Impacts of Land-use Change on the Environme nt

Geog 1 - THQ1 University of the Philippines, Diliman September 6, 2013

Garcia, Mary Lance B. Tan, Mariel Adie P.

IMPACTS

OF

LAND-USE CHANGE

ON THE

ENVIRONMENT

Land-use change is the alteration of landscape caused by human activity. It is a wide-spread socioeconomic force these days driving changes and degradation of ecosystems. Deforestation, urban development, agriculture, and other human activities have very much altered the Earths landscape. Such disturbance of the land affects important ecosystem processes and services, which can have wide-ranging and long-term consequences. I. Environmental Impacts of LandUse Change Land use and land management practices have a major impact on natural resources including water, soil, air, nutrients, plants, and animals Run-off from agriculture is a leading source of water pollution Draining wetlands for crop production and irrigation water diversions has had a negative impact on many wildlife species Irrigated agriculture has changed the water cycle and caused groundwater levels to decline in many parts of the world Intensive farming and deforestation may cause soil erosion, salinization, desertification, and other soil degradations Deforestation adds to the greenhouse effect, destroys habitats that support biodiversity, affects the hydrological cycle and increases soil erosion, runoff, flooding and landslides. Urban development causes air pollution, water pollution, and urban runoff and flooding Habitat destruction, fragmentation, and alteration associated with urban development are a leading cause of biodiversity decline and species extinctions

 Urban development and intensive agriculture in coastal areas and further inland is a major threat to the health, productivity, and biodiversity of the marine environment

Farmlands provide open space and valuable habitat for many wildlife species. However, intensive agriculture has potentially severe ecosystem consequences. For example, it has long been recognized that agricultural land use and practices can cause water pollution and the effect is influenced by government policies. Runoff from agricultural lands is a leading source of water pollution both in inland and coastal waters. Conversions of wetlands to crop production and irrigation water diversions have brought many wildlife species to the verge of extinction. Forests provide many ecosystem services. They support biodiversity, providing critical habitat for wildlife, remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, intercept precipitation, slow down surface runoff, and reduce soil erosion and flooding. These important ecosystem services will be reduced or destroyed when forests are converted to agriculture or urban development. For example, deforestation, along with urban sprawl, agriculture, and other human activities, has substantially altered and fragmented the Earths vegetative cover. Such disturbance can change the global atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, the principal heattrapping gas, as well as affect local, regional, and global climate by changing the energy balance on Earths surface (Marland et al. 2003). Urban development has been linked to many environmental problems, including air pollution, water pollution, and loss of wildlife habitat. Urban runoff often contains nutrients, sediment and toxic contaminants, and can cause not

only water pollution but also large variation in stream flow and temperatures. Habitat destruction, fragmentation, and alteration associated with urban development have been identified as the leading causes of biodiversity decline and species extinctions (Czech, Krausman and Devers 2000; Soul 1991). Urban development and intensive agriculture in coastal areas and further inland are a major threat to the health, productivity, and biodiversity of the marine environment throughout the world.

II. Land-Use Change, A driver of climate change Changes in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Land-use change in the tropics, mostly deforestation caused by biomass burning and conversion to agriculture is a substantial contributor to global CO2 emissions. In the decade of the 1990s, about 1 2 PgC/yr rose to about 7 PgC/yr from fossil fuel burning. Changes in Energy and Water Balance at Land Surface Urban Heat Islands are caused by Urbanization which is a land-use change that concentrates on energy consumption. Hence, there is waste heat dissipation. It also removes vegetation and hence, removal of heat by latent heat fluxes in evapotranspiration. Local Urban Heat Island effects can be as large as 2-10C, depending on city size and wind speed. Large-scale changes in land-use also causes imbalance in energy and water. For example, a big part of a native woody shrubland was converted into a wheat cropland. The shrubland would draw moist air from the irrigated cropland and because it absorbs more heat from sunlight it causes rising of air forming clouds. These clouds would now increase precipitation over the native vegetation.

III. Examples of Land-Use Change China For centuries, China has been the most populous nation on Earth. Today, its populations impact on the environment is evident even in the most remote areas. Chinas economic boom and industrialization affects the environment in many ways. It is projected that by the year 2025, the nation will be the worlds leading producer of greenhouse gases. Habitat and Biodiversity Loss

Cause: Ill-planned hydrological engineering projects (which interrupt the natural flow of rivers), conversion of wetlands for agriculture, and unsuitable construction in flood plains. Effect: Habitat loss has left pandas clinging for survival, as large areas of natural forest have been cleared for agriculture, timber and fuel wood. Of all the species listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as critically endangered, one quarter is found in China. Air Pollution Cause: Coal burning and consumption, whose energy is used to power factories in China. Though efforts have been made in improving energy efficiency, 75% of Chinas energy production is still dependent on coal. Effect: Respiratory and heart diseases related to air pollution are the leading cause of death in China. The 2012 Environmental Conditions Report found that only the air in 27 out of 113 key cities of China reached air quality standards. China Daily said that at the beginning of last year, more than 1 million square kilometers were covered in heavy smog, affecting hundreds of millions of people.

 Water Pollution Cause: Waste poured from factories and cities into Chinas rivers, turning them into open sewers. Effect: The 2012 Environmental Conditions Report found that 57.3% of the groundwater in 198 cities was bad or extremely bad, while more than 30% of the countrys major rivers were polluted or seriously polluted Dubai The Dubai coastal expansion, a heady 14 billion dollar project consisting of 300 individual islands arranged in strategic formation may have done wonders for their tourism rates, but not so much for the environment. Destruction of Marine Life and Habitat Divers are devastated to see that the typically crystalline waters of the gulf of Dubai have been severely clouded with silt. Construction activity is damaging marine habitat, burying coral reefs and oyster beds in over two inches of sediment. Soil Erosion

Because of the addition of these artificial islands, natural water currents are disrupted, causing erosion over the beaches of Dubai. Google Earth Engine Recently, NASA released to the public a series of images captured by Landsat satellites that date back all the way to 1984. These images, which can be accessed through the Google Earth Engine website (earthengine.google.org), portray the changes made on the Earths surface during the Landsat timelapse (1984-2012). Some examples of the places used: Dubai Coastal Expansion

 Amazon Deforestation (Brazil) Drying of Aral Sea (Central Asia) The sea, which borders Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, has dried up significantly since the 1960s. By 1997, it had shrunk to 10% of its original size, ruining the once-robust fishing economy and leaving layers of highly salted sand that winds carry to as far away as Scandinavia and Japan, plaguing local people with health problems. These are caused by the Soviet Unions desire to develop huge cotton plantations. The sea level drops by an average of 31-35 inches each year. IV. Analysis and Conclusion Often, we think of possible solutions to problems arising in our environment today. These may solve one particular problem but most probably it would have a negative effect too. Land-use change could be a good solution if used in the most helpful way and not in ways which could deplete our natural resources. In conclusion, we must be mindful of how we treat our natural resources. We can use them for our profit, but it should not be at the cost of their destruction. There are a lot of things that can go wrong when we proceed with building ill-planned infrastructures and we often choose to neglect these consequences since they do not exhibit any signs of destruction until a long time has passed. The cases we presented should be a lesson to all of us that we must all be aware of the encompassing effect a single project can have on the deterioration of a countrys natural resources and peoples health. In problems as big as these, simply using recycled bags when you go grocery shopping isnt enough. We must learn to think bigger. We think that the biggest solution to this problem is education. Incorporating more of the environmental sciences into our educational system will create more

awareness amongst citizens and instill in their minds what they must do to prevent these depressing impacts from ever happening to any country again. In the same way, we must also strive to learn more about these factors and their effects on the environment if we truly want to make an impact that will last. V. References Wu, J. (2008). Land Use Changes: Economic, Social, and Environmental Impacts. Retrieved from http://www.choicesmagazine.org/magazine/article.php?article=49 World Wide Funds For Nature. (n.d.) Environmental problems in China. Retrieved from http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/china/environmental_problems_c hina/ Duggan, J. (2013). Chinas environmental problems are grim, admits ministry report. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/chinaschoice/2013/jun/07/chinas-environmental-problems-grim-ministry-report Butler, T. (2005). The Price of The World: Dubais Artificial Future. Retrieved from http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0823-tina_butler_dubai.html