| dc.description.abstract | Sustainable land management is a key issue among the various applications of
sustainable development. Humans are mobile terrestrial beings who need land as
terra firma to support their activities and obtain vital resources. And yet land makes
up only a third of the earth’s surface and is finite, much of it already having been
populated by humans. Other basic preconditions for ensuring the survival of
humans were the availability of freshwater and a plant cover that provided food and
shelter, which was used for gathering and hunting. This activity was steadily
improved owing to skill and intellect, particularly after learning how to use fire as
an effective energy source.
The real importance of land, however, was discovered when humans started to
practice agriculture, especially crop farming. This was the very origin of land use
and the first decisive step in transforming nature into a typical human environment,
called culture. Humans took ownership of land and selected certain plant and
animal species for crop cultivation and livestock husbandry around their settlements. These were built as solid farmsteads, marking a second type of land use and
a completely artificial land cover.
During plant cultivation, farmers became aware of the uppermost layer of the
land, called soil, the quality of which, above all fertility, was indicated by the plant
cover. Humans soon learned to determine which sites were best suited for agriculture—deep sandy to loamy soils that were easy to till. Management began by
replacing the natural plant cover with crop plants, usually in pure stands, which
involved working the land using tools such as hoes and ploughs. Grain and root
crops soon became the mainstay of human food supply, promoting population
growth—which again required more farmland: a vicious circle evolved. | |
