Earth

Agricultural landscape

As agriculture is the first human activity, agricultural landscapes are spread in all continents and populations. Like the industrial landscape, agricultural landscapes are not equally distributed between the developed and underdeveloped world. North America and Europe are characterized by a wide presence of rural landscapes, with intensive agriculture. In these areas, large agricultural fields are subject to a periodic rotation of crops. In this way, by using modern equipment, huge quantities of produce are exported and devoted to industrial production. Also animal farming is very developed: it represents the main economic support for Denmark and Ireland. Instead, in most of African, Asian and South American countries, agriculture still represents a subsistence activity. Agricultural production, obtained with primitive techniques, only manages to satisfy the needs of few people. Moreover, travelling agriculture is very popular. It is a very precarious activity, which is also very dangerous for the landscape. It is based on the deforestation of surfaces, after setting the vegetation on fire. Subsequently, the soil is farmed but, as it is not taken care of, nor fertilized, it becomes sterile and it is abandoned. In these countries monoculture is very developed. Wide lands are farmed with a determined type of plant, generally the most requested for exports. This, of course, impoverishes the heterogeneity of the landscape.