What are earth resources. Land resources and their importance

Land resources peace- these are agricultural lands and other land lands (or otherwise plots of land) that are used or can be used at a given level of development of the productive forces of society in many areas of human activity (agriculture, forestry, water management, construction of settlements, roads, etc. .).

Due to the rapid growth of the population and its irrational economic activity, which is reflected in the annual loss of 6-7 million hectares of productive soils, the provision of mankind with land resources is rapidly decreasing. The area of land resources per capita is annually reduced by 2%, and the area of productive land - by 6-7% due to the growing anthropogenic pressure on land resources and degradation of the soil cover.

Currently, half a billion people are hungry and about 1 billion are chronically malnourished. Every day for the world's population balanced nutrition there is a shortage of 230 billion calories, which is equal to a shortage of 37 million tons of wheat per year. The annual population growth is about 80 million people, and even with the current level of nutrition, world agriculture should annually increase production by 24-30 million tons. Each new resident planet requires an average of 0.3 ha for food production and 0.07-0.09 ha for life food problem can only be solved using an integrated, environmentally balanced approach to the assessment, protection and use of land resources.

Three types of land resources can be distinguished large groups : 1) productive land; 2) unproductive lands; 3) unproductive. Productive land resources include arable land, orchards and plantations, meadows and pastures, forests and shrubs; to the unproductive - the lands of the tundra and forest-tundra, swamps, deserts; The group of unproductive lands includes built-up and disturbed lands, sands, ravines, glaciers and snowfields.

Each continent and each country has its own specifics of land resources and their geography. In our time, land use is very dynamic and the overall picture of the distribution of anthropogenic landscapes is constantly changing. Each landscape-geographical belt of the Earth also has a peculiar land use.

The share of cultivated land in foreign Europe accounts for 30% of land resources, and in the European part of Russia about 10%. The soils of broad-leaved forests of the temperate zone and evergreen forests of the subtropics, gray forest soils and chernozems of the steppes were involved in agricultural use.

Two vast regions of plowed land stand out in Asia: Northern Kazakhstan and Southern Siberia and plains, lowlands and plateaus of monsoon Asia from India to China. In India, half of the territory is used for arable land. In the tropical regions of Asia, agricultural landscapes have the appearance of a cultivated savannah: grass cover is replaced by garden and field crops, and woody vegetation is represented by groups of fruit trees and palm trees among fields and around villages. The cultivated lands of tropical Asia are characterized by rice monoculture, the absence of gaps between settlements, and a high concentration of agricultural production.

In the dry regions of Asia, in the Near and Middle East, agriculture has long been based on irrigation, and cultivated land is found in patches. Most of these areas are pastures stretching in a continuous belt from Asia Minor to Mongolia, Asia is characterized by the presence of significant territories classified as other lands (deserts, highlands, etc.).

In Africa, grazing is the main land use(27% of the territory). In many parts of Africa plow agriculture and crop farming are non-existent due to historical reasons and the colonial past. The slash-and-burn system of agriculture dominates in the humid-forest belt, with hoeing of small plots. Field agrolandscapes are common in the northern and southern outskirts of Africa and in Ethiopia. Due to the presence of the tsetse fly in equatorial Africa, the watersheds were first developed, and the valleys, the refuge of the tsetse fly, are almost deserted and occupied by gallery forests. Huge territories in Africa belong to the category of other lands (44%), which are represented by deserts.

The plains of the eastern United States and southern Canada are characterized by a high degree of development: The prairie zone is used by 80% and the broadleaf forest zone by 60%. And this is despite the relatively small overall development of the United States (20% of the territories) and Canada (about 7%). Monocultural field landscapes dominate, forming almost continuous areas. AT recent times mixed crops are pushing their way ever more persistently, recreational and urban landscapes are expanding here. Most of the pasture land in the United States (up to 70%) is located in the western and southern parts of the country. Large expanses of northern Canada are categorized as other lands.

More than half of the area of Latin America is covered by forests, cultivated land occupies 7% of the territory, and pastures - 26%. With a steady increase in the share of pasture and arable land, there is a decrease in forest areas. Significant damage to the forest fund from the practice of slash-and-burn agriculture, which is used by half of the rural population of Latin America.

To date, only 25% of the territory in Australia has not been developed (sandy and rocky deserts and waterlogged forests of the north). Field and horticultural landscapes occupy only about 6% of the continent's area - the same amount as forests, and the rest is pastures and other lands. Along with natural pastures of semi-deserts and light forests, large areas are under artificial pastures of dry steppes and savannahs, where plowing, irrigation, fertilization, sowing with grasses and other reclamation and agrotechnical activities are carried out. These pastures are in many ways reminiscent of agricultural landscapes.

Among other lands of the world, a large proportion of territories that fall out of economic use as a result of irrational ill-conceived use: badlands, areas of anthropogenic karst, abandoned uncultivated quarries, saline and wetlands, shifting sands and industrial and domestic waste dumping areas. In the category of other lands, according to the FAO, there are about 2 million km of productive, reserve land for agricultural development. There are about 600 thousand km2 of such lands in Asia, 700 thousand km2 in Africa, and about 700 thousand km2 on the American continent. The development of these lands will require significant capital investments.

Land resources- this is a type of natural resource that is characterized by territory, soil quality, climate, topography, etc.

3land resources- this is the spatial basis for the placement of economic objects, they are the main means of production in agriculture, where the main productive property of the earth is used - fertility.

Among land resources, three large groups can be distinguished:

· Productive lands;
· Unproductive lands;
· Unproductive.

Productive land resources include arable land, orchards and plantations, meadows and pastures, forests and shrubs; to the unproductive - the lands of the tundra and forest-tundra, swamps, deserts; The group of unproductive lands includes built-up and disturbed lands, sands, ravines, glaciers and snowfields.

The world's land fund is 13.4 billion hectares: cultivated land accounts for only 11%, meadows and pastures - 23%, and the rest of the territory is occupied by forests and shrubs, unproductive and unproductive lands. The countries with the least endowment with land resources are Egypt, Japan.

Only 1/3 land fund the planets are agricultural land (4.8 billion hectares). The rest of the land is land under buildings and roads, mountains, deserts, glaciers, swamps, forests, etc.

Agricultural land includes arable land (cultivated land), perennial plantations (gardens, plantations), natural meadows and pastures.

Table 1. Land resources of world regions

	Area of land resources, billion hectares	Area of land resources per capita, ha	Land fund	Meadows and pastures	Other lands



Sev. America
South America
Australia and Oceania

Land resources are natural resources. Under natural resources understand the objects, processes and conditions of nature used by society to meet the material and spiritual needs of people.

Natural resources include:

minerals;
· energy sources;
soil
· waterways and reservoirs;
minerals;
· the woods;
· wild plants;
· animal world land and water areas;
the gene pool of cultivated plants and domestic animals;
picturesque landscapes;
· wellness areas etc.

Diagram 1. Structure of land resources of the world

The land resources of the world allow to provide food more population than is currently available and will be in the near future. However, due to population growth, especially in developing countries (SEA, South America), the amount of arable land per capita is declining. Even 10-15 years ago, the per capita provision of arable land for the population of the Earth was 0.45-0.5 hectares, at present it is already 0.25 hectares.

According to the Committee on Agrarian Affairs State Duma RF, food production for 1 person requires from 0.3 to 0.5 hectares of agricultural land (arable land + pastures), another 0.07 to 0.09 hectares is needed for housing, roads, recreation. That is, taking into account the available land cultivation technologies, existing potential agricultural land provides food for 10 to 17 billion people on the planet. But this is at uniform distribution density of the total population by fertile land. At the same time, according to various estimates, from 500 to 800 million people (8-13% of the total population) are already starving in the world today, and the world's population is increasing annually by an average of 90 million people (i.e., by 1.4% per year ).

The world's land use productivity varies considerably. For example, 32% of the world's arable land and 18% of pastures are concentrated in Asia, which makes it possible to keep more than half of the world's livestock. However, due to low productivity, many Asian countries remain dependent on food imports. Areas of agricultural land in individual countries are determined mainly by natural and climatic conditions and the level of development of the population of countries, the level of technologies they have for the development and use of the land resources of the world.

At present, arable land in the world accounts for about 28% of the total area of agricultural land (about 1.4 billion hectares) and 70% (3.4 billion hectares) is used in animal husbandry (these are meadows and pastures). And although pastures are often plowed up for the production of grains and other crops, their losses are compensated by deforestation. Over the past 100 years, more land has been cleared for settled agriculture than in all previous millennia of human existence. land resource problem reclamation

But now the situation in the world is different. There are practically no reserves for agricultural development, only forests and "extreme territories" remain. In addition, in many countries of the world, land resources are rapidly declining: productive land is being taken away for construction, mining, swallowed up by cities and other settlements are flooded during the construction of reservoirs. Huge areas of cultivated land are being lost as a result of degradation.

And if in developed countries the growth of crop yields and agricultural productivity, in general, compensate for land loss, then in developing countries the picture is different. Rapid population growth in the last 50 years alone has quadrupled global food demand. This creates excessive "pressure" on land resources and land cover in many densely populated areas of the developing world. Up to half of the arable land in the world is used "for depletion", in excess of reasonable loads. It is appropriate to say that in the history of the development of civilization, about 2 billion hectares of productive land have been destroyed, which is more than the current area of arable land. Worldwide concern is growing over soil degradation due to improper land use

Natural resources are elements of nature that can be used to meet the needs of society at a given level of development of the productive forces. The provision of Russia with natural resources is assessed as very high, but their distribution across the country's territory basically does not correspond to the distribution of sectors of the national economy.

Soil resources make up an insignificant part of Russia's land resources. The share in the country's land fund is 13%, including arable land - 8% (about 122 million hectares). The main part of agricultural land (70%) is located in the European macro-region, including 18.7% in the Volga region, 16.2 - in, 11.5 - in the North Caucasus economic regions. In the Asian macro-region, an economic region stands out - 16.3% of the country's agricultural land.

AT Russian Federation in the structure of agricultural land, arable land accounts for 61%, hayfields - 9.5%, pastures - 28, other agricultural land account for 1.5%. The structure of agricultural land depends on zonal features and has significant differences in economic regions. The share of arable land in the structure of agricultural land ranges from 37% to economic region up to 80% in the Central Black Earth, hayfields - from 2% in the North Caucasus to 31% in the North, pastures - from 14% in the Central Black Earth to 47% in the East Siberian region.

The land, when used, undergoes structural and qualitative changes, which have recently been negative character. So, from 1985 to various reasons over 18.7 million hectares were withdrawn from agricultural use, including 10.3 million hectares of arable land.

A significant part of agricultural land is unfavorable for the cultivation of agricultural plants. More than half of the lands are excessively moistened, have high acidity, are saline, and are subject to water and wind.

From the north to the south of our country, the following types of soils are replaced.

- common on the coast. They are distinguished by low power, low humus content, high acidity.

Podzolic and soddy-podzolic - are formed under coniferous in conditions of a positive moisture balance. In the south, podzolic soils give way to soddy-podzolic soils, in which the amount of humus increases and a lumpy structure appears.

Gray forest - common at the junction of podzolic soils with chernozems, formed under deciduous forests.

- soils represented (from north to south) by the following varieties: podzolized, leached, typical, ordinary and southern. Typical chernozems are the most fertile subtype of chernozems. The power and humus content in them reach a maximum. Geographically, chernozems in Russia represent a strip running from west to east and bounded from the north by the line Orel - Tula - Ulyanovsk - the lower reaches of the Kama River - - Omsk -. In the south, the massifs of chernozems reach the river. Kuban, upper Kuma and Terek, rising to the northwest to, and to the east they are limited by the line - Saratov-border with, ending in the foothills. Chernozems more than any other type of soil are plowed up.

Chestnut - soils of dry steppes, formed under conditions of a negative moisture balance. They are poorer in humus than chernozems, have less thickness, and exhibit solonetsity.

Brown, gray-brown and gray soils - appear during the transition to semi-deserts. They are poor in humus and interrupted by salt marshes.

Krasnozems are the southernmost soil type in Russia in a small area. They have great power and are favorable for the development of subtropical crops.

Under the influence natural factors and human activities, soil fertility can either increase or decrease. Unfortunately, negative processes prevail today. As a result, chernozems, which provide about 80% of the country's agricultural production, are degraded. Due to growth, up to 30 thousand hectares of chernozem soils are annually eliminated from use. The content of humus in the soils of most regions has reached extremely low values, followed by degradation: Non-chernozem zone- 1.3-1.5%, in the Central Black Earth region - 3.5-5%. The annual loss of humus on arable land is estimated at 81 million tons. Due to the sharp reduction in the use of mineral and organic fertilizers, a negative balance of nutrients is developing in most regions.

Thus, in modern conditions the problem of efficient use of land is exacerbated. Main directions rational use land resources and their protection are as follows:

preservation of the natural environment through the creation of stabilizing and specially protected areas capable of maintaining the ecological balance;
prevention of land degradation;
restoration of lost due to irrational economic activity and degradation of original properties and qualities;
transition to resource-saving technologies and systems of economic land use.

In solving the problems of rationalization of the use of land resources and their protection important role belongs to the federal targeted programs, realizing economic policy states.

The earth is the main platform for all species. Its participation in the regulation of the ecosystem is difficult to overestimate, as well as its role in the food supply of the population. hallmark soil layer, compared with other forms of production processes, is indispensable. At the same time, the land resources of the world can be regarded as an eternal tool with which a person can provide himself with the necessary raw materials and food. Unfortunately, in the practice of land exploitation, many problems arise that are still acute for agrotechnical and agricultural organizations.

What are the world's land resources?

Far from the entire land surface belongs to land resources, but only that part of it that can be considered from the point of view of economic use. However, usually under common fund land refers to all land, except for the territory of Antarctica. In terms of area, the world's land resources are about 13,400 million hectares. In percentage terms, this is about 26% of the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe planet. But this does not mean at all that all the land potentially suitable for cultivation is in economic circulation. Today, about 9% of the land surface is used for agricultural and other industrial needs. There are many reasons for such a low level of environmental management, but this percentage is gradually increasing, which makes it possible to solve problems with ensuring unfavorable regions food.

Land resource classification

Among the resources of the land fund, there are three large categories. The first includes productive lands that have the potential to produce high yields and generally have favorable conditions for cultivation. It is important to note that productivity is determined not only by the properties of the soil, but also external factors among which climate plays an important role. The second category is unproductive territories. These are the land resources of the world and Russia, a significant part of which is represented by tundra, forest-tundra, swamps and steppes. Theoretically, these lands can meet the requirements of the agrotechnical complex in terms of use for various purposes, but, again, exploitation difficulties arise due to indirect factors. For example, it may be inaccessibility or unfavorable climatic conditions. The third category is represented by unproductive lands. As a rule, these are built-up areas, as well as lands with a disturbed structure and unfavorable chemical composition.

Land as a means of production

In one form or another, the fruits of the earth have been used by people since ancient times. The first forms of such use had the character of appropriation, but as the tools of labor developed, full-fledged features of production activity began to take shape. To date, there are several areas of such land use, including the cultivation of arable land, the organization of pastures and meadows, the planting of gardens and plantations. At the same time, the land resources of the world and their use can also be considered from the point of view of indirect production. This means that in one form or another it can act as a link in the chain of industrial production. However, the main branches of agrotechnical activity, such as vegetable growing, floriculture, the cultivation of cereals, melons and fodder plants, still received the greatest distribution.

Land use levels

The model of structuring the world agro-technical complex usually involves the allocation of three levels of land use. On the first are the participants of the industry, which are engaged in the production of technical means to support agriculture. It should also be noted here that enterprises processing agricultural raw materials in order to obtain products for further use in the industry. We can say that this is an area that serves agricultural production in terms of infrastructure. The second level is represented by individuals and enterprises that directly process land resources. Lands, depending on the region, may suggest different forms exploitation, but the tasks of their maintenance must necessarily provide for the receipt of a certain product. The third level of the agrotechnical complex is the industrial processing and marketing of raw materials and products obtained as a result of land cultivation.

Problems of land use

Although experts usually bring to the fore underuse available resources, many argue that land under development is gradually degrading. This means that even the advanced fund can become useless as a production site over time. And by that time, interested enterprises will be forced to develop the unattractive land resources of the world. The photo below shows an example of soil depletion. It is these processes that worry many experts in the agricultural industry.

Land use trends

The structure of land distribution is constantly changing. On the one hand, the changes are caused by the expansion of cultivated land, and on the other hand, by the reorientation of territories that were previously under development. At the current stage of development of the land fund, an increase in the rate of land processing is observed. To provide this opportunity, enterprises irrigate deserts, drain swamps and cut down forests. Such measures make it possible to increase the land resources of the world suitable for production activities. Moreover, this process is stimulated not only by the need to move to virgin areas due to the unsatisfactory qualities of the old lands. This is facilitated by an increase in the population - accordingly, the demand for food is growing.

Prospects for the expansion of agricultural land

It is more likely that some parts of tropical forests and deserts will be transferred to agricultural processing in the coming years. Modern technical means allow you to conduct business even in such conditions. Moreover, the world's productive land resources can be increased by expanding coastlines. The construction of dams and canals allows you to move settlements towards the sea. Similar processes are already observed in Japan, Singapore and Belgium.

Conclusion

In addition to expanding the area under crops, specialists pay a lot of attention to the tasks of more rational and efficient use of primary agricultural areas. The latest technology agro-technical complexes allow more careful use of the land resources of the world, without causing harm ecological system. Exist different directions in this area, some of which are subordinated to the tasks of increasing productivity by stimulating soil fertility. At the same time, many states and international organizations are developing new concepts of rules for the regulation of nature management, which are focused on optimizing the processes of exploitation of land resources.

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STATE AUTONOMOUS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF MOSCOW

MOSCOW STATE INSTITUTE OF TOURISM INDUSTRY

named after Yu.A. Senkevich

ESSAYONDISCIPLINE:

"TOURISTREGIONAL STUDY»

Topic:"Land resources peace, them accommodation and usage"

Done: student

1st year student of the 316th study group

Faculty of distance learning

Bezrukova Valeria Yurievna

Checked: Nikolashin V.N.

Moscow 2014

Introduction

Chapter 1. Characteristics of the land resources of the world.

1.1 Structure of land resources

1.2 Properties and qualities of land resources

1.3 Distribution of natural resources in the world

Chapter 2. Problems of land use

2.1 Negative consequences of use

2.2 Problems of land use

2.3 Reclamation and its types

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The basis for the existence of civilization is the use of resources and their transformation to obtain the necessary raw materials. The Earth is one of the most important natural resources. Land is the most important natural resource, the main means of production in agriculture, forestry and mining, as well as the spatial basis for the placement of buildings, structures and other objects. The natural fertility of soils is a unique resource, thanks to which it is possible to obtain the necessary food products.

However, in recent decades the quality of land resources is deteriorating, which causes concern on the part of scientists and the world community. To solve these problems, it is necessary to know the structure of land resources, their properties and ways of their restoration.

RelevanceselectedTopics determined essential role land resources in the existence of mankind.

aimwork is the study of the land resources of the world and the problems of their use.

Tasks:

· Consider the concept of land resources;

· Describe the features of the structure of land resources;

· Consider resource use problems;

· To study reclamation as a way to restore and maintain land resources.

When writing the abstract, literature was used, articles in scientific journals, statistical data, Internet sites.

Chapter1. Characteristiclandresourcespeace

1.1 Structurelandresources

Landresources- this is a type of natural resource that is characterized by territory, soil quality, climate, topography, etc.

3landresources- this is the spatial basis for the placement of economic objects, they are the main means of production in agriculture, where the main productive property of the land is used - fertility.

Among land resources, three large groups can be distinguished :

· Productive lands;

· Unproductive lands;

· Unproductive.

Only 1/3 of the planet's land fund is agricultural land (4.8 billion hectares). The rest of the land is land under buildings and roads, mountains, deserts, glaciers, swamps, forests, etc.

Agricultural land includes arable land (cultivated land), perennial plantations (gardens, plantations), natural meadows and pastures.

Table 1. Land resources of world regions

	Area of land resources, billion hectares	Area of land resources per capita, ha	Land fund	Meadows and pastures	Other lands



Sev. America
South America
Australia and Oceania

Land resources are natural resources. Under natural resources understand the objects, processes and conditions of nature used by society to meet the material and spiritual needs of people.

Natural resources include:

minerals;

· energy sources;

· waterways and reservoirs;

minerals;

· wild plants;

· fauna of land and water areas;

the gene pool of cultivated plants and domestic animals;

picturesque landscapes;

· wellness areas, etc.

Diagram 1. Structure of land resources of the world

The world's land resources allow food to be provided to more people than is currently available and will be in the near future. However, due to population growth, especially in developing countries (SEA, South America), the amount of arable land per capita is declining. Even 10-15 years ago, the per capita provision of arable land for the population of the Earth was 0.45-0.5 hectares, at present it is already 0.25 hectares.

According to the Committee on Agrarian Issues of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, food production for 1 person requires from 0.3 to 0.5 hectares of agricultural land (arable land + pastures), another 0.07 to 0.09 hectares is needed for housing, roads, recreation. That is, taking into account the available technologies for cultivating the land, the existing potential of agricultural land makes it possible to provide food from 10 to 17 billion people on the planet. But this is with a uniform distribution of the density of the entire population over fertile lands. At the same time, according to various estimates, from 500 to 800 million people (8-13% of the total population) are already starving in the world today, and the world's population is increasing annually by an average of 90 million people (i.e., by 1.4% per year ).

The world's land use productivity varies considerably. For example, 32% of the world's arable land and 18% of pastures are concentrated in Asia, which makes it possible to keep more than half of the world's livestock. However, due to low productivity, many Asian countries remain dependent on food imports. The areas of agricultural land in individual countries are determined mainly by natural and climatic conditions and the level of development of the population of countries, the level of their technologies for the development and use of land resources in the world.

But now the situation in the world is different. There are practically no reserves for agricultural development, only forests and "extreme territories" remain. In addition, in many countries of the world, land resources are rapidly declining: productive land is being taken away for construction, mining, swallowed up by cities and other settlements, and flooded during the construction of reservoirs. Huge areas of cultivated land are being lost as a result of degradation.

1.2 Propertiesandqualitylandresources

The main properties of land resources include:

· Irrecoverability;

· Non-renewability;

· Irreplaceable.

total area meadows and pastures exceeds the area of arable land by almost 2 times. Due to the arid climate, rangelands are less suitable for cultivation. Most of these areas are in Africa. Meadows, on the contrary, are more suitable for farming. This type land prevails in Australia, Russia, China, USA, Brazil, Argentina, Mongolia.

The areas of agricultural land in individual countries are determined mainly by natural and climatic conditions and the level of development of the population of countries, the level of their technologies for the development and use of land resources in the world.

1.3 Accommodationnaturalresourcesinworld

Natural resources are distributed unevenly across the planet. In the countries of the world, the ratio of arable land and pastures in agricultural land is different.

Each continent and each country has its own specifics of land resources and their geography . In our time, land use is very dynamic and the general picture of the distribution of anthropogenic landscapes is constantly changing. Each landscape-geographical belt of the Earth also has a peculiar land-use.

In the CIS, countries of Africa and North America, the share of cultivated land is close to the world average. For foreign Europe, this figure is higher (29%), and for Australia and South America- less high (5 and 7%). The countries of the world with the largest amounts of cultivated land are the USA, India, Russia, China, Canada. Cultivated lands are concentrated mainly in forest, forest-steppe and steppe natural zones. Natural meadows and pastures prevail over cultivated lands everywhere (more than 10 times in Australia), except for foreign Europe. Globally, an average of 23% of the land is used for pasture. Resource provision with land is determined per capita. In terms of land fund per capita, Australia ranks first. Largest dimensions cultivated land - in the US, India, Russia, China. The main arrays of arable land are in the Northern Hemisphere: Europe, Southern Siberia, Eastern, Southeastern and South Asia, plains of Canada and the USA. The countries with the lowest provision of arable land per capita are China (0.09 hectares), Egypt (0.05 hectares).

The polar spaces in Greenland, in the north of Russia, Canada, Alaska are unsuitable for processing; desert regions of Central Australia, highlands Central Asia, the Sahara desert, etc. Processes are taking place: desertification - the sands of the Sahara, the deserts of Southwest Asia, North and South America are advancing; destruction of land by quarries, falling asleep with dumps, flooding by created reservoirs.

However, the structure of the land fund does not remain unchanged. It is constantly affected by two processes that are opposite in nature:

· On the one hand, land is being expanded, virgin lands are being developed (Russia, USA, Kazakhstan, Canada, Brazil). Land-poor countries are advancing on coastal areas (the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Portugal, Japan, Canada, Singapore, etc.);

· On the other hand, deterioration and depletion of lands are constantly taking place. It is estimated that due to erosion, swamping, salinization, about 9 million hectares fall out of agricultural circulation every year. There is a growth of cities, in arid regions - desertification threatens to reach 3 billion hectares.

Therefore, the main problem of the world land fund is the degradation of agricultural lands, as a result of which there is a noticeable reduction in cultivated land per capita, and the “load” on them is constantly increasing.

Chapter2. Problemsuselandresources

2.1 Negativeeffectsuse

Among the negative consequences of the use of land resources in the first place is the decrease in fertility, desertification, soil erosion, soil pollution.

Desertification is also new process but it, like erosion, has accelerated in modern times through the fault of man. The total area of man-made deserts in the world is more than 9 million km2 (that is, equal to the area of the United States). And another 19% of the land is on the verge of desertification.

Increasing desertification in the world is one of the most big problems for environment and delays the fight against poverty, the UN report says.

Desertification is defined as the destruction of arid and semi-arid lands as a result of climate change and human activities, and "ranks among the major environmental hazards for the entire planet and society," underlines the document, created as part of the UN-led Millennium Ecosystem Evolution Project.

Desertification is becoming global problem which affects everyone and receives too little attention. University of the United Nations and the main author of the report, based on the observations of 1300 experts from 95 countries during four years. This phenomenon could affect two billion people living in arid and semi-arid zones. Already today, 250 million are directly affected by desertification, most in Africa, says Adel. The poor population, whose lands turn into a desert, flee to the developed countries, increasing their problems.

Sandstorms in the Gobi Desert are causing respiratory illness in much of China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan, and even worsening air quality in North America, the authors of the Ecosystems and Human Well-Being report emphasize. The authors calculated that every year a billion tons of sand and dust rise from the Sahara into the atmosphere.

Sand grains contain bacteria and microorganisms scientists think are damaging coral reefs caribbean. Overpopulation, expansion of pastures, too intensive agricultural practices, as well as poor water management are the main factors leading to desertification. The report also indicates that 10 to 20% of the planet's arid and semi-arid lands are already severely damaged.

Overheating of the atmosphere, which is a consequence of the accumulation of gases that create Greenhouse effect, emitted by car exhaust and industry, is also likely to exacerbate desertification in the coming decades. This will lead to more drought, heatwaves and floods.

The top fertile soil layer on the planet is being depleted at a rate of 7% per decade. AT more than the soils of the temperate zone, the soil cover is subject to depletion equatorial belt and areas of the humid tropics due to the composition of the soil and the stormy nature of the rains. And in arid zones, dust storms cause great damage to agriculture, which raise clouds of dust, sand, and soil into the air. Sometimes the wind blows away a layer of soil by 15-20 cm, carrying it over great distances.

Soil degradation is a process of gradual decrease in soil fertility that occurs for various reasons. Attempts to assess the state of the soil - the basis of human existence - have been made over the past three decades in the framework of a program called "Global Soil Degradation Assessments". These estimates are based on expert opinions of specialists. In 2008, the Program reported that 15% of soils are in the process of degradation.

A new study on the subject, published by the non-governmental foundation ISRIC - World Soil Information, has yielded much more negative results. The basis of this assessment method was the analysis of satellite photographs of the earth's surface for the period from 1981 to 2003. As it turned out, 24% of soils are now in a state of degradation. The authors of the study, which was published in the journal Soil Use and Management, argue that the reason for this process is the unreasonable use of agricultural land and various natural processes.

The soils of Africa south of the equator are now in the worst position, as well as Southeast Asia and South China. The most affected (that is, more than half of their soils have degraded) are such states as the Congo, Zaire, Myanmar (Burma), Malaysia, Thailand, both Koreas, and Indonesia. Most of all, this process affects the situation of the population (that is, in the affected areas the population density is highest) - in China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Brazil. Overall, 19% of degrading soils are used for growing crops.

Soil erosion is the process of destruction and demolition of the upper, most fertile soil layers. There are natural and accelerated (anthropogenic) soil erosion. Natural erosion proceeds very slowly, and soil fertility does not decrease during its course. Accelerated soil erosion is caused by irrational human activities, as a result of which natural erosion is activated and intensified (improper tillage and irrigation of the soil, excessive fertilization, uncontrolled grazing, deforestation, drainage of swamps, etc.) There are two main types of erosion soils: wind and water erosion.

Wind erosion (deflation) of soils is the blowing and transfer of the smallest soil particles by the wind. The strongest and most prolonged winds develop into dusty (black) storms. In a few days, they are able to completely demolish the top fertile soil layer up to 30 cm thick. Dust storms pollute water bodies, the atmosphere, negatively affect human health. Now the biggest source of dust is the dried lands of the Aral Sea.

Water erosion of soils is the destruction and washout of the soil under the action of water streams. The environmental damage from water erosion is enormous. Water, flowing down, forms gullies and ravines, washes organic and minerals. This leads to a loss of soil fertility, the formation of ravines. No agricultural activity is possible in the ravines. It is estimated that the area of ravines in the territory of the CIS countries is 9 million hectares and continues to increase. A field subject to water erosion loses 7-13 t/ha of the most fertile soil per year.

Soil pollution is a type of anthropogenic soil degradation in which the content of chemicals in soils subject to anthropogenic impact exceeds the natural regional background level of their content in soils.

The main criterion for environmental pollution by various substances is the manifestation of signs of the harmful effects of these substances in the environment on certain types of living organisms, since stability certain types recent to chemical attack differs significantly. The environmental hazard is that human environment natural environment compared with natural levels, the content of certain chemicals is exceeded due to their intake from anthropogenic sources. This danger can be realized not only for the most sensitive species of living organisms.

Ecosystem pollution is one of the types of its degradation, soil pollution is one of the most dangerous types of soil and ecosystem degradation as a whole. Pollutants are substances of anthropogenic origin entering the environment in quantities exceeding the natural level of their intake.

2.2 Problemsuselandresources

As a result of mining in Great Britain from the 12th century. the area of agricultural and other useful land has decreased by 60,000 hectares; in the GDR, only about 50,000 hectares are occupied under waste rock dumps resulting from the extraction of brown coal. There are also lands in the CIS that have been disturbed by economic activity. During underground mining, subsidence (the so-called sinkholes) is possible on the surface, and large areas are occupied by waste heaps. As a result of open mining of mineral deposits large areas disturbed by quarries and waste rock dumps. Disturbed lands also remain at the site of peat extraction, slag dumps, and eroded territories. R. l. usually in alignment positive forms relief, flattening and grassing their slopes, applying a layer of fertile soil and mineral fertilizers on them, followed by land allocation for agricultural land, afforestation or grassing. R. l. much easier if technological process mining soil storage, uniform rock dumping, and other measures aimed at creating a cultural landscape were foreseen in advance. Depleted peatlands, quarries and sinkholes that have arisen after underground mining are often filled with water and turned into fish ponds. Near cities, on reclaimed lands, parks are sometimes laid out, water sports complexes are being built, etc.

The main task of soil protection is to maintain its fertility. About 3/4 of all soils of the planet have reduced productivity due to insufficient provision of heat and moisture. About half of the soils are found in arid and semi-arid zones. Soil erosion has long been a misfortune of farmers, and destroyed soil is restored very slowly, in natural conditions it takes more than one hundred years. It is estimated that every year in the world, due to erosion, 6-7 million hectares of land fall out of agricultural circulation, and another 1.5 million hectares due to waterlogging, salinization, leaching.

2.3 Reclamationandherkinds

Reclamation is a complex of works on ecological and economic restoration of lands and water bodies, the fertility of which as a result of human activity decreased significantly. The purpose of reclamation is to improve environmental conditions, restore the productivity of disturbed lands and water bodies.

Depending on the goals that are set during land reclamation, the following areas of land reclamation are distinguished:

· Environmental direction;

· Recreational direction;

· Agricultural direction;

· Plant-growing direction;

· Hay and pasture direction;

· Forestry direction;

· Water management.

Among the plants used to improve land quality, first of all, we can name herbaceous representatives of the legume family, which are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen. For example, in Australia, Clitoria ternatea (Clitoria ternatea) is used for reclamation of coal mine areas. Another plant actively used in land reclamation is black poplar (Populus nigra).

There are several types of reclamation. Land reclamation includes:

Restoration of the relief: backfilling of ravines, quarries, destruction of dumps rocks etc.;

· Restoration of soils and vegetation;

· Reforestation;

· Creation of new landscapes.

Thus, landscape reclamation, land reclamation (from re... and Late Latin cultivo - I process, cultivate), restoration of the productivity of lands that have become barren as a result of human activity (mining, the creation of hydraulic structures, deforestation, city building, etc. ).

Conclusion

Based on the material studied, the following conclusions can be drawn about the land resources of the world and their use.

Under land resources understand the earth's surface, suitable for human habitation and for any kind of economic activity. Land resources are characterized by the size of the territory and its quality: relief, soil cover and a complex of other natural conditions

Among the negative consequences of the use of land resources in the first place is the decrease in fertility (decrease in the humus layer), desertification, soil erosion, and pollution.

The land resources of the world suitable for agriculture are limited, and there are practically no vacant lands suitable for development. The areas where the bulk of food is produced (arable land, orchards and plantations, meadows, pastures) make up only 9% of the world's land resources (that is, on average, a little less than 1 ha per 1 inhabitant). They are different in natural properties and in their potential.

Reclamation methods are used to maintain and restore the properties of land resources. Land reclamation is an artificial recreation of soil fertility and vegetation, disturbed due to mining, construction of roads and canals, dams, etc.

Listusedliterature

Literature:

1. Geography: A textbook for students of general educational institutions of secondary vocational training. Ed. Baranchikova E.V. - M.: "Academy", 2012. - 480 p.

2. Socio-economic geography of the world. Ed. Volsky V.V. - M.: KRON-PRESS, 2004. - 592 p.

3. Khrabovchenko V.V. Ecological tourism: Educational medical aid. - M. 2007. - 280 p.

4. Economics and organization of tourism. International tourism. Study guide. Ed. Ryabovoy I.A., Zabaeva Yu.V., Drachevoy E.L. -M.: KNORUS, 2009. - 576 p.

Internetresources:

1. http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/

2. http://www.consultant.ru

3. http://esa.un.org/unup/

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What are earth resources. Land resources and their importance

What are the world's land resources?

Land resource classification

Land as a means of production

Land use levels

Problems of land use

Land use trends

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Conclusion

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Portal for the student. Self-training

What are the world's land resources?

Land resource classification

Land as a means of production

Land use levels

Problems of land use

Land use trends

Prospects for the expansion of agricultural land

Conclusion

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