Problem
Excessive land usage
Experimental visualization of narrower problems
Other Names:
Destructive intensification of land use Nature:
Intensifying land use has generally brought with it a simplification of ecosystems and a reduction of biodiversity. Important causes and disturbances are deforestation, fragmentation of ecosystems, regulation of water streams, monocultures, selective breeding, abandoning of traditional crop varieties and livestock breeds, excessive application of agrochemicals and urbanization.
Incidence:
Land-cover changes contribute around one-fifth of annual carbon dioxide releases.
Broader Problems:
Land misuseExcessive population demands on the environment Narrower Problems:
DeforestationIntensive farmingOverregulation of waterwaysOverdevelopment of golf coursesFragmentation of natural habitatExcessive use of land for agricultureExcessive land usage by transport systemsUncontrolled physical expansion of citiesExploitation of land for the burial of the deadIncreasing proportion of land surface devoted to urbanization Related Problems:
Unused landUnsustainable harvesting ratesExcessive consumption of resources in industrialized countries Aggravates:
Limited available landInsufficient pasturelandScarcity of residential landShortage of natural resourcesMisuse of agricultural chemicalsUnavailability of building sitesDeclining breeds of cultivated plantsIncreased reflection of solar radiationDecreasing genetic diversity of animalsDestructive changes to biogeochemical cyclesInsufficient common land in urban environmentsIncreasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere Subject(s):
Geography → Land type/useRelated UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
D: Detailed problems Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST