Areas at Risk of Soil Degradation
WorldPhysical EnvironmentLevels of concern for there to be a decline in soil quality caused by its improper use, usually for agricultural, pastoral, industrial, or urban purposes.
Geosystems: Intro to Physical Geography
A map illustrates areas at risk of soil degradation worldwide, categorized by serious concern, some concern, stable terrain, and non-vegetated land.
The map shows areas at risk of soil degradation using different colors. Areas of Serious Concern (light pink): North America: Great Plains, southwestern deserts, and Mississippi Valley. Central America: Most of the land. South America: Lands along the Andes mountains, parts of interior and coastal Brazil. Europe: Mostly in Eastern Europe. Africa: Near the Mediterranean in North Africa; lands of the Sahel along the southern border of the Sahara; in and around Nigeria in West Africa; the island of Madagascar; smaller patches in East Africa and southern Africa. Asia: Central and eastern China, much of mainland Southeast Asia, the islands of Borneo, and the Philippines. Australia: Southeast Australia has a small area of serious concern. Areas of Some Concern (light purple): Found in scattered regions across North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Stable Terrain (light blue): These areas include parts of North America mostly in Canada, South America in parts of Brazil, and in parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Nonvegetated Land (dark blue): Predominantly in desert regions such as the Sahara, Central Asia, and parts of Australia.
Areas of serious concern | Areas of some concern | Stable terrain | Nonvegetated land | 2.00 - 3.32 | 1.00 - 1.99 | 0.50 - 0.99 | 0.20 - 0.49 | -0.20 - 0.19 | -0.50 - -0.21 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
19.9% | 3.98% | 87.0% | 24.4% | 86.2% | 18.1% | |||||
31.3% | 20.7% | 78.4% | 97.2% | |||||||
3.03% | 22.0% | 8.18% | 55.1% | 15.2% | 87.7% | |||||
3.55% | 14.0% | 13.0% | 14.5% | 2.75% | 95.3% | 2.66% | ||||
7.19% | 2.27% | 71.3% | 15.7% | 58.3% | 26.3% | |||||
31.7% | 43.8% | 19.5% | 95.7% | 34.3% | 4.89% | |||||
17.6% | 19.7% | 9.89% | 10.8% | 64.5% | 33.9% | 15.4% | 2.18% | |||
31.2% | 4.72% | 3.87% | 95.3% | 4.75% | 8.94% | 32.3% | 53.4% | 9.82% | 1.66% | |
8.43% | 2.94% | 1.97% | 8.56% | 1.13% | 12.6% | 47.7% | 21.0% | 20.1% | ||
5.14% | 21.1% | 3.46% | 6.72% | 40.6% | 79.9% | |||||
41.1% | 31.7% | 1.12% | 13.2% | 84.7% | 19.9% | |||||
31.6% | 38.1% | 40.4% | 59.1% | 49.3% | 9.35% | |||||
36.7% | 40.0% | 20.2% | 31.2% | 54.3% | 55.4% | 11.0% |