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 | 280 and above | 260–279 | 240–259 | 220–239 | 200–219 | 180–199 | 160–179 | 140–159 | 120–139 | 100–119 | 80–99 | Less than 80 | Class | Rank | Million people | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
19.9% | 3.98% | 30.3% | 51.5% | 53.3% | 37.8% | 31.4% | 29.4% | 3.01% | |||||||||||
31.3% | 20.7% | 53.8% | 71.3% | 64.6% | 100% | ||||||||||||||
3.03% | 22.0% | 8.18% | 55.1% | 22.2% | 39.2% | 38.8% | 23.0% | 48.3% | 29.3% | ||||||||||
3.55% | 14.0% | 13.0% | 14.5% | 24.2% | 10.8% | 32.1% | 20.0% | 10.7% | |||||||||||
7.19% | 2.27% | 71.3% | 67.9% | 1.54% | 1.15% | 23.6% | 32.7% | 37.1% | 3.32% | ||||||||||
31.7% | 43.8% | 19.5% | 100% | 3.17% | 20.4% | 20.7% | 37.8% | 46.8% | 34.8% | 33.8% | 79.7% | 12.5% | |||||||
17.6% | 19.7% | 9.89% | 10.8% | 8.19% | 16.7% | 28.7% | 36.0% | 25.2% | 9.12% | 9.14% | 13.1% | ||||||||
31.2% | 4.72% | 3.87% | 95.3% | 39.9% | 47.7% | 8.87% | 62.1% | 61.7% | 100% | 1.47% | 98.6% | 100% | 99.6% | ||||||
8.43% | 2.94% | 1.97% | 8.56% | 16.8% | 5.48% | 11.6% | 14.6% | 1.79% | 17.2% | 14.4% | 23.3% | 28.2% | 21.2% | ||||||
5.14% | 21.1% | 3.46% | 6.72% | 4.91% | 9.95% | 44.8% | 47.2% | ||||||||||||
41.1% | 31.7% | 1.12% | 44.2% | 25.1% | 71.7% | ||||||||||||||
31.6% | 38.1% | 40.4% | 44.5% | 47.7% | 12.8% | 13.5% | 24.0% | 29.3% | |||||||||||
36.7% | 40.0% | 20.2% | 31.2% | 3.98% | 12.4% | 32.2% | 38.6% | 22.5% | 44.2% | 32.5% |