Land Resources

A volume in the three-volume Remote Sensing Handbook series, Land Resources Monitoring, Modeling, and Mapping with Remote Sensing documents the scientific and methodological advances that have taken place during the last 50 years. The other two volumes in the series are Remotely Sensed Data Characterization, Classification, and Accuracies, and Remo

This book provides an authoritative review of the resources of soils, water, climate, forests and pastures on which agriculture depends. It assesses the interactions between land resources and wider aspects of development, including population and poverty. Unless action is taken, the developing world will face recurrent problems of food security and conflict. The book gives some forcefully-expressed criticisms of current methods of assessing land degradation and placing an economic value on land. It should be read by all involved in rural development, including scientists, economists, geographers, sociologists, planners, and students of development studies. It provides a summary and perspective of the field of land resources, and suggests improvements needed to conserve resources for future generations. The hardback edition of the book received excellent reviews.

This book includes contributions from scientists and representatives from government and non-governmental organisations working in the field of land management and use and on management of fires. The book is truly interdisciplinary and has both a research and application-oriented dimension. The list of topics includes sustainability and water management; sustainability and biodiversity conservation; the future sustainability of nature-based industries such as agriculture, mining, tourism, fisheries and forestry; sustainability, people and livelihoods; sustainability and landscapes planning; sustainability and land use planning; handling and managing forest fires. The papers are innovative and cross-cutting, and many have practice-based experiences. Also, this book, prepared by the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) and the World Sustainable Development Research and Transfer Centre (WSD-RTC), reiterates the need to promote a sustainable use of land resources today.

'This text seeks to provide an introduction to issues of land use and the economic tools that are used to resolve land-use conflicts. In particular, tools of economic analysis are used to address allocation of land among alternative uses in such a way that the welfare of society is enhanced. Thus, the focus is on what is best for society and not what is best for an individual, a particular group of individuals, or a particular constituency. What this text seeks to provide is a balanced and just approach to decision-making concerning allocation of land.' -- from the Introduction

'This text seeks to provide an introduction to issues of land use and the economic tools that are used to resolve land-use conflicts. In particular, tools of economic analysis are used to address allocation of land among alternative uses in such a way that the welfare of society is enhanced. Thus, the focus is on what is best for society and not what is best for an individual, a particular group of individuals, or a particular constituency. What this text seeks to provide is a balanced and just approach to decision-making concerning allocation of land.' -- from the Introduction Land Resource Economics and Sustainable Development has already been tested, in a slightly different format, on over 400 students in a number of upper-level undergraduate and lower-level graduate courses. It presents a pragmatic approach to the issues of land use and sustainable development, and breaks away from the narrow focus of most economics texts on resources as it takes into account current political and ecological concerns while at the same time providing readers with the essential economic tools for a rational discussion of land use conflicts. Land Resource Economics and Sustainable Development addresses a wide range of issues not covered in other economics texts. These include: soil erosion; wetlands preservation; global climatic change; urban/rural conflict; urban land use; range management; forest management; and public land management. The broad scope and practical perspective make Land Resource Economics and Sustainable Development useful to students, interdisciplinary researchers, and professional economists and managers working in the fields of economic development, the environment, agriculture, and forestry. Both U.S. and Canadian data are used throughout the text to illustrate the issues discussed in the book.

The depletion of land resources is one of the greatest challenges for mankind in this millennium. Shrinking land resources, weather aberrations, deterioration of land quality, and the globalization and liberalization of market economies have become intertwined to influence the sustainable management of land resources and land use plans. This important volume, Sustainable Management of Land Resources: An Indian Perspective, addresses these challenges. This comprehensive volume, covering important research, much of it gathered with the use of new technology, tools, and applications, is organized into four sections: (add bullets) land resource inventory and characterization geospatial technologies in land resource mapping and management soil nutrient status and management land use planning and livelihood security The volume looks at how scientists translate their knowledge and experience in sustainable land resources and management into implementable policy decisions, with a particular focus on India. Since India is an agrarian economy, the land resources assume a very critical role affecting the livelihood of a vast majority of populace in the country. The information gathered—and the methods by which it is gathered—is applicable globally. This comprehensive publication will be highly useful for the researchers, academicians, extension workers, policymakers, planners, officials of land resources survey, planning and management institutions/agencies/departments, and others.

Countries of the Near East vary in the type, quantity and format of the inventories of their land resources. Quite often, these data are sporadic, incomplete, out of date or based on diverse systems of land and soil classification and mapping. There is a need for the establishment of a user-friendly database on land and water Resources for each country, to be easily available at the desktop of land use planners and decision makers. Land resources information systems experiences in the countries are presented in this document, as well as recommendations for future collaboration in database development, reporting and exchange of information, expertise and experiences in land and water management in the region and the implementation of regional projects.

Land resources are one of nature’s most precious gifts. They feed us and help our societies and economies to thrive. Some 2.5 billion agricultural smallholders worldwide manage around 500 million small farms, providing more than 80 per cent of food consumed in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. These resources are being degraded at an alarming pace. An estimated 33 per cent of soil is moderately to highly-degraded due to erosion, nutrient depletion, acidi?cation, salinization, compaction and chemical pollution. Each year we lose 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil and 15 billion trees, costing the economy around $40 billion. This report focuses on land potential evaluation systems as a critical foundation for land use planning and management. More specifically, land potential evaluation systems are needed to sustain and increase the provision of ecosystem services in the context of climate change, persistent land degradation and increasing global population and per-capita consumption levels.