility and threatened Wild Life caused by demand of population. • Tons of pressure on countries like Netherlands 15 million people in 37 000 km^2 of land • 75% [ ] of Population in cities like Montreal and Toronto - need more resources to sustain • Need good wastes facilities to get rid of enormous wastes • Pressure on farmers to produce higher yield of crops

3. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE – Chemical Use • Increasing population = Decreasing resources • Western Countries using chemicals since WW2 (herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers) • Profit, use weed killers to kill weed, keeping grass allowing grain growth, in prairies change way of grain farming • Consumer demand has caused farmers to use insecticides in larger quantities and make the product cosmetically attractive • Environmental Problems, seepage of nitrates, phosphates enter ground water reaching rivers, oceans, O2 depleting , up to 17 residues found in ½ of U.S. states • Diseases like cancer, lymphoid glands (DDT) slow break down, remain in environment • 1million cases of WHOpesticide poisoning, developing countries can’t afford to wear protective clothing • Farming ecosystems from tractors and plants chemical sprays • Affect species, insects, kill pests (remove natural check to the growth of pesticide pop.) • New, powerful chemicals to overcome pesticides known as “pesticide treadmill” • Damage plant metabolism more vulnerable to diseases • Fertilizers  fossil fuels & mineral in manufacture • Maintain fertility farms use (nonrenewable (fossil fuels)) and renewable (crops, and animal products)  insufficient way of farming (energy food). Farming is NOT SUSTAINALE DEPENDS TOO HEAVILY ON FOSSIL FUELS AND CONRIBUTES TO AIR POLLUTION

4. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE – IPM & Organic Farming • Integrated Pest Management(IPM)  integrate eliminate use of pests, no biological control avoid use altogether • Control Intro natural enemies (stink bugs), synthetic sex attractants (male gypsy moths) • Irradiation infertility as means of controlling pest management • Pathogens disease causing spray on moths and butterflies, plant breeding, build in resistance to pests Organic Farming • Silent Spring (book) 1962  public interest in organic methods • Farming use crop rotation, legume crops (alfalfa) to put Nitrogen back into the soil • Biotechnologyused to fix Nitrogen capacity from the atmosphere • Organic Farmers use animal manure, leach ground, organic residues as mulch • Cultivation intercropping (grow alternate rows) to increase nutrients • 2-7 years to clean chemicals, no business during that time • Organic Farming lower cultivation costs but higher prices

5. Soil erosion and conservation • Soil Erosion occurs when soil is weakened by the loss of humus nutrients and is removed by the action of wind or water. • Maintain Soil as a renewable source conditions: • First- most soils should NOT be exposed to heavy rainfall • The hummus in the layer should be gradually renewed by decaying vegetation otherwise rich fertile soil may take several hundreds of years to develop it can also be destroyed in a couple years or even days if not taken care of.

6. Soil erosion and conservationNutrient Depletion • Soil ecosystem heavily depends on decomposition of organic material. • Nutrients can be used again by plants (recycled) • As successive crops are removed by farmers even rich soils like in the prairies decline in fertility. • Countries cannot afford to restore fertility = Nutrient depletion • In many parts of Asia and Africa the crops have been exhausted due to continuous cropping • Main fertilizer is cattle manure but often dried and burned for fuel rather than fertilizer

7. Soil erosion and conservation Wind Erosion Water Erosion • Occurs in semi arid or arid areas where the vegetation cover is removed or reduced • Farmers use dry farming techniques to converse moisture • Trash farming or stubble mulching and they would leave stubble on the harvest for protection • Strip farming where crops are grown in strips across the line of prevailing winds • Shelter belts or windbreaks are to reduce wind speed • Moving water = enormous erosion power • The worst soil erosion is when vegetation is removed from sloping areas with heavy rainfall which leads to gully erosion (Southern U.S. & Canada( • Sheet erosion is the gradual removal of top soil on sloping land • Many soil programs were set up in the 1930’s such as the PFRA-prairie farm rehabilitation administration • Solutions • Contour ploughing • Stream control • Gully re-vegetation and reforestation

8. Soil erosion and conservationReduction ways in developing nations • World’s poorest countries are trying to overcome the problem of soil erosion • Population pressure and the growth of cash crops to pay interest on foreign debts have hindered the process • CIDA- Canadian international development agency helps the developing countries with soil erosion • NGO’s also provide some practical help • The best solution must be cheap and require only low levels of technology

9. Desertification – Serious problem facing civilizations • WE (human activities) have caused the desert to expand • 20% of earth’s land surface contains over 80 million people are threatened by desertification • The united nations conference on desertification UNCOD was held on 1977 in Kenya, ten years later resolution to the problem have barely been solved • Twenty one million hectares of once productive land are still being lost each year throughout the world

10. Northern coniferous rain forests • Out of Canada’s 463 000 000 ha of forest most of it is Northern Coniferous (boreal) forest. • The warmer and more south of the forest the larger the trees • Pine= main species in the forest in Ontario and Quebec • On the coast of B.C there is a larger growing season due to the heavy precipitation causing rapid growth of trees • Canada has 40% of the worlds northern forests • Ontario established the principle of sustained yield in the 1929 Pulpwood Act • The annual allowable cut (AAC) is a method to sustain trees • Best time for cutting a tree is at the maturestage • Our forests provide us with many resources for ex. Water management, fishing and recreation co-existing with forestry

11. Northern coniferous rain forests Replaced? • AAC (Annual Allowable Cut) is most likely to be reduced when the period of cutting old forests are over • BCforests have a inventory of 4.5 billion cubic meters of timber which is over 140 years old • Some reforested land new growth has failed because of soil erosion of poor planting • Survival rate of seedlings in B.C is 73% Is the ecosystem being preserved? • Soil productivity is being reduced • Long term soil can be threatened by soil erosion and by a loss of fungi

12. Northern coniferous rain forests Clear cutting or selective logging? • Clear Cutting: where all trees in a certain area are completely wiped out • Selective Logging: where only certain trees are taken out • Selective logging is not a good method for areas with large trees • There has been complains about clear cutting being taken place in areas which are too large • A solution is to clear cut in smaller areas even though it is more expensive Should old growth forests be preserved? • The Carmanah Valley in BC: was about to be logged, but they found a bunch of groves of giant Sitka spruce trees, which are one of the biggest spruce trees. They eventually planned to save the grove trees but take out the rest, but eventually compromised to half of it being logged and other half being a park.

13. Northern coniferous rain forests The role of Silviculture • is the science of growing trees • Offers genetically improved trees • Trees would grow faster and be more resistant to pests and diseases The economic importance of forestry in Canada • Forestry stands for 15% of Canada’s exports • Forestry has provides 780 000 Canadians with a job

14. Tropical rain forests • 1/3 of the earth’s surface is forested, an important source for new, raw materials, recreational areas etc. • The tropical rain forest ecosystem is the most productive, varies and fragile on earth • No trees = Soil Erosion = Soil Infertility • Why is the rain forest being destroyed? • Worldwide demand for timber • South America is the important source of tropical hardwoods • In Central America 2/3 of the loss of forest have been caused by cattle farming

15. Tropical rain forests – CONSEQUENCES OF FURTHER DESTRUCTION Possible climatic changes • The burning of tropical rain forests adds 2 or 3 billion times of carbon per year to the atmosphere • Deforestation = increase in methane Loss of plant and animal species • The rain forest has about 3-4 million species of plants and animals, clearing could result in extinction. The loss of winter habitats • Millions of birds migrate to the rain forest, the loss of the rain forest habitats will cause an environmental effect Natives • Hunt, fish, building materials, clothes, medicine are relied on these forests

16. Mining–extraction of mineral ores/fossil fuels from underground to an extent of disturbing land services; Mining discharge toxic waste into rivers and aquifers harming the surface of the land. Underground (Dangerous) Open Pit/Strip (Less Fatal) • Requires of system of tunnels due to the depth of the minerals • Collapsing tunnels and inflammable gases and dust can cause lung disease • Collapsing tunnels = Sinking surface of the land and buildings • Accumulation of Wastes • A large surface pit is dug, can be a source of dust and noise disturbing communities • Millions of tonnes of rock is moved around allowing low grade ores to be mined, Less than 1 percent of many based metals contain ore • Produce a lot of waste and H20 reservoirs that allow mining waste to accumulate (Tailings Ponds), contains toxic such as cyanide • A huge risk of contaminated water leaking into rivers and underground water surface • Mining cannot be avoided, but returning waste into mines land can eventually be restored

17. URBANIZATION • Towns and cities grow quickly in terms of population and area • Much farmland is converted into urban areas by being consumed by houses, roads and factories • More money can be obtained from industries and residential development • Farmers are offered more money for their land than what they make • Only hope is careful strategies and good stable laws • Agriculture and land reserves policy was established by BC government to limit the transformation of farmland to urban uses • In BC industrial waste sewage results an increase of pollutants in Fraser river and endangering human health and aquatic life http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9AZfwfyATI

18. Wild Fires in Alberta and Manitoba

19. Where? Alberta (Bonnyville Area) Manitoba (Badger)

20. When? Started approximately May 12th 2012, last update was May 15th and the fire did not seem as if it was going down anytime soon.

21. What? Due the weather conditions the wildfires have been spreading very rapidly. 12 families in Alberta Bonnyville had to evacuate as the fire was approaching them. For the village of Badger in Manitoba 6 families got some good news and could go home to gather up some belongings. There are currently 150 firefighters trying to take town this wild fire. Highway 211 was closed for a period of time due to poor visibility caused by the smoke of the wild fire.

22. Why? The main reason of these fires happening is the warm temperature, strong winds and the dry conditions.

23. Questions Since we are so close to Alberta, How do you think this incident will affect us? and the industries, families in Alberta? As a community, how can we prevent these kind of disasters from occuring?

24. Relations with Land Resources A major land resource we use in Canada is the forestry industry. This is a main export for Canada and provides many Canadians with jobs. When there is a forest fire it burns down many of the timber trees which could’ve been logged and put to proper use rather then being burned to the ground and taking away a major resource of ours.