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.
Special reports
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13 May 2018
Small steps, great footprints
Have you ever wondered how much space is taken up by an apple or a steak?...
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18 February 2022
Medicine, climate or space exploration? The main scientific challenges in 2022
According to the international journal Nature, the year that has just begun will bring with it major scientific and technological…
21 January 2022
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai
On 15 January, at about 5 pm (Italian time), the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted, spewing a huge amount of…
-
2 May 2021
Citizen science, research conducted by ordinary citizens
When we think of scientists, we often imagine people wearing white coats, shut up in a laboratory working with test…
9 February 2021
At the origin of rocks: the secrets of paleomagnetism
The magnetic minerals of the rocks contains a veritable repository of information about its birth, history and evolution...
-
13 May 2018
Small steps, great footprints
Have you ever wondered how much space is taken up by an apple or a steak?...
-
18 February 2022
Medicine, climate or space exploration? The main scientific challenges in 2022
According to the international journal Nature, the year that has just begun will bring with it major scientific and technological…
From the Multimedia section
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