Download this lab as a Word document: Lab 9: Land Use Changes [1] (Please download required files below.)
In this lab, we will evaluate how land use has changed over the last century in many places around the globe. We will first deal with deforestation, next with land use in the developed world and undeveloped world.
Disappearing Forest kmz file [2]
Part 1. Global Deforestation
Download the Disappearing Forest kmz file [2]. Make sure you have Deforestation rate (area) button open. Click on the country and see the data. First, make sure you look at the numbers in the top right corner of the boxes; this is the percent of lost natural forest between those years.
Countries/numbers in red are those that have lost significant forest cover between 1990 and 2005, those in green or brown have lost very little or gained (i.e., have made efforts to plant new forests).
You might also want to open Google maps in a separate window to help you find countries. Legend for land use is given below maps.
Answer the following questions.
Part 2. Global land use changes
Open the three Anthrome kml files: Anthrome 1800 kml file [3], Anthrome 1900 kml file [4], and Anthrome 2000 kml file [5].
Anthromes are the globally significant ecological patterns created by sustained interactions between humans and ecosystems, including urban, cropland, rangeland, and woodland anthromes. They provide a great basis for studying the impacts of humans on land use patterns. Here, we will study the distribution of anthromes between 1800 AD and 2000 AD maps and summarize the changes. Make sure the legends are open. Please open the Ellis et al. Table [6]that gives the definitions of the different land use categories. Note that the crops, pasture, and trees are percentages of land cover, the population is people per sq. kilometer.
You might also want to open Google maps in a separate window to help you find locations. Legend for land use is given below maps.
A. Areas with less than 20% pasture and a population of between 1 and 10 people per km2
B. Villages with over 100 people per km2 and crops covering over 20% of the area
C. Urban areas with more than 2500 people per km2
A. Areas with more than 100 people per km2 with irrigation covering more than 20% of the area
B. Areas with less than 100 people per km2 and crops covering less than 20% of the area
C. Areas with between 1 and 10 people per km2 with crops covering more than 20% of the area
Next, we will focus on land use change in China.
A. Increase
B. Decrease
A. Increase
B. Decrease
A. 1800
B. 1900
C. 2000
A. 1800
B. 1900
C. 2000
A. 1800
B. 1900
C. 2000
A. 1800
B. 1900
C. 2000
A. There is an increase in the area of rangelands at the expense of urban and villages and mixed settlements
B. There is a gradual increase in the area of villages and mixed settlements at the expense of seminatural areas
C. There is a decrease in the area of croplands and rangelands
Finally, open the IPCC projection kmz file (you used this in the lab in Module 4) and look at temperature and precipitation in the high emission scenario in 2090. You will need to flip between the projections and the 2000 anthrome map for China.
A. Falling precipitation
B. Rising temperature
A. North
B. South
Links
[1] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth103/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.earth103/files/Lab%209.docx
[2] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth103/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.earth103/files/module09/disappearing_forests.kmz
[3] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth103/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.earth103/files/module09/anthrome1800.kml
[4] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth103/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.earth103/files/module09/anthrome1900.kml
[5] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth103/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.earth103/files/module09/anthrome2000.kml
[6] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth103/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.earth103/files/module09/Ellis%20et%20al.%20Table.pdf