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Land Usage and Management. Land Usage. We use land for several things: Residential- Homes and living spaces Agricultural- Land that produces food for human consumption Industrial- Factories and places that make items Commercial- Stores and places that make money
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Land Usage • We use land for several things: • Residential- Homes and living spaces • Agricultural- Land that produces food for human consumption • Industrial- Factories and places that make items • Commercial- Stores and places that make money • Wild Lands-Land that is not used for anything, but allowed to be natural and wild.
Land Usage • Any time that humans use land, they change the native ecosystem. • Forests become grasslands (NYS), deserts become grasslands (Las Vegas) • This can change the biodiversity of an ecosystem Desert Rose Golf Club, Las Vegas Just outside Las Vegas
To have a place to live (residential) To grow food (agricultural) To have a place to make stuff (industrial) To have a place to buy stuff (commercial) Why Do Humans Change the Ecosystems?
Residential Issues • Houses take up space! AND people want lush green grass yards! • Suburban sprawl-The spread of housing developments around the outside of cities • Often built on wetlands • Generate tons of solid waste (waste that is solid)
Agricultural Issues • A lot of land is used to grow just one kind of plant (crop) • Often harsh chemical pesticides and fertilizers are used • These pesticides can runoff and containment water supplies
Industrial Issues • Industry uses a lot of water…195 billion gallons of water per day. • Industry also has to get rid of its waste products. To do this cheaply, they just dump the wastes into the nearest stream… • This causes pollution, and is illegal, but its expensive to get rid of the waste ecologically, so some companies still pollute.
Superfund • Superfund is a law • It states that when the EPA identifies polluters, they can make those polluters clean up the pollution • OR make the polluters pay to have it cleaned up. • Sometimes, they can’t find or make the polluters pay though • The money for Superfund comes from taxes on oil and energy companies
Commercial Issues • Commercial properties take up SPACE. • This is space that organisms can’t use anymore. • Also, commercial properties produce a lot of waste, both water and solid. • Parking Lots!
Wild Spaces • Parks are NOT wild! They are gardens, where humans sculpture them for their own uses. • True wilderness areas are free from the direct influence of humans • The Endangered Species Act of 1972 preserves the habitat (land) of endangered species