THEMATIC SLIDES

CROPLAND

Almeria, Spain Santa Cruz, Bolivia Novovolyns’k, Ukraine Torreon, Mexico Tensas River Basin, United States Shatt al-Arab, Iraq/Iran Al’ Isawiyah, Saudi Arabia Paektu San, North Korea Toshka Project, Egypt

CROPLAND Cultivated systems, including croplands, shifting cultivation, confined livestock production and freshwater aquaculture cover approximately 24% of total land area In the last two decades, the major areas of cropland expansion were located in Southeast Asia, parts of South Asia, the Great Lakes region of eastern Africa, the Amazon Basin, and the U.S. Great Plains The major decreases of cropland occurred in the southeastern United States, eastern China, and parts of Brazil and Argentina Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: Ecosystems and Human Well-being 2005; UNEP 2005 According to FAO estimates, million hectares (3 706 million acres) of the world’s land is currently being used for growing crops Of all human activities, agriculture consumes the greatest amount of water, accounting for 70% of all water withdrawals worldwide

1987: The landscape reflects rather typical rural agricultural land use 2000: The area has been converted to intensive greenhouse agriculture 2004: Greenhouse- dominated land appears as whitish gray patches Greenhouse agriculture in Almeria, Spain

Converting forests into farms in Santa Cruz, Bolivia 1975: Forested landscape 2003: Large corporate agricultural fields transform the landscape

Novovolynśk: Contrast in land use practices, Ukraine : Apparent change in the approach to land use in Ukraine, following the patterns in Poland

Decreasing cropland due to drought in Torreón, Mexico 1972: There has been significant decrease in cropland due to drought 2000: Cropland around the city is continuously decreasing

Difference in change pattern across Tensas River Basin, United States 1972: Clearing of forest during the 1960s and 1970s increased flooding and erosion 2001: Land cover change on the Louisiana side of the image is striking 2 Oct 1972

Destruction of largest date palm forest - Shatt al-Arab, Iran/Iraq : Destruction of the largest date palm forest in the world, bordering Iraq and Iran By 2002, more than 80% of palms were wiped out due to war, salt and pests

Greening of Al’ Isawiyah desert Saudi Arabia 1991 – Irrigation in the desert begins 2000 – Irrigation transforms the desert 2004 – Irrigation intensity increases

Agricultural expansion around Paektu San, North Korea Images show agricultural expansion around Paektu San 1977: Shows result of intensive land development on the North Korean side of the border 1999: Shows expanding agricultural activities on and around Paektu San, especially after the construction of the dam

These images show the desert area transformed into vegetable plots : Image of the area before the desert reclamation project began in mid-1990s n Toshka: Farming the desert Egypt 2000: Four new lakes are visible in this image, the faint blue-green areas around the lakes are newly created agricultural lands

Toshka: Farming the Desert Egypt 2005: New fields are clearly visible in the image

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