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
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