Mixed Graphs

These two diagrams illustrate the main reasons of land degradation in the world and its different impacts on three areas during the 1990s.

According to the first pie chart, livestock’s over-gazing was the biggest factor leading to the barren land, accounting for 35%. This was followed by deforestation and over-cultivation, representing 30% and 28% respectively. Other unidentified reasons made up the left proportion, 7% collectively.

As can be seen from the table which highlights the different situations in the three regions: North America, Europe, and Oceania, Europe was affected most seriously and 23% of land there turned into less productive, largely because of deforestation(9.8%). Moreover, 13% of agricultural land in Oceania became worse, mainly due to over-gazing which alone contributed 11.3%. By comparison, the condition in North America was much better and only 5% of total land degraded. Over-cultivation was the major trigger here, providing 3.3%.

Overall, it is clear that at least 93% of farmland degradation worldwide was related to human activities in 1990s and although the dominant cause varies in different continents, Europe suffered most during that period.