RURAL ENVIRONMENT: CHARACTERISTICS, ELEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES - GEOGRAPHY - 2024

The rural environment, rural area or rural landscape is a geographical space where the greatest amount of natural resources can be obtained from a region. It generally has a low number of inhabitants and the economic activities carried out there are adapted to the characteristics of the environment.

In this environment, activities such as the collection or extraction and transformation of raw materials are essential. The way of life of its inhabitants is oriented to working the land and natural resources, constituting the main source of work.

The term rural is linked to everything related to the countryside and the activities carried out there, such as agriculture and livestock. This is the main difference with the urban environment, in which the population is usually much higher and the economic activities are oriented towards industry and the consumption of goods and services.

characteristics

There are many common elements of the rural environment, which are shared even in very different countries. The countryside varies depending on the climate and vegetation, but their populations and economic activities are similar.

It consists mainly of natural resources

The attributes that give this landscape its rural character are to a large extent the flora, fauna and vegetation it contains. These elements are generally found in greater numbers in rural areas than in urban areas.

Another peculiarity of rural landscapes is the common presence of mineral resources such as gold, zinc, oil, silver, among others. However, the discovery of these elements generally causes the industrial and population growth of the area where they are found.

Low population density

One of the standards that characterize a rural population is that it generally does not reach 2,000 inhabitants. However, this figure may vary according to the legislation of each country.

Another factor to take into account is that there may be nucleated and dispersed rural areas. In the first case, these areas per square kilometer have about 60 inhabitants; On the other hand, in the second case the number of people per square kilometer is equal to or less than 30.

The primary sector dominates economic activity

Agriculture and livestock are the most common activities in these spaces. This is because the landscape is primarily natural.

The situation provides an opportunity for the animal husbandry, cultivation and harvesting processes to account for the highest percentage of labor.

Landscape is the basis of the relationship between man and the environment

The inhabitants of rural areas tend to have stronger ties with each other, identifying with the environment and developing a sense of belonging to it.

This is reflected in the different aspects of the day to day, applied in the social, cultural, political, religious and economic.

Agriculture and livestock are usually family activities

Many of the families belonging to rural areas depend, directly or indirectly, on the natural resources found in the space in which they live.

Given that industrial activities are generally low-performance and the means used tend to be more rudimentary, it is common to find that the workers tend to be family members themselves rather than hiring outside employees.

Lots of land are large

When the inhabitants are dispersed in the land, there are usually considerable distances between the houses.

It also happens that the residential area is distant from the center of the town. In this there are some small commercial establishments.

Lower percentage of environmental pollution

Generally, the infrastructure of the services is very basic, forcing residents to move to more populated centers to access certain services.

Likewise, the transportation system is often insufficient. This often helps to maintain lower pollution rates, as there is not as much smog and carbon dioxide from cars and industries.

The population remains in the area for a long time

The population movement is not very frequent, since the inhabitants remain in their residences for a long time. A factor that favors this decision is the fact that, in many cases, the house is the workspace.

In these areas, in addition to the activities of the field, administrative activities are also carried out in small and medium-sized enterprises.

The law protects rural areas

Sometimes a rural environment can be protected by the legislation of a country if it contains elements of natural or historical importance. This measure constitutes a great benefit in regulating the way of taking advantage of the area's resources.

Likewise, the elements under legal protection can be geographical (national parks or natural monuments), economic (tourist areas or mineral deposits) or cultural (indigenous ethnic groups or historical heritage).

Life has a lower cost

Due to the lower demand for goods and services as well as property, product costs are often lower than they would be in urban areas.

Elements

Rural or agrarian landscapes are made up of different elements, all related to the activities carried out in the different spaces.

Grazing

It includes the meadows and land available for livestock activities, regardless of the type of livestock used.

Won

It is the set of animals that man raises to later obtain meat and other derivatives. In turn, livestock can be of various types depending on the animals that comprise it:

-Bovine or bovine: cows, bulls, oxen.

-Goat: goats.

-Sheep: sheep.

-Pigs: pigs.

-Equino: horses and mares.

Other types of animals are also raised in these environments, such as:

- Poultry: poultry.

- Aquaculture: fish.

- Beekeeping: bees.

Culture

It refers to the lands dedicated to the cultivation, sowing and harvesting of products of vegetable origin. These can be food or industrial, depending on the use that is given later.

Food

Includes cereals such as corn, rice, wheat and oats; tubers and legumes, oilseed and sugar plants, among many others.

Industrial

Plants that serve as raw material for textile products such as cotton or linen, or for the tobacco industry.

Peri-urban space

It is the area in which the activities of rural landscapes and those of urban areas are combined. This territory is not properly part of the urban area but it is not considered a rural area either. Therefore, their characteristics can be mixed.

Activities carried out in rural areas

In general, rural areas offer a large amount of land and resources that can be exploited in multiple ways.

It is not just about carrying out the traditional agricultural and livestock activities. Today, development has led to the planning of different productive uses for rural areas.

Agriculture and Livestock

Agricultural activities are the main engine of rural areas. Representing the traditional aspect, they develop in their different variations, depending on factors such as climate, type of terrain and needs of the population.

Forestry

It is an activity related to agriculture, with the difference that forestry focuses on forests. This science is in charge of the cultivation and care of forest plantations, to obtain continuously and sustainably the products required by society.

Conservation of natural spaces and ecosystems

National parks and natural monuments are protected by law, as they host a large amount of fauna, flora and typical vegetation of certain regions or ecosystems, such as particular geographic formations depending on the space where they are found.

Motivated by this existence, conservation groups in these specific areas are common, as well as the presence of public authorities responsible for managing them.

Extraction of mineral resources and petroleum derivatives

Mining also occurs mainly in rural landscapes, wide and rich in mineral raw materials. This is essential to produce a large quantity of the products that we use every day in all economic sectors.

Industry

In most cases, the construction of factories and industrial areas requires a large amount of space. For this reason, rural areas are the preferred lands to establish these structures.

Rural tourism or ecotourism

This activity takes place exclusively in places with little or no man-made modification. Its purpose is to offer tourist alternatives different from the conventional ones and involving more people with the environment in which the activities take place.

Another characteristic of this type of tourism is that it usually revolves around the culture, history or natural heritage of the region that is visited.

In general terms, rural areas contain great natural resources, even if they do not represent an economic gain for the industry.

Activities such as those described above are only the main ones that can be carried out to a greater or lesser extent within non-urbanized landscapes.

Undoubtedly, ingenuity can always generate other ways of taking advantage of these resources, whether it is for private benefit or for the collective.

References

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