The surface of the Earth is shaped by a combination of physical processes, including earthquakes and volcanoes, shifts of rocks and sediments, and flows of river and ice. Humans also shape the land through increasing populations, agricultural expansion, mineral and forest resource excavation, changing the flow of rivers, and with layers of industrial and urban infrastructure. Land cover is the physical and biological material found on the surface of the land, existing as vegetation or the built environment (human-created structures). Land use describes the various ways in which human beings make use of and manage the land and its resources.
Over the course of history, humans have had a changeable relationship to the land. Early humans are believed to have used the land with little modification for shelter, food gathering, and defensive aims. It wasn’t until the domestication of plants and animals approximately 10,000 years ago that land use involved extensive changes in the landscape. With domestication came large-scale clearing for both settlement and agriculture. Growing populations built structures on the land (or out of the land) for shelter, defense and worship, and altered the existing land cover and the course of waterways for food, power, and transportation.
In many instances, the biological and physical make-up of the land contributes to how it is used; lands with rich soils are most suitable for farming while lands prone to flooding are less suitable for settlement. Large cities, for example, are often located adjacent to an ocean or river, providing essential water, and access for food, sewer, industrial, and economic purposes. As food, power, transportation, and communication technologies transformed over the last few centuries in order to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding population, there have been major changes in the patterns of land use worldwide. Within the U.S., the major uses of land are identified in the figure below.
|FIGURE: Major Uses of Land, 2002|
|Land Use||48 States||All States|
|Grassland, pasture, and range||31%||26%|
Source: Economic Research Service/USDA. Major Uses of Land in the United States. Economic Information Bulletin No. 14, 2006.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, many acres of forest were cleared to make way for cropland, and for use as fuel and building material. In many developed countries that trend is reversing, and the regeneration of vegetation is occurring. However, in many developing countries, deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices are still a major concern. Yet, worldwide, the most transformative change has been in the decrease of cropland and the increase of urban land (see the section on Urbanization).
Today, industrial areas are more apt to be found in suburban locales rather than in inner cities, while areas dedicated to natural resource extraction and production continue to be found most often in rural areas. Modern city life is marked by large commercial and residential spaces, with impermeable surfaces punctuated by the occasional green space. These areas are connected by a vast transportation network that snakes across land and water, exchanging people, goods, and natural resources between the urban, suburban, and rural areas. Land use decisions have since moved from the single farmer deciding where to place his crops to a more integrated view of land use planning.
Land-Cover & Land-Use Change Program
This NASA program attempts to further understanding of the many consequences of human induced changes to the land, offering access to the latest research, regional initiatives, and related documents.
A Guide to Land-Use and Land-Cover Change
This thematic guide, written by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network in 2002, covers topics of deforestation, desertification, biological diversity, and the relationship between land use and the hydrologic cycle, climate change, and urbanization.
Data & Maps
U.S. Department of Agriculture: Natural Resources Inventory
This statistical survey details data from 800,000 locations on land cover, land use and natural resource conditions and trends on all non-Federal lands in the U.S.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): The National Atlas of the United States of America
The USGS’ National Atlas combines geological and statistical data that can be used to examine characteristics of areas by regional boundaries or geographic coordinates.
The USGS presents satellite imagery of environmental change, for selected areas and cities, demonstrating impacts of deforestation, urban growth, and natural and manmade disasters over time.
Library of Congress: Conservation and Environment Maps
Hundreds of maps in this historical collection show early exploration and subsequent land use in areas throughout the U.S., including changes in landscape, vegetation, and wildlife. Maps date from the 1600s and can be searched by subject, creator, or location.
Laws & Treaties
Homestead Act, 1862
This famous Act drove people to move into the Western United States, allowing anyone to claim land rights after five years for up to 160 acres if they had built a house, dug a well, plowed, and fenced the land; it also allowed them to buy land outright at a reduced price. The Act expired in 1976 in all the states but Alaska, where it expired in 1986.
Wilderness Act, 1964
The Wilderness Act established the National Wilderness Preservation System of federal lands. Subsequent amendments have more specifically regulated access and use within the preservation system, limiting both recreational and commercial use.
Forests and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act, 1978
Also known as the National Forest Management Act, this legislation encourages multiple-use and sustained yield management of our national forests and rangeland.
For the Classroom
Neighborhood Mapping Project
The Rosenbach Museum in Philadelphia developed a project demonstrating how land use and neighborhood infrastructure transform over time. Acting as part historical detective and part city surveyor, students spend several weeks drawing, journaling, photographing, and researching their local landscapes. Meant for primary grades, the project is easily adaptable for all ages. [Grades K-12]
Association of American Geographers (AAG): Human Driving Forces
The AAG offers an extensive curriculum focusing on human effects on land use and cover. The module introduces students to the concepts of systemic vs. cumulative global change, human driving and mitigating forces, and proximate sources of change.
What Can We Learn from Satellite Images?
Students examine maps and satellite images to see how settled parts of the Earth have changed over time in this National Geographic activity, then draw maps showing how their hometown might have looked in the 1970s compared to today. [Grades 9-12]
America’s Backyard: Exploring Your Public Lands
This National Geographic Society feature provides teaching resources for studying the history and geography of America ‘s public lands.
Lubowski, Ruben et al. Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2002. Economic Information Bulletin No. (EIB-14) 54 pp, May 2006. http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB14/