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 | Earthquakes | Earthquakes | Earthquakes | Earthquakes | Earthquakes | Earthquakes | Earthquakes | Earthquakes | Earthquakes | Continental Shelf | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arizona | 30.7% | 40.9% | 28.4% | |||||||||||
Utah | 13.6% | 86.4% | ||||||||||||
Yukon | 100% | |||||||||||||
District of Columbia | 100% | |||||||||||||
Idaho | 12.7% | 87.3% | ||||||||||||
New Hampshire | 100% | |||||||||||||
Vermont | 2.39% | 97.6% | ||||||||||||
Wyoming | 3.04% | 97.0% | ||||||||||||
Montana | 5.14% | 83.8% | ||||||||||||
North Dakota | 92.0% | 8.03% | ||||||||||||
Kentucky | 1.37% | 98.6% | ||||||||||||
Saskatchewan | 11.6% | 38.7% | 49.7% | |||||||||||
Mississippi | 18.4% | 64.8% | 16.8% | |||||||||||
West Virginia | 26.7% | 73.3% | ||||||||||||
Nebraska | 94.5% | 5.51% | ||||||||||||
Missouri | 53.7% | 46.3% | ||||||||||||
Oregon | 0.146% | 13.9% | 59.9% | |||||||||||
New Mexico | 5.86% | 92.2% | 1.91% | |||||||||||
Kansas | 64.1% | 35.9% | ||||||||||||
Wisconsin | 41.4% | 38.2% | 20.4% | |||||||||||
South Carolina | 90.8% | 9.02% | ||||||||||||
Michigan | 70.3% | 29.6% | ||||||||||||
Alberta | 3.89% | 14.0% | 65.8% | |||||||||||
Pennsylvania | 12.1% | 87.9% | ||||||||||||
Colorado | 35.4% | 64.6% | ||||||||||||
Manitoba | 5.67% | 12.3% | 81.9% | |||||||||||
Oklahoma | 31.0% | 69.0% | ||||||||||||
Tennessee | 4.84% | 95.2% | ||||||||||||
Ontario | 8.22% | 91.7% | ||||||||||||
Arkansas | 31.1% | 68.9% | ||||||||||||
South Dakota | 56.9% | 43.1% | ||||||||||||
Ohio | 100% | |||||||||||||
Indiana | 2.05% | 97.9% | ||||||||||||
Minnesota | 26.5% | 61.6% | 11.9% | |||||||||||
Iowa | 99.1% | 0.440% | ||||||||||||
Illinois | 96.6% | 3.35% | ||||||||||||
Hawaii | 1.16% | |||||||||||||
Nevada | 54.5% | 39.8% | 0.655% | 1 | ||||||||||
Alaska | 0.154% | 1 | 1.23% | |||||||||||
Northwest Territories | 3.06% | 0.420% | ||||||||||||
Florida | 99.0% | 1.79% | ||||||||||||
Rhode Island | 95.0% | 5.84% | ||||||||||||
Washington | 12.5% | 11.9% | 5.51% | 0.997% | ||||||||||
Nunavut | 0.587% | 1.49% | ||||||||||||
Maine | 0.171% | 80.4% | 0.686% | |||||||||||
Nova Scotia | 18.4% | 3.29% | ||||||||||||
Virginia | 25.7% | 74.1% | 0.705% | |||||||||||
Delaware | 99.3% | 2.06% | ||||||||||||
Prince Edward Island | 96.6% | 12.7% | ||||||||||||
Texas | 13.8% | 77.2% | 8.74% | 0.261% | ||||||||||
Louisiana | 0.161% | 18.9% | 29.5% | 1.29% | ||||||||||
North Carolina | 99.4% | 0.611% | ||||||||||||
New Brunswick | 35.3% | 63.9% | 0.785% | |||||||||||
Alabama | 73.2% | 26.7% | 0.101% | |||||||||||
British Columbia | 3.99% | 0.242% | 1.05% | |||||||||||
Newfoundland and Labrador | 24.7% | 2.04% | ||||||||||||
New Jersey | 99.1% | 2.40% | ||||||||||||
Connecticut | 1.86% | 98.1% | 0.150% | |||||||||||
Massachusetts | 0.575% | 4.75% | ||||||||||||
Georgia | 64.0% | 35.9% | 0.232% | |||||||||||
New York | 2.49% | 25.0% | 0.761% | |||||||||||
Maryland | 23.5% | 74.6% | 2.12% | |||||||||||
Québec | 0.218% | 94.2% | 0.215% | |||||||||||
California | 10.6% | 60.7% | 22.9% | 5.57% | 1 | 0.133% |