Chapter 6 - 'Human Activity Changing Land Cover'

Question 1

Explain how ‘technology’ causes land cover change.

Provide 3 examples of how technology is applied.

Give a case study.

Answer 1

Technology allows change to an environment to occur rapidly and at a large scale.

For example:
Building of dams and water diversion schemes.
Machinery to clear forests.
Mineral deficient soils can be made suitable using trace elements.
Genetically modified plants developed for adaptability.

Case study:
Snowy River, Australia. 1949-1974.
Diversion of Snowy River water into Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers allowed expansion irrigation areas on grazing lands.

Question 2

Explain how ‘policies’ influence land cover change.

3 things

Answer 2

Encourages land cover change for sources of revenue, employment and food production.

Policies can protect existing land covers through zoning of land. This is in order to maintain ‘natural and semi natural’ land covers.

Policies can also aim to restore land cover through eliminating invading species.

Question 3

Explain how ‘population dynamics’ affects land cover.

Answer 3

Rapid growth in population.
Puts pressure on land surfaces, demanding increases in land cover change from ‘natural/semi-natural’ and ‘cultivated/managed’ to ‘artificial surfaces’.