<P> Today, federal, state, and local governments regulate growth and development through statutory law . The majority of controls on land, however, stem from the actions of private developers and individuals . Three typical situations bringing such private entities into the court system are: suits brought by one neighbor against another; suits brought by a public official against a neighboring landowner on behalf of the public; and suits involving individuals who share ownership of a particular parcel of land . In these situations, judicial decisions and enforcement of private land - use arrangements can reinforce public regulation, and achieve forms and levels of control that regulatory zoning cannot . </P> <P> Two major federal laws have been passed in the last half century that limit the use of land significantly . These are the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (today embodied in 16 U.S.C. 461 et seq .) and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq .). </P> <P> Land use and land management practices have a major impact on natural resources including water, soil, nutrients, plants and animals . Land use information can be used to develop solutions for natural resource management issues such as salinity and water quality . For instance, water bodies in a region that has been deforested or having erosion will have different water quality than those in areas that are forested . Forest gardening, a plant - based food production system, is believed to be the oldest form of land use in the world . </P> <P> The major effect of land use on land cover since 1750 has been deforestation of temperate regions . More recent significant effects of land use include urban sprawl, soil erosion, soil degradation, salinization, and desertification . Land - use change, together with use of fossil fuels, are the major anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide, a dominant greenhouse gas . </P>

Different types of land use patterns in india