Infotext
This map layer shows the proportion of soil that was affected by land degradation between 1982 and 2003.
Example: How to read the map:
Between 1982 and 2003, 66.4 per cent of the land area in Angola was affected by soil degradation.
Data sources:
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Bai, D.L. Dent, L. Olsson, M.E. Schaepman
In the course of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) project Land Degradation Assessments in Drylands (2006–2010), new insights into the geographical distribution and intensity of soil degradation were to be obtained, and links between degradation and agriculture, population pressures and poverty were to be examined. To identify degraded soil, satellite recordings between 1981 and 2003 were analyzed for changes in vegetation in a study by Bai et al. Although the methodological approach to identifying soil degradation is fraught with a certain amount of uncertainty, one was able to identify regional hotspots of degradation, which provided grounds to carry out more in-depth and on-site investigations.
