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Land Use in the World

Explore the evolution of land management ethics in the United States, from maximizing profit to preservationist approaches, including challenges faced in public lands and national parks. Learn about sustainable practices and solutions to protect biodiversity and address forest and rangeland issues.

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Land Use in the World

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  1. Land Use in the World

  2. Land Use in the United States Rangeland and pasture 29%

  3. U.S. Public Lands

  4. Managing U.S. Public Lands • Management ethics • Economic • Balanced multiple use • Ecological • Preservationist

  5. Changing Management • Through late-1800s: economic • Developed to maximize use and profit • Sold to homesteaders, railroads, timber and mining companies

  6. Changing Management • Late-1800s: balanced multiple use • Use in several ways, but manage properly so resource is not damaged • Maximum sustained yield • Set aside forest reserves to ensure adequate timber supply, protect river watersheds

  7. Changing Management • Also late-1800s: ecological • Use it, but emphasize maintaining natural aspects (plants, animals) • 1872: lands set aside for eventual 1st national park - Yellowstone • Ethic supported greatly by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt

  8. Changing Management • Throughout 1900s: preservationist • No development, leave as is for future • Aldo Leopold, WI conservationist • 1964: National Wilderness Act (4%) - lands set aside, retained in natural state, no development unless for the “national good”

  9. Today’s Management • Most lands managed according to balanced multiple use or ecological ethics - e.g. U.S. Forest Service Bureau of Land Management • Public lands still facing many problems

  10. Conflicting Demands Mineral Resources

  11. Wilderness Problems • Suffering from overuse • Limited entry in many areas • Timber, mining companies want access to resources • For the “national good”

  12. Park Problems • Severe overuse • Billions of visitors each year • Cars, noise, pollution, litter, crime • Conflicts between providing for visitor enjoyment and still conserving resources

  13. Managing and Sustaining National Parks • Most parks are too small to maintain biodiversity • Invasion by exotic species • Popularity a major problem • Traffic jams and air pollution • Visitor impact (noise) • Natural regulation • Better pay for park staff

  14. Forest Problems • Conflicting demands • Timber, grazing, recreation, mining, ecology • Ecological benefits: air cleaning, erosion control, oxygen, soil fertility, water recycling, wildlife shelter • Exceeding maximum sustained yield in many areas

  15. Types of Forests • Old-growth (frontier) forests • Second-growth forests • Tree farms/plantations

  16. Rangeland Problems • Overgrazing • Too many on too little for too long • Kills grass root systems • When combined with drought, overgrazing can cause desertification - conversion to desert

  17. The Fuelwood Crisis • Planting fast-growing fuelwood plants • Burning wood more efficiently • Switching to other fuels

  18. Degradation of Tropical Forests

  19. Logging Roads • Increased erosion and runoff • Habitat fragmentation • Pathways for exotic species • Accessibility to humans

  20. Tropical Deforestation • Rapid and increasing • Loss of biodiversity • Cultural extinction • Unsustainable agriculture and ranching • Clearing for cash crop plantations • Commercial logging • Fuelwood

  21. Reducing Tropical Deforestation • Identification of critical ecosystems • Reducing poverty and population growth • Sustainable tropical agriculture • Encourage protection of large tracts • Debt-for-nature swaps • Less destructive harvesting methods

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