Rainfed Villages

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Rainfed Village anthromes near Udaipur, India.
Guide to Anthromes > Explore by anthrome > Rainfed Villages
4.5%
of land area
24.7%
of global population
19.0%
of food calories
2.8%
of key biodiversity areas
1.8%
of protected areas
2.8%
of carbon storage

Villages characterized by rainfed agriculture

The rainfed villages anthrome relies on rainfall as the primary source of water for agricultural activities, and crops must occupy ≥20% of the land area. These villages (population ≥100 persons per square kilometer) are mostly found in dry or semi-dry regions of the world, where water resources are limited, and crops and livestock have to cope with unpredictable weather patterns, prolonged droughts, or sudden floods. Compared to the other anthromes, the second highest percentage of global population dwells in rainfed villages, and the second highest percentage of global food calories are produced in rainfed villages. This anthrome provides significant contributions to living area and nutrition needs, while ranking tenth out of the twenty anthromes classes in land area. Rainfed villages occupy higher percentages of protected area and key biodiversity area than the other village anthromes, indicating they represent the crucial intersection between natural preservation and human use for conservation efforts. This anthrome ranks tenth out of the twenty anthrome classes for carbon storage.

Featured image attribution:
Rainfed Village anthromes near Udaipur, India. © Vyacheslav Argenberg / http://www.vascoplanet.com/, CC BY 4.0 Rainfed Village anthromes near Udaipur, India. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Udaipur,_India,_Hilly_landscape.jpg , via Wikimedia Commons