In
his 2005 article Global Consequences of Land Use, Jonathan Foley describes the multi-faceted
issue we currently face in regard to anthropogenic land use and its effects on
the landscape and the ecosystem services we require for survival. He details the negative effects that different
human land use has had, including uses for agriculture, manufacturing,
urbanization, and all of the aspects of landscape changes that go along with
them.
Consideration is given to the percentage of the
planet’s land that is used for agriculture, as well as the resources and chemicals
that are put into it, especially after the Green Revolution, and their effects
on water and air quality, the hydrological cycle, temperature, and ecosystem health
and biodiversity. The phenomenon of “urban
heat islands” (571), caused by impervious surfaces, lack of vegetation cover and
the structure of buildings leading to higher surface temperatures, is also
discussed in regard to its effects on surrounding climate changes.
Foley
closes the article with an argument for the necessity of interdisciplinary
approaches to these and the other problems he discusses, as well as the
necessity of a variety of skill sets to determine solutions such as those he
suggests for finding a balance between human land use needs and the preservation
of ecosystem services.
Use of GIS for analysis
of such issues on global and regional scales could be an imperative skill set
to add to such a repertoire. Utilizing
datasets on information regarding factors such as temperature changes, water
levels or pollution, water or air quality, and land use distributions would
allow for greater analysis of current trends and their changes over time,
potentially isolating contributing factors or correlations between events that could
assist in making informed decisions as to solutions. For example, it might be used to analyze the
difference that increased green spaces or sustainable building practices have
on the “urban heat island” phenomenon.
Foley, J.A., et al. (2005). Global Consequences of Land Use. Science,
309, 570-574.
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ReplyDeleteDo the " impervious surfaces" you mention in heat islands absorb heat? I'm most interested in policy measures for problems that we encounter in the social sciences, because (maybe it's just because I'm an undergrad now) it seems most of what I'm learning now is about seeing a multitude of causes interconnected in various ways. Is this article somewhat like that? It seems like policy-making is an interesting intersection of specialized vs. general knowledge. Of course it's important to understand the theoretical lenses to approach these problems with as well, and potentially the most interesting.
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