Unit 3: Land cover transformations Description
This unit focuses on the changing biophysical cover of the earth’s surface, its impact on global climate and biodiversity, and the creation of anthropogenic biomes. In doing so, it examines the processes causing change in the earth’s land cover. These processes may include: deforestation, the expansion and intensification of agriculture, rangeland modification, land and soil degradation, irrigation, land drainage, land reclamation, urban expansion and mining.
These processes have altered local and regional climates and hydrology, damaged ecosystem services, contributed to the loss of biodiversity, and altered soils. The scale at which these processes now occur is so extensive that there no longer exist any truly ‘natural’ environments. All environments are, to a greater or lesser extent, modified by human activity. This focus on anthropogenic biomes differentiates Geography from Earth and Environmental Science. The processes of land cover transformation have also changed the global climate through their interaction with atmospheric processes, and climate change is, in turn, producing further transformations in land cover.
The unit integrates aspects of physical and environmental Geography to provide students with a comprehensive and integrated understanding of processes related to land cover change, and their local and global environmental consequences. It also examines and evaluates the ways people seek to reverse the negative effects of land cover change.
This unit includes an overview of land cover change and two depth studies: one focusing on the interrelationship between land cover and either global climate change or biodiversity loss, and one focusing on a program designed to address land cover change.
The scale of study for this unit, unless specified, can range from local to global, as appropriate. There is, for example, the requirement that students investigate the impacts of land cover change on local and regional environments; a local land cover change initiative designed to address the issue of climate change of biodiversity loss; and the evaluation of program to address land cover change. Each of these provides opportunities for fieldwork.
In undertaking these depth studies, students develop an understanding about using and applying geographical inquiry, tools such as spatial technologies, and skills to investigate human–environment systems.