Land Use

Do you ever think about how the surrounding land is used? Why some areas of land are converted to agriculture or why some are kept natural? Why are others industrial or urban areas? The way land is used is important to society, but why is this? This explanation will expand on what land use is, the different types of land use, and the negatives of varying land use. Keep reading more to deepen your understanding of land use.

Land Use Definition

Let's explore the definition of land use.

Land use is a human-environmental interaction. Humans use the land provided by the natural environment, but humans also modify the land, thus human interaction with the environment takes place.

What can land use tell us about society? It can tell us how developed a society is, depending on what type of land use is chosen for the land. For example, a more developed society would contain a higher amount of urban land use. Additionally, we can also see the effect the type of land use has on the environment, therefore showing us society's impact on the environment.

Land Use Geography

The land is changed by society for specific purposes. Whether the use is to provide food, provide shelter, utilize the land for production and manufacturing, or use the land as a recreational area, the land is utilized in a variety of methods. Let's take a look at different types of land use:

Urban Land Use

Urban land use refers to the way we use the landscape in urban areas. Of the land use types, five are urban land uses. These include:

· Industrial

· Residential

· Recreational

· Commercial

· Transportation

Fig 2. Urban Land.

Urban land use can be identified as land for the use of retailing, management, manufacturing, residence/housing, or industrial activities. These activities are for the benefit of society and the economy and ultimately aim to increase the development of a location.

Land Use Models

In geography, land use was first used to gain an understanding of crop patterns in agricultural landscapes. From this came the Von Thünen model. This model explained the choices farmers made regarding crop choices and consequently agricultural land use patterns. The idea suggests that the two main factors in decided land use are accessibility (transportation cost) and the cost to rent the land in question. This model can be used for the reasoning of urban land use too. Therefore, the land use that produces the highest amount of rent with the best accessibility cost is where that land use will be found.

Importance of Land Use

Land use is extremely important to society. The way that land is used (or left unused) signifies the needs of society and whether or not these needs are adequately met. This means that the planning and management of land use are highly significant, as it ensures problems do not occur (this will be expanded on later in this explanation).

Land Use Policy

Land use policies are introduced to help manage the land. They are rules and regulations on what is allowed to be used for the land. They allow the planning and management of land types to determine which areas of land should be chosen for which uses of land.

The benefit of land use policies permits the development of societies (through managing urban land use), whilst also maintaining the environment and its natural resources.

Land Use Problems

Although land use provides a great opportunity for the development of society, it can also be the cause of some serious problems.

Firstly, land is a finite resource. On Earth, there is only so much land that society can utilize, and once this land has been used, there will be no more. This means that current land use must be managed responsibly and sustainably to ensure as a society we do not run out of land.

What about other land use problems?

Environmental Impacts

Problems of land use are usually environmental issues, this is because land use often involves the conversion of natural land into urban land for societal and economic needs. The problem with land use is that as more people relocate or use more urban spaces, more natural spaces are lost.

Deforestation

Within land use, deforestation is frequently a process that occurs to create more suitable land for the desired outcome. This can range from agricultural practices to retail, to recreation, to housing. Deforestation leads to other issues, such as soil degradation and erosion, habitat loss and loss of biodiversity, and the release of greenhouse gas emissions. In very serious cases, deforestation can lead to desertification, when the land is completely degraded of any nutrients and cannot be used for agricultural purposes anymore.

Habitat Destruction

All types of changes in land use can lead to habitat destruction, and this can cause a loss of biodiversity. In fact, land use changes are one of the major causes of this. The change in land destroys the habitat; therefore, it can no longer support the species that relied on the habitat, causing the species to disappear over time, eventually leading to a loss of biodiversity, and sometimes even extinction.

Monocultures

Continued land use of one particular type, especially agricultural, can lead to a monoculture. Monocultures are an area of land that only grow and produce one type of crop. A lack of diversity in land can create issues such as disease and pests.

Fig 3. Monoculture - Potato Field.

Decreased Water Quality

As land use changes, particularly agricultural or urban land uses, the quality of water can decrease. In farming, the introduction of nitrogen and phosphorus from chemicals and fertilizers can leech into surrounding bodies of water, polluting the water.

Spread of Invasive Species

Changes to land use can impact all species, one way in which this is done is through the spreading of invasive species, and this can affect the whole ecosystem. Land use change, especially altering land from its natural state through methods such as deforestation, can lead to the spread of invasive species. This can also have an economic impact due to the high costs of removing the invasive species.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Land use change can increase the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming and therefore climate change. This is especially apparent in the deforestation of agricultural land, as it releases high amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Pollution

The process of land conversion releases gases and creates air pollution and litter. Not only this, but urban areas are more prone to producing pollution than natural land. Therefore, after the land has been altered, it may contribute more negatively to the environment as an urban area.

Soil Degradation and Erosion

Intensive farming practices and urban construction can lead to soil degradation and erosion. Methods such as forest fires, deforestation or over-grazing remove plants that protect the soil, allowing it to become exposed. Once exposed, the soil can easily erode due to heavy rainfall and this removes the nutrients in the soil, leaving it to be severely degraded.

Societal Impacts

Although there are many environmental impacts of land use, there are also social problems associated with land use.

How Environmental Impacts Affect Society

All the environmental impacts that occur as a consequence of land use can also affect society. For example, the environmental impact of global warming due to land use, such as deforestation, can affect humans. Global warming can help increase the spread of diseases, particularly mosquito-bourne diseases such as malaria or dengue fever, in society. This is because these types of diseases thrive in warm environments, and global warming is causing more locations to increase in temperature, which increases the chances of these diseases becoming commonplace in those locations.

Urban Sprawl

Urban sprawl is an increase in the number of people that use or live on urbanized land. Which does increase energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, and traffic congestion. It also creates urban density and decreases accessibility to services as it becomes increasingly busy in urban areas. These areas are also associated with less interest in a sense of community.

Infrastructure Congestion

As urban areas increase, the cost of producing infrastructure in urban areas increases. A lack of development of infrastructure such as roads can lead to infrastructure congestion. This means the demand for the building of the infrastructure cannot be met and this can limit societies development.