Land Use and Harvesting Trees

Land Use

• Best Management Practices (BMPs) are land management techniques. They sustainably use land to protect water quality, biodiversity, aesthetics, and recreation. BMPs are strategies for sustainable land use. An example is using riparian zones in forests.
• Forests cover roughly 26% of Earth's land. Forests provide ecosystem services (e.g., reducing soil erosion) and economic benefits (e.g., lumber).
• Old-growth forests are uncut or regenerated forests untouched for hundreds of years. They host many plant species with specialized niches. Around 22% of the world's forests are old-growth.
• Second-growth forests develop from natural secondary succession.
• Tree plantations are planted stands of a single tree species.
• Deforestation: Human activities have reduced Earth's forest cover by almost half. Losses are mainly in developing countries, often for biomass fuel.

Harvesting Trees

• Trees can be harvested selectively (individually from diverse forests) or entirely (clear-cutting), or in strips.

Deforestation

• Clearing and degrading ecologically and economically significant tropical forests is a significant problem. 10 million hectares are lost each year.
• Tropical forests are burned to create space for cattle ranches, and for crops like palm oil (slash-and-burn farming). Deforestation is also due to wood for biomass fuels.

Forest Fires

• Controlled surface fires (prescribed burns) are beneficial. They clear flammable ground materials. This can control pests, invasive species, and release valuable mineral nutrients. The intensity and location of fires can harm or benefit forests.

Forest Use Debate

• There's debate over whether US national forests should prioritize timber, ecological recreation, or a mix.

Solutions to Land Use Challenges

• Sustainability: Maximize the value of ecological services, Harvest trees slower than they can replenish (Maximum Sustainable Yield), Afforestation (planting new forests), and Reforestation (replanting trees) and protect old growth areas.

Mining

• Nonrenewable mineral resources (e.g., ores) are parts of Earth's crust. Minerals can be extracted, processed and used in many materials, such as fossil fuels (coal, oil), metals (iron, copper), and non-metals (sand, gravel).
• Overburden is soil and rock above the desired mineral. Spoils are the waste material after the desired mineral is extracted.
• Extracting and processing minerals is done in a variety of ways, like different mining techniques (Placer, Area Strip, Contour Strip, and Open Pit mining).
• Different mining techniques (e.g., placer mining, area strip mining, contour strip mining) are used based on the type of mineral and depth, causing different amounts of environmental harm.

Urbanization

• Urban/suburban areas are densely populated, offering economic opportunities, but can create crowding and environmental challenges like pollution and loss of biodiversity.
• Rural/exurban areas are less densely populated areas, typically for agricultural use, and can offer peacefulness and opportunities for economic self-sufficiency, but lack access to many services and conveniences.
• Urbanization is the process of making an area more urban, often causing problems like pollution, habitat destruction, increased consumption, economic inequality, heat islands, and flooding.

Conservation and Management

• Conservation efforts aim to protect 15% of the earth's land area.
• About 8.2% of the world's land is currently protected for conservation.
• Nature reserves (core and buffer zones) are models to protect biodiversity and allow for economic needs.
• The Mining Law of 1872 (also known as the General Mining Act) influences mining practices. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 regulates coal mining.