TABLE OF CONTENTS As with other resources, land is not available in unlimited quantities. Because of this, it is becoming increasingly recognized in this country, and in other countries with less of an endowment of land resources, that land use must be properly planned and controlled. CEQ regulations recognize this need for the rational management of land resources, and, because the price system does not allow rational allocation of land, the CEQ has provided for a specific consideration of the relationship of a changed pattern in land use to the existing pattern. Therefore, land is being treated in much the same manner as our other scarce natural resources, air and water.
To consider these factors requires comprehensive consideration of existing and projected land capabilities and land-use patterns. The most significant elements of the land use question have been collapsed into three attributes:
Erosion
Natural hazards
Land-use patterns
Definition of the attribute. Erosion is defined as the process through which soil particles are dislodged and transported to other locations by the actions of water and/or wind. The two most common forms attributable to water are sheet erosion, in which the upper surface of the soil is more or less evenly displaced, and gully or rill erosion, in which the downward-cutting action of the overland flow of water results in linear excavations deep into the soil horizon. While the latter type of erosion is often more spectacular to the eye, loss of uniform layers of topsoil through sheet erosion...
