Populated Rangelands – Anthroecology Lab

Populated Rangelands Anthromes map and timeline (10,000 BCE to 2017 CE)

8.2%

of land area

0.6%

of global population

2.0%

of food calories

8.8%

of key biodiversity areas

6.2%

of protected areas

4.6%

of carbon storage

Rangelands with significant human populations

The populated rangeland anthrome is inhabited by humans (1≤ population per square kilometer , 10) and their livestock (≥20% grazing land). These areas are typically found in semi-arid regions. Populated rangelands house the sixth lowest percentage of global population out of non-wildland anthromes but fifth highest in land area of all anthromes. This anthrome class contributes the seventh highest percentage to protected area and fifth highest percentage to key biodiversity area. Populated rangelands contribute the seventh lowest percentage of food calories globally, indicating that the use of livestock on these lands is more subsistence than commercial. Populated rangelands store the seventh highest percentage of carbon compared to the other anthrome classes.

Featured image attribution:
Cattle rangeland in Hamilton, Montana, USA Anthromesimages, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons