Download Explain three ways that people use and change land.

1) Explain three ways that people use
and change land.
• Forests are cleared, wetlands drained,
and deserts irrigated to create farmland.
People mine resources from within the
ground. Development also changes the land.
2) Describe the structure of fertile soil.
• Soil has four layers:
– Litter- leaves and grass
– Topsoil- rocks, air, water, decaying animals and
plants, and roots.
– subsoil- rocks, air, water, less decaying animals
and plants
– Bedrock- erosion processes
3) Why is soil so important to human
beings?
• Soil is vital to human beings, because most
life on Earth could not exist without it. Soil
contains the minerals and nutrients that
plants need to grow. It also absorbs, stores,
and filters water.
4) How do erosion, nutrient depletion,
and desertification damage or destroy
soil?
• Erosion: Water, wind, or ice sweep soil away.
Nutrient depletion: Soil is robbed of nutrients
if the same crops are planted every year.
Desertification: Plants die, soil blows away,
and the area becomes a desert
5) What are the effects of
deforestation and urbanization?
• soil becomes less fertile; flooding and erosion
increase; wildlife population decreases; water
and air pollution increase; less land is
available for farming.
6) _____________ Deforestation is the
process of people moving to city areas.
• False: Urbanization is the process of people
moving to city areas
7) _____________ Because it can take
one year to form just a few
centimeters of new soil, it is important
to protect Earth’s soil.
• False: hundreds of years
8) _____________ If a farmer plants a
field with different crops each year,
the soil becomes less fertile, a
situation called nutrient depletion.
• False: the same crop
9) _____________ Without soil, most
life on land could not exist.
• True
10) The structure of fertile soil
contains layers including litter, topsoil,
Subsoil and bedrock.
_____________,
11. Strip mining exposes soil and causes
Erosion
_____________
12. When soil becomes depleted, farmers
usually apply fertilizers, which include
Nutrients that help crops grow better.
_____________
13.One cause of desertification is
Drought a period when less rain than
_____________,
normal falls in an area.
14._____________
is the layer of soil where the
Topsoil
most water and nutrients are
absorbed by plant roots.
15. The process of restoring an area of land to
a more productive state is called
_____________.
Land
reclamation
16.___ deforestation:
l Destruction of woodlands
17.___ litter:
f Top layer of soil containing dead leaves and grass
18.___ topsoil:
b. layer of soil in which water and nutrients
are absorbed by plant roots b
19.___ subsoil:
h. layer of soil above bedrock
20.___ bedrock:
e.the rock that makes up Earth’s crust
21.___ erosion:
j .the process by which water, wind, or ice
moves soil or particles of rocks
22.___ nutrient depletion
d. a process in which soil becomes less fertile
23.___ fertilizer
a.material that includes nutrients that help crops
grow better
24. ___ desertification
i. the advance of desert-like conditions into
areas that were fertile
25.___ drought
c. a period when less rain than normal falls
an area
in
26.___ land reclamation
g. restoring an area of land to a more productive
state
27.___ urbanization
k.
the process of people moving to cities