The pie chart shows the main reasons why agricultural becomes less productive and the table shows these causes affected three regions of the world during the 1990s.

The pie chart and table illustrate the main reasons for farmland degradation worldwide and in three continental regions respectively. Overall, there are three main reasons for this decrease in productivity, with Europe being the most seriously affected. First of all, from a global perspective, over-grazing is the biggest cause of deterioration, with 35%, which is slightly higher than deforestation and over-cultivation at 30% and 28% respectively. The final 7% is attributed to “other” reasons. The three principal reasons for agricultural decline are then split by region in the table, and it is notable that Europe’s percentages for deforestation and over-cultivation are significantly higher than either Oceania or North America, with 9. 8% compared with 1. 7% and 0. 2% respectively for deforestation, and 7. 7% compared with 0% and 3. 3% respectively for over-cultivation. However, 11. 3% of Oceania’s land degradation is attributed to over-grazing, whereas Europe’s percentage is roughly half this at 5. 5%, and North America’s is at 1. 5%. This means that the total land degradation percentages stand at 5% for North America, 13% for Oceania and a much higher 23% for Europe.