Populated Croplands

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Populated Cropland anthromes, near Toay La Pampa, Argentina.
Guide to Anthromes > Explore by anthrome > Populated Croplands
3.8%
of land area
0.3%
of global population
8.7%
of food calories
2.7%
of key biodiversity areas
1.3%
of protected areas
2.2%
of carbon storage

Croplands with significant human populations

The populated croplands anthrome is dominated by monoculture croplands, pastures, human settlements, transportation infrastructure, and discrete natural or semi-natural areas. This anthrome is characterized by lower population density (1≤ population per square kilometer < 10) compared to residential croplands and extensive cultivation of land for food, fuel, and fiber production (≥20% crop cover). Agricultural practices in this anthrome are typically intensive and rely heavily on the use of irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides, and other technologies to maximize productivity. This anthrome is the ninth smallest in land area and out of non-wildland anthrome classes, houses the third smallest percentage of the global population. Seventh smallest contribution to protected area and ninth smallest contribution to key biodiversity area. However, populated croplands produce the fifth largest percentage of global food calories, indicating the density and efficiency of agricultural land in this anthrome. This anthrome ranks eleventh out of the twenty anthrome classes for carbon storage.

Featured image attribution:
Populated Cropland anthromes, near Toay La Pampa, Argentina. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Toay,_La_Pampa,_Argentina_-_panoramio_(21).jpg ANDY ABIR ALAN, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons