Drastically Disturbed Land

The paper, “The Significance and Responsibility of Rehabilitating Drastically Disturbed Land,” by Thadis Bow talks about the concept of drastic disturbance, potential disturbances, and the problems that come with them.

The concept of drastically disturbed lands was split of between two sections: types of disturbances and defining the process of rebuilding. 4 major types of disturbance were outlined, the first on being town, cities, and roadways. These disturbances have high social value so it is very unlikely, that there will be any remediation taking place unless they become abandoned. The second type of disturbance road cuts, fills, and shoulders of roads. Though these disturbances are small on their own, together they make up the largest areas of drastically disturbed lands. The third type of disturbance are mine spoils. Out of all the disturbance, this one receives the most public attention. They take up less space, but they represent the largest amount of damage in their locations. The fourth type is the high percentage of eroded farmland and rangeland. Because this a slow degradation, they often receive very little attention. As for defining degradation, Bow also split this into two possible options: restoration, and reclamation. The author defined restoration as being the exact replication of a site after the disturbance.

On-site disturbance can range from vegetation removal, all the way to poisoning underground aquafers. This is why the reclamation process must be handled with care, as to make sure the land the will be capable of sustaining life after the disturbance. Off-site disturbance are not variables that are often taken account of. They can be as simple as the roads leading to the disturbance, or leading the sudden increase of a nearby town or city depending the purpose of the disturbance. Which as mentioned before, can still drastically degrade the