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 | Specialty crop or livestock farming | Mixed farming | Commercial wheat and other small grain farming | Dairy farming | General farming | Livestock ranching | Irrigated agriculture | Mediterranean agriculture (with irrigation) | Nonfarming | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alaska | 0.154% | ||||||||||||
Yukon | 100% | ||||||||||||
Northwest Territories | 3.06% | ||||||||||||
Nunavut | 0.587% | ||||||||||||
Hawaii | 1.16% | ||||||||||||
British Columbia | 3.99% | 0.242% | |||||||||||
Newfoundland and Labrador | 24.7% | ||||||||||||
Arizona | 30.7% | 40.9% | 28.4% | 55.8% | 1.74% | ||||||||
Utah | 13.6% | 86.4% | 80.7% | 5.63% | 1.50% | ||||||||
District of Columbia | 100% | 93.5% | 6.49% | ||||||||||
Florida | 99.0% | 52.7% | |||||||||||
Idaho | 12.7% | 87.3% | 80.1% | 1.68% | 3.82% | ||||||||
New Hampshire | 100% | 94.9% | 5.10% | ||||||||||
Rhode Island | 95.0% | 3.91% | |||||||||||
Vermont | 2.39% | 97.6% | 99.4% | ||||||||||
Washington | 12.5% | 11.9% | 5.51% | 2.54% | 6.88% | 28.9% | 1.54% | ||||||
Wyoming | 3.04% | 97.0% | 95.3% | 3.25% | |||||||||
Montana | 5.14% | 83.8% | 13.8% | 79.9% | 1.03% | ||||||||
Maine | 0.171% | 80.4% | 11.2% | 78.0% | 10.3% | ||||||||
North Dakota | 92.0% | 8.03% | 97.2% | 2.79% | |||||||||
Kentucky | 1.37% | 98.6% | 4.50% | 95.5% | |||||||||
Nova Scotia | 18.4% | 36.7% | 19.0% | ||||||||||
Virginia | 25.7% | 74.1% | 1.66% | 7.48% | 37.3% | ||||||||
Delaware | 99.3% | 99.2% | |||||||||||
Prince Edward Island | 96.6% | 98.5% | |||||||||||
Saskatchewan | 11.6% | 38.7% | 49.7% | 44.8% | |||||||||
Mississippi | 18.4% | 64.8% | 16.8% | 100% | |||||||||
West Virginia | 26.7% | 73.3% | 2.88% | 97.1% | |||||||||
Nebraska | 94.5% | 5.51% | 46.2% | 15.2% | 29.5% | 3.16% | 1.83% | ||||||
Texas | 13.8% | 77.2% | 8.74% | 45.6% | 41.0% | 1.75% | |||||||
Missouri | 53.7% | 46.3% | 12.6% | 41.5% | 45.8% | ||||||||
Louisiana | 0.161% | 18.9% | 29.5% | 98.0% | 1.56% | ||||||||
North Carolina | 99.4% | 83.7% | 16.0% | ||||||||||
Oregon | 0.146% | 13.9% | 59.9% | 10.4% | 1.98% | 53.5% | 1.61% | ||||||
New Brunswick | 35.3% | 63.9% | 4.59% | 69.9% | 15.9% | 9.03% | |||||||
Alabama | 73.2% | 26.7% | 100% | ||||||||||
New Mexico | 5.86% | 92.2% | 1.91% | 1.35% | 94.7% | 1.16% | |||||||
Kansas | 64.1% | 35.9% | 20.9% | 64.6% | 5.63% | 8.39% | |||||||
Wisconsin | 41.4% | 38.2% | 20.4% | 3.92% | 95.5% | ||||||||
New Jersey | 99.1% | 65.3% | 34.4% | ||||||||||
South Carolina | 90.8% | 9.02% | 99.9% | ||||||||||
Michigan | 70.3% | 29.6% | 5.98% | 64.0% | |||||||||
Alberta | 3.89% | 14.0% | 65.8% | 14.2% | 16.7% | 1.37% | |||||||
Connecticut | 1.86% | 98.1% | 99.9% | ||||||||||
Pennsylvania | 12.1% | 87.9% | 1.55% | 88.8% | 9.67% | ||||||||
Colorado | 35.4% | 64.6% | 17.8% | 67.2% | 9.64% | 3.65% | |||||||
Nevada | 54.5% | 39.8% | 0.655% | 95.3% | |||||||||
Massachusetts | 0.575% | 98.2% | |||||||||||
Georgia | 64.0% | 35.9% | 99.9% | ||||||||||
New York | 2.49% | 25.0% | 2.90% | 6.80% | |||||||||
Maryland | 23.5% | 74.6% | 35.0% | 33.2% | 11.4% | ||||||||
Québec | 0.218% | 94.2% | 1.00% | 1.28% | |||||||||
Manitoba | 5.67% | 12.3% | 81.9% | 14.1% | 4.24% | ||||||||
Oklahoma | 31.0% | 69.0% | 67.7% | 1.43% | 15.1% | 9.41% | 6.32% | ||||||
Tennessee | 4.84% | 95.2% | 42.6% | 57.4% | |||||||||
Ontario | 8.22% | 91.7% | 1.82% | 8.82% | 2.80% | ||||||||
California | 10.6% | 60.7% | 22.9% | 5.57% | 30.0% | 2.07% | 42.1% | 4.51% | |||||
Arkansas | 31.1% | 68.9% | 74.6% | 7.82% | 2.70% | ||||||||
South Dakota | 56.9% | 43.1% | 25.4% | 18.2% | 56.3% | ||||||||
Ohio | 100% | 12.6% | 39.3% | 48.1% | |||||||||
Indiana | 2.05% | 97.9% | 67.6% | 32.4% | |||||||||
Minnesota | 26.5% | 61.6% | 11.9% | 17.0% | 7.67% | 56.4% | |||||||
Iowa | 99.1% | 0.440% | 99.5% | ||||||||||
Illinois | 96.6% | 3.35% | 1.38% | 89.2% | 2.58% | 6.84% |