Land Management and Conservation 14-3

3/08

• Keeping rural lands free from urbanization and in good shape is important because of the environmental services they provide

Farmland

• US 100 billion hectares of prime farmland

• Much of it was at one time prairie or forest

• Threats – urban development and erosion

Farmland Protection

• 1996 Farmland Protection Program

• Williamson Act – California 1965 specifies land as agricultural for less taxes

Rangeland

• Includes grassland, shrublands and deserts

• Most commonly used for grazing

Threats

• Overgrazing

• Results in erosion

• Changes in the plant community

• Desertification

Conservation

• Public Rangelands Improvement Act 1978

Methods

• Kill invasive plants• Plant Native

species• Manage livestock• Provide for

dispersed watering for livestock

• Fence riparian areas

Forest Lands

• Provide Wood products and paper

• Habitat for many species

• Produce Oxygen and use carbon Dioxide

• Worldwide – 1800 cubic centimeters of wood used per day

• In US almost 3.5 times that amount

Classification of Forest Lands

• Virgin forest – never cut

• Native Forest – Planted and Managed

• Tree Farms – Land cleared and trees planted in rows

Harvesting Methods

• Clear Cutting

• Selective cutting

Deforestation

• Forest cleared to make farmland or to expand urbanization

• Loss of habitat and erosion of soil

Amazon deforestation

Reforestation

• Replanting of trees or allowing natural succession to take place

Parks and Preserves

• 1850 Yellowstone – first National Park

In United States

• National Parks• National Forests• National Wildlife

Refuges• Bureau of Land

Management• State Parks, Forests

and Preserves• Private Conservancies

Worldwide

• United Nation – Man and the Biosphere Program

• Set up hundreds of preserves worldwide – include people

US Wilderness Act 1964

• Ecosystems protected from all exploitation

• Benefits – species diversity

• Recreation

• Science