From agricultural stand point,land is defined as the solid part of the earth surface in which agricultural activities can be practised .land like air and water is free gift of nature.
-it is heterogeneous and geographically immobile
-it is a universal factor of product
Usese of land for agricultural and non agricultural
This are two schools it thought.they are the pedeathologist and edaphologist
The pedeathologist are concerned with land uses for construction and other non agricultural activities,while the edaphologist are interested in such land used for agricultural activities.from the above land had two major uses
1 agricultural land
2 non agricultural land
Agricultural land:land for agricultural must be fertile, flat and free from many problems.agricultural land can be used for food crop production. eg.rice ,yam, potato,beans,songuum and cash crops like kenef,cotton ,rubber,cocoa,kola,ground nut ,etc.agricultural land requires regular management practices like drainage, irrigation, fertilizer application
Forestry:
From time immemorial land has been used for forestry and it's resources for weman used.land can be used for forestry where the population is low and also where the land is not suitable for arable crop
Land for forestry:
.land for forestry must be fertile
. forest is establish in areas of sparse population
.land should be where the erosoin is high
. sometimes at the states or country boundaries
.disputed land
Uses of forest include the following
.The wood of trees can be used in making,paper,furniture,match stick,coffins,canoes.
.the trees help to prevent erosion.
.the leaves increase the rate of transpiration and determine the level of rainfall in an area.
. Herbs of various kind can be got from the forest for medicinal purposes.
.Dyes,ropes,fibres,waxes and latex are essential products from the forest.
. forest acts as home to wild animals.
.Forest products can generate revenue and employment of people.
. Forest provide a very important source fuel (fire wood).
.Forest serves as a tourist centre
. Forest resources are crucial to the economic survival of every nation .there are a good source of foreign exchange earning especially through the export of timber.
.tree planting helps in beautification of towns and urban centres.
.to reduce atmospheric pollution by removing carbon-dioxide and replace it with oxygen.
It is a source of government revenue some common forest trees:timber trees,iroko mahogany,teak,pine gmelina,obeche ceda,sapele,camwood, Nigeria walnut,opepe afara,abura,akki etc.
Some Forest reserves in Nigeria.
.shasha river Forest reserve in ogun state .omo forest reserve in ogun state.
.Sapoba forest reserve in edo state.
.Mamu river forest reserve in anambra state.
.Afi river forest reserve in cross river state .
Awba hills forest reserve in oyo state.
Sanga river forest reserve in plateau state.
.anara forest reserve in kaduna state.
.Zamfara forest reserve in sokoto state.
.Okomu forest reserve in edo state.
.ofosu forest reserve in edo state.
Land for wildlife.
.the land to utilized for wildlife must not be for agricultural and forestry.
.there should be sparse population where it is to be located.
.it may be a plain ,Hill or valley.
A wildlife reserve is a place where wild animals are conserved to avoid extinction while they are carefully exploited .
Uses of wildlife include the following:
. tourist attraction.
. revenue generation.
.they provide horns,meat,egg and fish for food .
.hides and skins from wildlife like zebra,graffe ,tiger are also very important.
.game reserves provide employment to people.
.they generate income for the government.poaching or indiscriminate killing of animals in a game reserve should be prohibited.forest fires,fishing with chemicals should be avoided.examples of game reserves in Nigeria are 1.yankari game reserve in bauchi state.2.zgurma game reserves in niger state.3borgu game reserves in kwara state.4.kainja national Park in kogi state.
Some animals conserved in the game reserve are:lions, monkeys, elephants, tigers, leopards snakes, turtles tortoises, crocodiles, birds.
.land for fishing.
A piece of land can be used for construction of fish ponds where fish fingerings are reared.any type of soil can be used for fish pond artificially.the land should be able to retain water for long.
.Important of fish farming.
.it creates employment opportunity.
. fishes are primarily used as human food ( protein and vitamins).
.can be used as a raw material for fish meal industry for livestock.
. skins of some fishes are used as leather and polishing materials
This is for agricultural land
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Non agricultural land
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