APES Unit 5: Land Use

List the 10 principles of smart growth

1.) Create mixed land uses 2.) Create a range of housing opportunities 3.) Create walkable neighborhoods 4.) Encourage community collaboration in development decisions 5.) Take advantage of compact building design 6.) Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas 7.) Provide transportation choices 8.) Strengthen the development toward existing communities 9.) Make development fair and cost effective

What percent of the Earth's total land area is protected?

11%

Identify 2 characteristics that develop when fires are suppressed, and explain why the practice of fire suppression actually increases the risk of intense and extensive forest fires

2 characteristics that develop when fires are suppressed are the accumulation of combustible materials and an increase in tree density. This practice actually increases the risk of intense forest fires because leaf litter adds to fuel load and increased density adds to the spreading of fire.

In the US, what percentage of land is publicly held? Where is most of the protected land?

42%, Most protected land is in the Western States and Alaska.

Describe 2 steps a municipality could take to encourage smart growth in order to limit urban sprawl

A municipality could reduce taxes or create tax incentives for living in the city. Furthermore, they could increase the amenities in cities to encourage people to remain there

What kind of environmental impacts are the same regardless of what type of logging you choose?

All logging disrupts the habitat.

Describe 2 ecosystem services provided for humans by forests. Explain how clear cutting would affect each ecosystem service you describe.

An ecosystem service provided for humans by forests is oxygen via photosynthesis. Clear cutting affects this service as it causes some loss of oxygen.

What is an externality and who pays for the costs of them? Describe one positive externality and one negative externality of living near the ocean.

An externality is a cost or benefit of a good or service that is not included in the purchase price. The owner of the goods pays for those extra costs. A positive externality of living near the ocean would be that one can easily go fishing. A negative externality of living near the ocean would be the noise of the boats and crowds surrounding that area.

Explain urban blight as a destructive positive feedback loop.

As the property, sales, and taxes shrink when people move out of a city, costs, crime, and commuting traffic begin to increase.

Why is it difficult to calculate the MSY in reality?

Because it is difficult to obtain essential information such as birth rates, death rates, and carrying capacity.

Describe one practical way to increase food production within urban areas

By offering edible gardens in public spaces, food production would be likely to increase within an urban area

What is the difference between clear cutting and selective cutting? Lists some pros and cons of each.

Clear cutting refers to the removal of a section of trees at once. Selective cutting refers to the removal or a single or very few trees in a forest. Clear cutting is more efficient and cost-effective, while selective cutting is less harmful to a forest ecosystem.

What is eminent domain? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?

Eminent domain states that the government can take your land for construction use or other projects as long as they offer fair compensation

What is the tragedy of Commons and who came up with the theory

Garret Hardin established the theory of the Tragedy of the Commons. This theory refers to the tendency of a shared, limited resource to become depleted because people act from self-interest for short term gain.

Identify a specific type of plant community of biome that is naturally maintained by fire. Explain how the fire maintains the community or biome.

Grasslands are naturally maintained by fire because fire destroys invasive plants species that compete for resources with native grasses.

National Parks: Description, management, primary use

Historically important or scenic area of land, NPS, Creation and conservation

What is infill? What is an urban growth boundary?

Infill is development that fills vacant lots with existing communities. An urban growth boundary refers to a restriction on developing outside of a designated area.

How did the automobile cause urban sprawl?

It allows for easy transport between the city and the suburbs.

Why is the BML not always successful in its quest to manage rangeland?

It does not have environmental scientists to maintain control.

Forests: Description, management, primary use

Land dominated by trees, USFS, commercial logging, grazing, harvesting

What are some economic reasons to move outside of an urban center?

Livings in the suburbs is relatives less expensive. It is less crowded, less polluted.

Why is it hard for the USFS to manage forests?

Managing the production of timber and biodiversity is impossible. They have many different objectives to manage.

What is Maximum Sustainable Yield? What happens if you harvest below the MSY? At the MSY? Above the MSY?

Maximum Sustainable Yield refers to the maximum amount of a renewable resource that can be harvested without compromising its future availability. If you harvest below the MSY, you will have slow growth If you harvest above the MSY, you will compromise its future availability. It is best to harvest at the MSY.

Explain how the highway trust fund created a destructive positive feedback loop. Include the word induced demand in your answer.

More highways lead to more driving. This leads to more gas, traffic, and destructed land. This loop is referred to as induced demand.

Describe 2 methods to reduce harmful effects on wildlife populations from highways and urban sprawl

One method could be to create wildlife tunnels between green areas and another could be enforcing anti-littering laws along highways.

What are two ways to prevent the Tragedy of the Commons? Be specific.

Private Ownership of land and regulation. Private Ownership prevents overgrazing common land. Regulation enables governments to get involved and limit the amounts of resources used.

How should land be used based on the Resource Conservation Ethic? How realistic is this?

The Resource Conservation Ethic states that areas should be preserved for economic, scientific, recreational, and aesthetic purpose. This is not very realistic as we have to consider lands that have multiple uses.

What is the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934? How does it work? Is it an economically sound solution?

The Taylor Grazing Act was passed to halt overgrazing. It converted federal rangelands from a commons to a permit-based grazing system. It is economically sound as it limits the number of animals grazing in a particular area and avoids a tragedy of the commons situation.

Explain how the tragedy of the commons could apply to the ocean.

The Tragedy of Commons applies to the ocean because global fishing has rapidly declined harvested fish populations, which destroys the marine ecosystem.

Describe 2 human health effects associated with urban sprawl

The increased air pollution can cause asthma and lung irritation, and spread out housing can cause social isolation concerns such as depression and anxiety

Why are land uses outside of National Parks impacting the inside of the park? Give a few specific examples.

air and water pollution from distant sources can reduce biodiversity, recreational value, and economic opportunities

Wildlife Refugees and Wilderness Areas: Description, management, primary use

area set aside to preserve a wildlife and landscapes, NPS, USFS, FWS, BLM, wildlife conservation, hunting, recreation

Rangelands: Description, management, primary use

dry open grasslands, BLM, grazing

2 causes of urban sprawl

increased use of automobiles and lower cost of living in the suburbs

Describe one positive and one negative effect likely to result from the implementation of the provisions of the HFI (Healthy Forests initiative)

one positive effect is economic growth in the lumber industry, one negative effect is the reduction of available habitat for other organisms in the forest biome.

When/why are banned activities such as mining allowed in National Wilderness Areas?

roads that existed before the designation sometimes remain in use and activities such as mining that were previously permitted on land are allowed to continue

Describe areas that suffer from urban sprawl.

suburban areas