Land acts as the main platform for all types of human economic activity. It is difficult to overestimate its participation in ecosystem regulation, as well as its role in the food supply of the population. A distinctive feature of the soil layer, in comparison with other forms of production processes, is irreplaceability. At the same time, the land resources of the world can be considered as an eternal tool with which a person can provide himself with the necessary raw materials and food. Unfortunately, in the practice of land exploitation, there are many problems that are still facing agrotechnical and agricultural organizations.
What are the world's land resources?
Far from the whole land surface belongs to land resources, but only that part of it that can be considered from the point of view of economic use. However, usually the common land fund is understood as all land, except for the territory of Antarctica. Based on the area, the world's land resources amount to about 13,400 million hectares. In percentage terms, this is about 26% of the entire planet. But this does not mean at all that all land potentially suitable for cultivation is in economic circulation. Today, about 9% of the land surface is used for agricultural and other industrial needs. There are many reasons for such a low level of environmental management, but this percentage is gradually increasing, which allows us to solve problems with the provision of unfavorable regions with food.
Land classification
Among the resources of the land fund there are three large categories. The first includes productive lands that can potentially yield high yields and generally have favorable conditions for cultivation. It is important to note that productivity is determined not only by soil properties, but also by external factors, among which climate is of significant importance. The second category is unproductive territories. These are land resources of the world and Russia, a significant part of which is represented by the tundra, forest-tundra, swamps and steppes. Theoretically, these lands can fit the requirements of the agrotechnical complex from the point of view of use for different purposes, but, again, difficulties in exploitation also arise due to indirect factors. For example, it may be inaccessibility or adverse climatic conditions. The third category is represented by unproductive lands. As a rule, these are built-up areas, as well as lands with a disturbed structure and unfavorable chemical composition.
Earth as a means of production
In one form or another, people have been using the fruits of the earth since ancient times. The first forms of such use had the character of appropriation, but with the development of tools the full-fledged features of production activity began to take shape. Today, there are several areas of such land use, including cultivation of arable land, organization of pastures and meadows, planting of gardens and plantations. Moreover, the world's land resources and their use can be considered from the point of view of indirect production. This means that agriculture in one form or another can act as a link in the chain of industrial production. However, the main branches of agrotechnical activity, such as vegetable growing, floriculture, and the cultivation of cereals, melons, and fodder plants, were most widely distributed.
Land Use Levels
The model of structuring the world agro-technical complex usually involves the allocation of three levels of land use. At the first are participants in the industry who are engaged in the production of technical equipment for agriculture. It should also be noted here that enterprises processing agricultural raw materials in order to obtain products for further use in the industry. We can say that this is an area that services agricultural production in terms of infrastructure. The second level is represented by individuals and enterprises that directly process land resources. Lands depending on the region may involve different forms of exploitation, but the tasks of their maintenance must necessarily include the receipt of a certain product. The third level of the agrotechnical complex is the industrial processing and marketing of raw materials and products obtained as a result of land cultivation.
Land Use Issues
Although specialists usually emphasize the insufficient use of available resources, many argue that the land under development is gradually degrading. This means that even an advanced agricultural land fund may become unusable over time as a production site. And by that time, interested enterprises will be forced to develop the unattractive land resources of the world. The photo below shows an example of soil depletion. It is such processes that concern many experts in the agricultural industry.
Land use trends
The distribution structure of land is constantly changing. On the one hand, changes are caused by the expansion of cultivated land, and on the other, by the reorientation of territories that were previously under development. At the current stage of land development, there is an increase in the rate of land processing. To provide this opportunity, enterprises irrigate deserts, drain swamps and cut down forests. Such measures can increase the world's land resources suitable for productive activities. Moreover, this process is stimulated not only by the need to switch to virgin lands due to the unsatisfactory qualities of the old land. This is facilitated by an increase in the population - accordingly, the demand for food is growing.
Prospects for expanding agricultural land
More likely, in the coming years, some parts of tropical forests and deserts will be converted to agricultural cultivation. Modern technical means allow conducting business activities even in such conditions. Moreover, the world's productive land resources can be increased by expanding coastal lines. The construction of dams and canals allows you to push the settlements towards the sea. Similar processes are already observed in Japan, Singapore and Belgium.
Conclusion
In addition to expanding the sown area, specialists pay a lot of attention to the tasks of a more rational and efficient use of primary agricultural territories. The latest technologies of agricultural complexes allow more careful use of the world's land resources without harming the ecological system. There are different directions in this area, some of which are subordinated to the tasks of increasing productivity by stimulating soil fertility. At the same time, many states and international organizations are developing new concepts of environmental management rules that focus on optimizing land use processes.