The Nature of Land (SST 5201)

In the context of land evaluation, land is much more than the solid surface of the earth. It includes:

1. soils;
2. rocks beneath;
3. atmosphere with its climates;
4. cyclic interchange of water between the sky;
5. ground;
6. rivers;
7. sea; and
8. whole mantle of living things, both plant and animal

DEFINITION OF LAND:

 "An [area of the earth surface], including [all reasonably stable or predictably cyclic], attributes of the [biosphere vertically above and below] this area, including those of the [atmosphere], the [soil and underlying geology], the [hydrology], the [plant and animal populations] and the [results of past and present human activity], to the extent that these attributes exert a significant influence on present and future uses of the land by humans"

"A geographic concept. Each land area is unique located in space and is defined by that location"

KZ Notes:

1. There are different interpretation and meaning of land. As for this course, land can be defined as an area of the earth surface, which means that anything lies below and above earth surface is called LAND!
2. There are 8 points need to be stated in land defination: (1) surface (2) stable + predictably cyclic (3) biosphere above + below (4) atmosphere (5) soil + geology (6) hydrology (7) plant + animal (8) past + present activity