How Humans Impact the Lithosphere Urbanization Destroying natural

How Humans Impact the Lithosphere

Urbanization • Destroying natural areas can reduce the beauty of an area and have a potential economic impact. • Rapid development can result in very high levels of erosion and sedimentation in river channels. • More parking lots/roads = MORE FLOODING!

Deforestation • Cutting down all the trees in an area loosens the soil and makes it very easy for extreme erosion to occur. • One solution is replanting and a system of harvesting that thins out the area. • Less trees = less oxygen!

Agriculture • Agriculture takes up a lot of space! • Use of chemical pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers can contaminate soil and affect soil fertility. – Organic fertilizers are better. • Planting the same crop over and over can strip vital minerals out of the soil. – Crop rotation can help.

Agriculture (continued) • Overgrazing is the removal of excessive amounts of plant growth by animals in one area. This accelerates erosion and strips away topsoil, resulting in no plants able to grow. • Rotate animals among pastures. Overgrazing by sheep in Patagonia, Chile has lead to major erosion.

Mining • Underground mining requires digging out large areas, increasing the risk for sinkholes and cave ins. • Strip mining destroys the environment. • Mine operators are required to perform reclamation after finishing with the mining site. This means they must put the land back together and restore it to its original condition. • Mountaintop removal is a type of mining used in the Appalachians to extract coal!