While the information provided in the pie chart below demonstrates the primary causes of the unproductivity of agricultural land, the table, on the other hand, shows the three main affected regions of this unproductive landscape in proportions during the 1990s.
Overall, among multiple reasons, over-grazing and deforestation contributed to land degradation the most, making nearly 70 percent of the land less productive and harsh. Additionally, some regions, such as Europe and North America, along with numerous islands belonging to Australia and New Zealand, faced serious issues.
According to the pie chart, the main causes—over-grazing (feeding cows, sheep, and horses excessively), deforestation (clearing the forests for personal use of land or trees), and over-cultivation (growing excessive food plants)—dramatically reduced the productivity of the land by exceeding its limits. Over-grazing, for instance, degraded 35 percent of the land, while deforestation and over-cultivation degraded 30 and 28 percent, respectively. Although other factors also played a role, they did not significantly damage the terrain.
These consequences primarily affected three regions: Europe, Oceania (islands in the South Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand), and North America. For instance, Europe suffered the most from deforestation (9.8 percent) and over-cultivation (7.7 percent), while Oceania’s main issue was over-grazing (11.3 percent). Overall, Europe experienced the most land degradation, with 23 percent of its land affected. Oceania, on the other hand, degraded 13 percent of its land, while North America, with 5 percent degradation of its total land area, was the least affected.