Land Use Flashcards
How many acres in the United States?
2,263,900,000 acres
How many acres of the US are in Urban Areas?
3% or approximately 60,592,000
How many acres of the US are “Miscellaneous” and what does that mean?
9% or 196,657,000 acres - these are areas like marshland, swamps, bare rock, deserts, and tundra
How many acres of the US are “Special Use” and what does that mean?
14% or 313,482,000 acres - these are areas used for rural transportation (roads and railroads), parks & wildlife, defense and industrial, and farm roads
How much of the US is dedicated to cropland?
18% or 408,139,000 acreas
How much land is dedicated to corn and soybeans?
Corn 81,740,000 and soybean 72,880,000
How much of the US is grassland and pasture?
27% or 613,733,000 acres
How much of the US is “Forest Use”?
30% or 671,390,000 acres
How large is Yellowstone National Park?
2,221,766 acres
How large are all the National Parks combined?
84 million acres approximately
How much land is dedicated to vegetable crops?
6,301,000 acres
In a typical urban area, how much area do the roofs occupy?
20-25%
Where do these statistics come from?
USDA 2010 Agriculture Resource Management Survey, the USDA, National Ag Statistics Service, Vegetable Estimates 2010, and the US EPA
How much land do meat eaters vs vegetarians use?
Estimates vary but a “typical” meat eater’s diet needs 2.5 times more land than a vegetarian’s (Nonhebel, S 2004)
How much water is needed to produce meat?
Approximately 1,850 gallons of water are needed to produce a single pound of beef
Approximately 39 gallons of water are needed to produce a pound of vegetables
