Environmental Science Ch.14

Urban

Rural

Ecosystem Services

Whether people live in cities or in the countryside, people are dependent on resources produced in rural areas. These resources include clean drinking water, fertile soil and land for crops, trees for wood and paper, and much of the oxygen we breather, which is produced by plants.

- Farming - Mining - Building cities and highways - Recreation Forest land - Land used for harvesting wood, wildlife, fish, nuts and other resources Parks and preserves - Land used for recreation and scenic enjoyment and for preserving native animal and plant communities and ecosystems Urban Land - Land used for houses, businesses, industry, and roads

Urban areas are mostly covered with houses, roads, and businesses, and industrial and municipal structures. Rural areas have less dense human populations and include forest land, cropland, rangeland, and other land cover types.

These are the resources that are produced by natural and artificial ecosystems. This could include... - Purification of air and water - Preservation of soil and renewal of soil fertility - Prevention of flood and drought - regulation of climate - maintenance of biodiversity

Urbanization

Infrastructure

Urban Sprawl

Heat Island

Land-use Planning

Geographic Information System (GIS)

The urban crisis is when more people live in a city than its infrastructure can support, the living conditions deteriorate. when the population grows so much that the need for the population isn't met, people are trying to fix the infrastructure, by building better roads, water systems, and garbage collection

Environmental conditions in the center of a city are different from those of the surrounding countryside. Cities both generate and trap more heat. Heat is generated by the infrastructure that makes a city run. Roads and buildings absorb more hear than vegetation does. They also retain heat longer.

The plant in open spaces absorb carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, and filter out pollutants from air and water. These plants even help keep a city cooler in the summer. Open spaces, especially those with vegetation, also reduce drainage problems by absorbing more of the rainwater runoff from building roofs, asphalt, and concrete. This ecological service results in less flooding after a heavy rain. These open spaces also provide urban dwellers with much-needed places for exercise and relaxation.

GIS allows a user to enter different types of data about an are such as a location of sewer lines, roads, and parks, and then creates maps with the data. The power of GIS is that it allows a user to display layers of information about an area and to overlay these layers.

Much of this growth results in the building of suburbs, or housing and associated commercial buildings on the boundary of a larger town. Low-density development spreads into the surrounding countryside.

Overgrazing

Deforestation

Reforestation

Wilderness

Reforestation is the process by which trees are planted to re-establish trees that have been cut down in a forest land. Deforestation can cause soil erosion and may threaten forest plants and animals with extinction so it is important to replace what we are taking. helps restore wildlife habitats and soil replenishment.

Sustaining the productivity of rangeland generally means reducing overgrazing by limiting herds to sized that do not degrade the land. The rangeland is also left unused for period of time so that the vegetation can recover.

National parks are set aside to protect the land for the public to use it and enjoy. National lands are used of many purposes, including lumber, mining, and recreation. Wilderness is national land that is protected from all exploitation for the benefit of future generations. may preserve animals habitats and the natural recharge of animals

Deforestation reduces wildlife habitat. When forests are cleared from hillsides, soil erosion usually results if the area is not quickly planted with a cover crop.