The pie chart illustrates the primary global causes of agricultural land degradation, while the table provides a breakdown of these factors across three specific regions during the 1990s.
Overall, over-grazing is the most significant contributor to land degradation worldwide, accounting for 35% of the total. In contrast, Europe stands out as the region with the most substantial total land degradation, whereas North America shows the lowest impact.
Regarding global causes, over-grazing (35%) is closely followed by deforestation at 30% and over-cultivation at 28%. Only 7% of land degradation is attributed to other factors.
In terms of regional data, Europe suffered the most severe land degradation, with a total of 23%, primarily driven by deforestation (9.8%) and over-cultivation (7.7%). Oceania recorded a total degradation rate of 13%, with over-grazing being the dominant factor at 11.3%, while over-cultivation was non-existent in this region. North America experienced the least degradation overall at just 5%, with over-cultivation being the most notable cause at 3.3%. While deforestation is a major global issue, it had a negligible impact in North America (0.2%) and Oceania (1.7%) compared to Europe.