Using the land Assignment In this activity, you will explore data showing how humans have changed Earth’s land. Suitable agricultural land is a limited resource, and its distribution is affected by many factors, including human development and the availability of other limited resources.

Land use refers to the ways that humans use the land. Land use involves modifying and managing the natural environment.

The modifications include fields, pastures, industrial developments, residential developments, golf courses, ski areas, parks, and roads.

Land use management practices vary around the world. How the land is used can affect the quality and availability of natural resources, such as water, soil, nutrients, plants, and animals. 

The maps show how humans have changed the land over the past 8,000 years. 

The HYDE model assumes that land use is stable over time, while the KK10 model assumes that land use intensifies over time. Both models show the time of first significant use, the percent recovery from peak use, and the locations of dense settlements in the year 2000.

1. Which area of the world has been intensively used for the longest period of time?

Top of Form

a)  North America

b)  South America

c)  Africa

d)  Eurasia

2. Explain your answer.

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Land is a finite resource on Earth. Around the world, people have tried to create more land by filling in shallow bodies of water, but in the end, there is only so much land.What is that land used for?There are human uses – land for living on, land for producing food, land for recreation – and there are natural users as well. Residents of the natural ecosystems need land for their own life cycles.The photograph shows a housing development encroaching on farmland. Increasingly, farmland has been converted into residential and commercial purposes. 

3. Why do you think houses are being built on farmland?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Land can be managed in several different ways. Humans modify the land for their own purposes, but it is also important to consider the non-human users of the land – native plants and animals.

In addition to providing recreation opportunities, forests and other open parcels of land provide valuable services, including cleaning the air, filtering and holding water, producing oxygen, and storing carbon dioxide.

The photo shows Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina.#4 What are the consequences of turning forested land into farm land?List two positive and two negative effects of turning forest land into farm land._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

#5 What are the consequences of turning forested land into residential land?List two positive and two negative effects of turning forest land into residential land._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

There are few habitats on Earth that have not been modified by humans. One very important land use is agriculture. 

The graph shows land uses in the United States from 1949 to 2007.

#6 Describe the change in the amount of agricultural land in the United States from 1949 to 2007._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

#7 Why do you think the land use changed this way?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sustainable agriculture needs:

fertile soils

adequate precipitation

good growing temperatures

The map shows the suitability of areas around the world for sustainable agriculture. 

#8 What areas of the world are most suitable for agriculture?

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All land is not equally useful for all purposes. It takes high quality soil conditions to make high quality farmland. 

Some areas are too dry to farm without irrigation. Poor soils need to be fertilized heavily to reach the same production levels as high-quality soils.

The map shows the United States by land type and use. Less than 20% of land in the United States is high quality farmland. The map shows the loss of farmland to development. 

The map shows high quality farmland with red and green shading. Some of these high quality farmlands have been developed for purposes other than farming (red shading).

#9 Look at the red shading on the map (high quality farmland and high development). Is there a risk to farmland in the United States from development? Explain your answer. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The human population has increased greatly. The graph shows the population increase by continent. 

However, the land that's suitable for agriculture hasn't grown. Increasingly, productive farmland is being turned into residential land. Even so, food production has mostly kept pace with population growth. In some areas of the world, agricultural production has greatly exceeded population growth.

Changes in farming practices have allowed the world's farmers to produce enough food to feed the growing population. Innovations in chemistry and biology, as well as careful management of the land, have brought us this far. 

But will new innovations ensure that there will be enough food in the future?

#10: Do you think there will be enough food by 2050? Explain. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________