| Term | Definition |
|---|
| aquaculture | raising fish or other water animals for food |
| arable land | land that can be used for farming |
| bedrock | the bottom layer of "soil" - solid rock, parent rock |
| clear cutting | harvesting all the trees in an area |
| deforestation | removing all of the trees in a forest |
| desertification | the process where arable land becomes desert |
| grazing management | maintaining grazing land by reducing size of herds and moving animals around |
| humus | above topsoil, decomposed living material |
| igneous rock | rock solidified from lava or magma |
| infrastructure | the organizations that serve the citizens of a city: police, fire dep'ts, schools, streets, sewer |
| land-use planning | constituents agree on ideal use of land for development, agriculture, open space... |
| logging | cutting down trees for industrial use (furniture, housing...) |
| low-impact farming | using less fertilizer, water, outside resources (low-input) |
| metamorphic rock | rock that has been formed through heat and pressure |
| open pit mining | digging pits into the land to harvest metals and minerals |
| open spaces | undeveloped land (includes farming and forested land) |
| ranching | form of agriculture which uses open space for grazing (horses, cattle, sheep) |
| range improvement | using strategies such as removing weeds, moving cattle |
| reclamation | re-configuring land for reuse (mining usually) |
| reforestation | replanting trees to prevent loss of farmin |
| rock | solid natural material made up of minerals |
| rock cycle | change of rock material from one form to another through natural processes of melting, solidifying, heat, and pressure |
| salinization | "salting" refers to problem of salts in soil - usually caused by over-fertilizing |
| sedimentary rock | rock formed under water in layers |
| soil | layered material at the top of the earth's crust, formed from organic and inorganic material |
| selective cutting | choosing only the most mature trees to harvest from forests |
| strip mining | slicing off layers of rock to retrieve minerals and metals |
| suburban sprawl | unplanned development extending from cities |
| topsoil | the topmost layer of soil, consists of mostly decomposed organic material, with small particles of parent material |
| urban area | a city and surrounding regions |
| urban renewal | revitalizing a city by rebuilding infrastructure |
| urbanization | the process of becoming a city |
Combine with other sets
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