Land Land is a delineable [diˈlinieit] area of the earth's terrestrial [tiˈrestriəl] surface, encompassing all attributes of the biosphere immediately above or below this surface including those of the near-surface climate the soil and terrain forms, the surface hydrology (including shallow lakes, rivers, marshes, and swamps [sw ɔ mp]), the near-surface sedimentary /ˌsedɪˈmentəri/ (沉淀性的) layers and associated groundwater reserve, the plant and animal populations, the human settlement pattern and physical results of past and present human activity (terracing, water storage or drainage structures, roads, buildings, etc. [etˈsetərə] (=et cetera)). (UN, 1994) Land use Land use is the human modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. The major effect of land use on land cover since 1750 has been deforestation of temperate regions. More recent significant effects of land use include urban sprawl, soil erosion, soil degradation, salinization [s əlini'zei ʃən], and desertification. Land-use change, together with use of fossil fuels, are the major anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide, a dominant greenhouse gas. It has also been defined as "the total of arrangements, activities, and inputs that people undertake in a certain land cover type". From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Land cover Land cover corresponds to a (bio) physical description of the earth's surface. It is that which overlays or currently covers the ground. This description enables various biophysical categories to be distinguished - basically, areas of vegetation (trees, bushes, fields and lawn), bare soil, hard surfaces (rocks, buildings) and wet areas and bodies of...
