Band 9: The pie chart below represents the main reasons why Agricultural land becomes less productive. The bar chart show how these causes affected three regions of the world in the 1990s. Summarise the data by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

The pie chart illustrates the main causes and proportions of global land degradation, while the bar chart shows how these factors affected agricultural land in three regions of the world during the 1990s.

From an overall perspective, it is evident that over-grazing was the most significant cause of global land degradation. In addition, Europe had a higher proportion of degraded land than North America and Oceania

To begin with, according to the pie chart, overgrazing accounted for the largest share of land degradation, at around one third of the total. Moreover, deforestation was also a major factor, representing approximately 30%, while over-cultivation made up just under this figure. In addition, salinization contributed the smallest proportion compared to the other causes.

Furthermore, the bar chart shows that Europe experienced the greatest level of land degradation overall. Deforestation was the main cause in this region, however, both over-cultivation and overgrazing also affected a noticeable proportion of land. North America recorded a lower level of degradation, mainly due to over-cultivation. Otherwise, in Oceania, overgrazing was the dominant factor, while the remaining causes accounted for only a small percentage.