Land and land resources refer to a delineable area of the earth's terrestrial surface, encompassing all attributes of the biosphere immediately above or below its surface, including those of the near surface climate, the soil and terrain forms, the surface hydrology (including shallow lakes, rivers, marshes and swamps), the near-surface sedimentary layers and associated groundwater and geohydrological reserve, the plant and animal populations, the human settlement pattern and physical results of past and present human activity, such as terracing, water storage or drainage structures, roads, buildings, etc.