The line graph illustrates the percentage of land covered by forest in four countries (England, Scotland, France and the United States) from 1600 to 2000.
Overall, forest area decreased in most countries until the nineteenth century, but later increased again in France and Scotland. The United States always had the highest proportion of forest, while Scotland had the lowest for most of the period.
In 1600, around 50% of land in the United States was forested. This figure gradually declined to about 33% in 1900, before rising slightly to approximately 35% in 2000. France started at about 28% and fell steadily to around 13% in 1850, after which it increased significantly and reached 30% by 2000.
England showed a downward trend from 15% in 1600 to about 5% in 1800. After that, the percentage slowly grew and finished at nearly 9% in 2000. Scotland had the smallest forest area at roughly 5% in 1600, but it rose steadily after 1800 and climbed sharply to around 17% by the end of the period.