Ajman University of Science and Technology

Network
Institute of Environment, Water and Energy

Environmental Sciences
Resources

NETWORK

First Semester 2009 - 2010

Resources

Lecture Two

NETWORK

Resources
I. Air, Water and Soil Resources
A. Air Resources
B. Water Resources
C. Soil Resources

II. Living Resources

A. Food Resources
B. Land Resources
C. Plant and Animal Resources

III. Energy and Mineral Resources

A. Non-Renewable Energy Resources
B. Renewable Energy Resources
C. Mineral Resources

I.A Air Resources

The atmosphere is the thin envelope of lifesustaining
gases surrounding the earth. It is
subdivided into several spherical layers, much like
the successive layers of skin on an onion.
About 95% of the mass of earths air is found in the
innermost layer, known as troposphere, extending
only 17 kilometers above the earths surface.
About 99% of the volume of clean, dry air in the
troposphere consists of two gases: nitrogen (78%)
and oxygen (21%). The remaining volume of air in
the troposphere has less than 1% argon and about
0.035% carbon dioxide. Air in the troposphere also
holds water vapor in amounts varying from 0.01%
at the pole to 5% in the tropics.
The second layer of the atmosphere, extending
from about 17 to 48 kilometers above the earths
surface, is called

I.A Air Resources

Vertical change in
average global
atmospheric
temperature and
pressure. Variations
in the way
temperature
changes with height
indicates the
atmosphere is
composed of a
number of different
layers. These
variations are due
to alterations in the
chemical and
physical nature of
the atmosphere
.with altitude

I.A Air Resources

stratosphere. It contains small amounts of gaseous
ozone (O3) that filters out about 99% of the
incoming harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This
filtering action protects us from:
Sunburns
Skin cancer
Eye cancer and eye cataracts
The global sunscreen also prevents damage to
some plants and aquatic organisms.
Our health depends on having enough ozone in the
stratosphere and no ozone in the troposphere.
Unfortunately, our activities are increasing ozone in
the troposphere and decreasing it in the
stratosphere.

I.B Water Resources

The hydrologic cycle is a natural system of
collecting, purifying, and distributing water which is
driven be energy from the sun. At any single
moment only 0.5% of the earths water is available
for human use.
Three-fourths of the water used in agriculture,
industry, and our homes come from surface water,
and the rest from groundwater. Two-thirds of the
water withdrawn each day is returned to its source,
but the remaining portion either evaporates or
becomes incorporated in living tissues.
Major
water supply problems include:
Shortage
due to drought, overuse,
waste, and overpopulation
Overexploitation of surface water
and groundwater supplies
Flooding

I.B Water Resources

Natural Hydrologic Cycle

I.B Water Resources

Groundwater depletion may cause:
Salt-water intrusion
Subsidence
Polluted water supplies are responsible for 80% of
all illness in LDCs.
Despite the advantages of retention dams in flood
control and generation of electricity, dams are
costly, inundate wildlife habitat, farmland and
towns. Dams also reduce stream flow, interrupt the
natural flow of nutrients-rich sediments to coastal
water, and prevent fish migration.
Diversion projects increase water supplies in watershort regions, but are often costly, reduce stream
flow,
destroy
aquatic
ecosystems,
affect
downstream salt concentrations, and create bitter
conflicts among users.

I.B Water Resources

Desalination of salt water is feasible in some places,
but it is 4 to 10 times more expensive than
conventional fresh water development projects.
Desalination plants produce brines that must be
disposed
and
encourage
home
and
resort
construction and population growth in some areas,
resulting in ecosystem destruction.
Treatment of municipal and agricultural drainage
water for reuse and artificial recharge of aquifer
systems by treated wastewater, industrial cooling
water, and runoff water are feasible water
management options.
Reuse and conservation can contribute to increasing
water supplies in the future. Since agriculture is the
main water consumer in all MDCs and LDCs alike,
introduction of modern irrigation technologies can
reduce water loss and increase water supply in

I.C Soil Resources

Soil is a complex mixture of inorganic materials
(clay, silt, pebbles, and sand), decaying organic
matter, water, air, and billions of living organisms.
Soil erosion is the movement of soil components
from one place to another by flowing water or wind.
But plant roots generally protect soil from excessive
erosion. Agriculture, logging, and construction
remove plant cover and accelerate soil erosion.
Annual
erosion
rates
for
agricultural
land
throughout the world are 18 to 100 times the
natural renewal rate.
Intense grazing has turned many areas of north
Africa from grassland to desert. In Africa, in the last
30 years, soil erosion has increased 20 times.
About 18% of the worlds cropland was irrigated in
1990, producing one-third of worlds food.

I.C Soil Resources

The ratios of the components may vary

from one place to another, but they remain
. almost the same everywhere

I.C Soil Resources

Irrigation can increase crop yield to 2 to 3 times the
yield of the same area watered by rain. But
irrigation increases water salinity. Saline water
evaporation, especially in arid regions, can lead to
salt accumulation and soil salinization, which can
cause:
Retardation of crop growth
Decrease crop yields
Killing crop plants
Making the land unproductive
Salinization is reducing crop yields on about onefourth of worlds irrigation cropland. In Egypt, where
all crop land is irrigated, half is salinized enough to
reduce yields. In 2000, 50 to 65% of irrigated
cropland suffered reduced productivity.
Waterlogging is the rise of water table within the
soil zone due to the lack of proper drainage.

I.C Soil Resources

Soil profile in different climatic regions

II.A Food Resources

Throughout the world 40 million people die annually
of starvation and diseases.
Satisfying future food demands for people alive
today is faced by several challenges such as soil
erosion,
nutrient
depletion,
desertification,
declining supplies of fossil fuel, groundwater
depletion, waterlogging, and salinization.
Strategies to meet current and future food
demands should focus on the following issues:

Population control
Increase the area of agricultural lands
Controlling soil erosion
Fighting desertification
Increase food and animal production through
genetic engineering. But the new species have to
be resistant to diseases and insects.

II.A Food Resources

Introduction of perennial crops for agriculture,
which reduces soil tillage, energy demands, and soil
erosion.
Careful soil enrichment programs in which natural
organic wastes are used to replenish lost nutrients
and to retain productivity.
Introduction of advanced irrigation techniques to
conserve water and expand irrigation to land that
otherwise have to be abandoned.
Fish provides 5% of the total animal protein
consumed by the worlds people. Commercial fish
farms might make it possible for rich and poor
nations to double or triple their fish production.
Reduction of the amounts of food destroyed by
insects, bacteria, fungi, and rodents during
production, transportation, and storage.

II.A Food Resources

Establish agricultural self-sufficiency among the
poor as well as the rich by employing strategies
based on:

Use of renewable energy

Reliance on human labor
Conservation of soil and soil nutrients
Efficient use of water
Minimization of pollution
Use perennial rather than annual crops
Introduction of high level of species diversity
Reduction of soil tillage

II.B Land Resources

A history of overgrazing has resulted in the
deterioration of private and public rangelands
indicated by:

Permanent loss of vegetation

Soil erosion
Desertification
Wildlife extinction
Invasion of weeds
Drop in water table
Range management helps us avoid these problems
trough
grazing
management
and
range
improvement.
Forests benefits the society directly by providing
commercially valuable products and recreation.
Indirectly,
forests
benefitfrom
us by:

Protecting
watersheds
soil erosion
Reducing surface runoff

II.B Land Resources

Distribution of Arid and Semi-Arid Region on

Earth

II.B Land Resources

Recycling water, oxygen, carbon, and nutrients
Provide opportunity for biodiversity
Cutting down millions of
worldwide is attributed to:

hectares

of

forests

Overpopulation
Shortsightedness
Bad policy
Poverty

In the United States forest protection began in the

late 1800s. Now the Forest Service manage forests
for commercial timber cutting, grazing of livestock,
mining, and recreation.
The demand for wood and wood products is
expected to increase in the future. These demands
can be met by reduction of forest wastes and
recycling.

II.B Land Resources

Desertification in north Africa

II.C Plant and Animal Resources

Most of the plants that supply 90% of the worlds
food today were domesticated from wild plants,
while wild animal species are still untapped source
of food.
About 75% of the worlds population relies on
plants and plant extracts as sources of medicines.
Nearly 50% of active ingredients in the prescription
and nonprescription drugs used in the worlds are
extracted from wild organisms.
Many wild animal species are used to test drugs,
vaccines, chemical toxicity, and surgical procedures
to increase our understanding of human health and
disease.
Wild plants and animals are a source of beauty,
wonder, joy, and recreational pleasure for large
number of people. Wildlife tourism is important to

Wildlife conservation and management

II.C Plant and Animal Resources

Wild species provide us and other species with:

Food
Recycle nutrients and improve soil fertility
Maintain healthier atmosphere
Moderate earths climate
Control crop bests and carriers of disease

Many ecologists believe that wild species will

continue to disappear at an alarming rate. In 1990
at least 100 species per day were lost as a result of
human activities.
There are three basic approaches to
conservation
management. These are:
The speciesand
approach
The ecosystem approach
Wildlife management approach

wildlife

Thanks