Land Use Primer:
Why are we concerned about changes in Land Use and Land Cover?
Changes in land use and land cover impact both environmental quality and the quality of life, two aspects that impact human wellbeing. Changes in habitat, water and air quality and the quality of life are some of the environmental, social and economic concerns associated with land use and land cover changes.
- Habitat: Land use by human leads to changes in land cover that can negatively impact biodiversity. Conversion of natural wood- and grass-lands to more developed uses decreases the amount of habitat available. The pattern of human land use also tends to result in a patchy landscape, fragmenting habitats. Some species of plants and animals do better in patchy, fragmented environments, while others need large, uninterupted areas.
- Water Quality: Changes in land use can affect the volume, timing and quality of runoff water. More-developed land uses have higher proportion of impervious surface (areas where water can not soak into the ground, such as roadways, parking lots, and building roofs). As the amount of impervious surface increases, rainstorm runoff increases in volume, increasing the risk of flooding and increasing the amount of pollutants carried into streams and lakes. Human use of land also disturbs natural land cover, increasing the potential for soil erosion into streams and lakes.
- Quality of Life (aesthetics, recreation, congestion): Land use and land cover changes can affect quality of life when those changes impact landscapes that have aesthetic value (scenic views), or when the quality and quantity of the landscapes are reduced in areas that are attractive for recreational activities. Also, changes in Land Use and Land Cover can affect traffic patterns that can have positive or negative effects on congestion.
- Air Quality: The pattern of land use in a region can affect its air quality. If residential areas are located far from shopping and work centers, automobile use and emissions will be higher. If forests or other natural areas that purify air are developed, local air quality can worsen. Changes in vegetative cover can also lead to local changes in climate.
- Global Carbon Cycles: More-natural landscapes can capture and store carbon in the soil, decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If vegetation is cut and/or the soil is disturbed, stored soil carbon can be released back into the atmosphere.
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