Land resources are the value of this type of resource. Protection and rational use of land resources

LAND RESOURCES

LAND RESOURCES

view natural resources, which are characterized by territory, soil quality, climate, relief, etc. 3. p. - this is the spatial basis for the location of economic objects, are the main means of production in the village. households where the main productive property of the land is used - fertility. The world land fund is 13.4 billion hectares: arable land accounts for only 11%, meadows and pastures - 23%, and the rest of the territory is occupied by forests and shrubs, unproductive and unproductive lands. Countries with the lowest land resources - Egypt, Japan.

Concise Geographical Dictionary... EdwART. 2008.

Land resources

land that is used or can be used in different sectors of the economy. It is understood as: 1) territorial resources, that is, the spatial basis for the location of households. objects and settlement of people; 2) the resources of all s.-kh. land (fields, pastures, gardens, etc.); 3) resources of arable land. Ch. productive property of land resources - soil fertility, on which the productivity of fields, pastures, forests depends. There are relatively few productive arable land (according to different estimates, from 1.5 to 2.5 billion hectares). The quality of land resources and their suitability for a particular type of use vary significantly from place to place. The most productive lands are concentrated in the forest-steppe and steppe zones of the temperate zone, forest zones of the subtropics and tropical latitudes. For the formation of 1 mm soil layer, e.g. chernozems, it takes more than 100 years. At the same time, the processes of water and wind erosion can destroy several centimeters of the upper, most valuable arable layer in one year. Rapid anthropogenic soil destruction gives grounds to consider land resources as relatively renewable.
The provision of land resources per capita is different: Australia, Canada, Argentina and Russia are provided to the greatest extent, while in the countries of Africa and Asia there is a very high pressure on land resources. Anthropogenic pressure on land resources leads to their degradation: land erosion, a decrease in the humus content of soils, their compaction, and salinity. The growing needs for food can be met by hl. arr. by increasing the area of ​​arable and pasture land, as well as agricultural intensification... At the same time, suitable for agricultural use. mastering ter. practically no more, and the annual growth of arable land (0.1% per year) in the world has almost stopped.

Geography. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M .: Rosman. Edited by prof. A.P. Gorkina. 2006 .

See what "LAND RESOURCES" are in other dictionaries:

The earth's surface is suitable for human habitation and for any type of economic activity. Land resources characterized by the size of the territory and its quality: relief, soil cover and a set of other natural conditions. Cm.… … Financial vocabulary

Lands that are used or can be used in sectors of the national economy (GOST 26640 85.) EdwART. Terms and definitions for environmental protection, nature management and environmental safety... Dictionary, 2010 Land resources ... Ecological Dictionary

Legal Dictionary

Lands that are or can be used in sectors of the national economy Glossary of business terms. Academic.ru. 2001 ... Business glossary

land resources- Lands that are or can be used in sectors of the national economy. [GOST 26640 85] Themes of the land ... Technical translator's guide

land resources- Lands that are or can be used in various sectors of the national economy, including arable land and other agricultural land, as well as areas under industrial and residential development ... Geography Dictionary

Land resources- 2. Land resources of the Earth, which are or can be used in sectors of the national economy Source: GOST 26640 85: Lands. Terms and definitions original document ... Dictionary-reference book of terms of normative and technical documentation

land resources- lands that are within the borders of the territory of the Russian Federation, with the exception of the territorial sea ... Big Law Dictionary

Land resources- 1) type of natural resources; 2) parts of a natural object, land, used or intended for use as: a) a natural basic means of production in agriculture and forestry; b) natural spatial ... ... Environmental Law of Russia: Dictionary of Legal Terms

Land resources of the USSR - … Geographic Atlas

Books

• Geography of soils, Dobrovolskiy GV. The textbook examines the factors and general patterns of the geographic distribution of soils, the principles of soil-geographic zoning. The characteristics of the soil cover are given ...

Land resources are the basis for the production of biological products. They are limited in space and irreplaceable, therefore it is necessary to use them economically and rationally, to protect them. The preservation of productive land is especially important.

Russia possesses significant land resources, which is approximately one eighth of the world's land resources. Reserve lands constitute a reserve for the organization of new land tenure and land use.

Of the 1,710 million hectares of the total territory of Russia, agricultural land occupies about 222 million hectares.

The statistical base for recording the state of land resources is substantiated by the cadastral work of soil scientists. However, these materials do not provide information on the evolutionary and genetic transformations of soils due to active anthropogenic impact. They also do not consider the essential characteristics of soil fertility, do not provide data on the areal dynamics of the main soil taxa of such subtypes, genera, species and varieties. Consequently, the cadastral information does not allow one to judge about negative changes in the country's soil cover.

The area of ​​arable land in recent years has mainly constantly increased, but at the same time, in some regions (Kostroma, Belgorod, Lipetsk, Tambov), part of the arable land is abandoned, swamped, overgrown with bushes and is out of use.

With modern agricultural technology, the average minimum arable land per capita to ensure an acceptable standard of living and especially food should be at least 0.5 hectares. In Russia, there are 0.87 hectares of arable land per capita.

A significant part of the territory of Russia is in a cold climate (arctic deserts, tundra, forest-tundra, northern taiga, highlands), where agriculture due to very limited heat resources, the presence of permafrost is basically impossible (more than 50 million hectares).

In the middle taiga (220 million hectares), conditions for the development of agriculture are not favorable due to the lack of heat, but it is possible to cultivate the earliest and most cold-resistant crops on podzolic soils. Forests prevail here (75.6%), and agricultural land accounts for about 3%, hayfields and pastures - only 2.4% of the total area.

In the southern taiga (over 250 million hectares), 56% of the area is occupied by highly productive forests. This subzone is dominated by low-fertile sod-podzolic, often waterlogged, waterlogged soils, usually with high acidity; there is a sufficient amount of precipitation, a satisfactory supply of heat. The soils are responsive to reclamation (drainage), liming, application of organic and mineral fertilizers. Therefore, the transformation of the southern taiga into an agricultural region is quite possible. Arable land occupies about 18%.

In general, in the forest zone, the level of plowing of soils is low, characterized by small contours (the average size of a plot often does not exceed 1 hectare), a large proportion of natural hayfields and pastures. The main area of ​​specialization of agriculture is dairy and beef cattle breeding, industrial poultry farming, production of vegetables, potatoes, fiber flax, fruits and berries. Of cereals, mainly winter rye, winter wheat, barley, oats, peas, vetch are cultivated. Among the forage nai large areas occupy perennial herbs.

The forest-steppe (131 million hectares) is dominated by fertile leached and typical chernozems, gray forest soils. Agricultural land occupies 61% (95 million hectares), of which arable land - 45%, hayfields and pastures - 16%. The plowing of soils is high - 70% or more of the total area of ​​agricultural land. Forests cover less than 25% of the territory of the zone. The climate is quite favorable for the development of agriculture, there is enough heat for the cultivation of grain and industrial crops, especially sugar beets and sunflowers. Dairy and meat cattle breeding and pig breeding are well developed. Droughts are possible, water erosion develops intensively.

The steppe zone (80 million hectares) with ordinary and southern chernozems is characterized by a large plowed land (in the Central Black Earth regions, the Volga region, about 80%). Atmospheric humidification is generally unstable, droughts are frequent, water erosion is developed, and in the Volga region, in the North Caucasus and in the south of Western Siberia - and wind erosion, therefore, an anti-erosion organization of the territory is necessary, the creation of a more favorable water regime. Grain crops (spring and winter wheat) are mainly grown, as well as sunflower, corn, mustard, annual and perennial grasses.

The dry steppe zone (22 million hectares) with an arid climate, with chestnut soils in combination with salt licks also belongs to agricultural regions. More than 40% of its territory is plowed up; 49% are occupied by pastures and hayfields, less than 3% - by forests. To obtain sustainable yields, irrigation is necessary, especially in the Lower Volga region, the protection of soils from wind and water erosion.

In the semi-desert (about 15 million hectares), about 3.7% of the territory is plowed up. Farming is carried out in very harsh conditions. There is little precipitation (mostly less than 200 mm). In addition to brown semi-desert soils, saline soils occupy significant areas. Farming is possible only with regular irrigation.

There are only about 200 thousand hectares of land in the subtropics.

Large areas (more than 500 million hectares) are mountainous.

The largest areas of arable land (over 51%) are located on chernozems and gray forest soils. The share of arable land on sod-podzolic soils is somewhat less, and even less on chestnut, various solonetzic and other soils of dry steppes.

Hayfields are located mainly on podzolic and soddy-podzolic (about 25%), meadow, meadow-boggy and floodplain (up to 45%) soils in various zones, mainly in the southern taiga. Pastures are mainly confined to salt licks, saline and sandy soils of arid regions. Significant areas (more than 35 million hectares) of pastures are located in areas of sufficient moisture, where they can be turned into highly productive crops with the help of reclamation, liming, and fertilization.

Every year, large areas of agricultural land are allotted for non-agricultural purposes, and the need for land for the disposal of emissions and waste from industrial and agricultural production is constantly growing. In addition, agricultural enterprises themselves use about 15.5 thousand hectares of arable land annually for the construction of premises, roads and other economic needs. Direct destruction of soils occurs as a result of underground and opencast mining.

Agricultural land contains a lot of lands subject to unfavorable processes: salinization (containing solonetz complexes), waterlogging, acidification (37.1 million hectares of arable land), accumulation of stony-gravelly material (4.2 million hectares of arable land). More than 53.6 million hectares of agricultural land, including 36.2 million hectares of arable land, have been eroded by water and wind erosion. The total area of ​​ravines is 2.5 million hectares. Ravines are mainly located on agricultural (0.8 million hectares), forestry (1.1 million hectares) and nature conservation (0.6 million hectares) lands. Losses of land are also increasing due to secondary salinization, pollution with heavy metals, radionuclides, and pesticides. Alarms are caused by soil depletion, decreased nutrient content, and reduced fertility due to improper use. According to CINAO, 27.8% of arable land has a low phosphorus content, 8.8% - potassium. In the Non-Black Earth Zone, about 50% of soils contain less than 2% humus.

At present, practically all of them have been mastered in Russia. the best lands... Population growth and the resulting growing demand for food and raw materials for industry require an increase in the area of ​​arable land. There are reserves for development, but the quality of land is generally low, therefore their development is associated with significant costs for drainage, irrigation and other activities.

The main reserves of land for the expansion of arable land (about 40 million hectares) are in the southern taiga. These are mainly some sod-podzolic and boggy lowland soils. Expansion of arable land is possible due to light gray and gray forest soils of the forest-steppe, brown forest soils of the zone broadleaf forests, chestnut in a complex with salt marshes, man-made wastelands and other soils. At the same time, for their transformation, an ecological justification is required. To preserve arable land, it is necessary to reduce the allotment of land for non-agricultural objects. Thus, it is quite possible to increase the arable land area to about 70 million hectares.

The most important task is rational use arable land, increasing the productivity of arable land and soil fertility. So, in the Central Chernozem regions, soil and climatic conditions are quite possible to obtain 4.0 ... 4.5 tons of grain from 1 hectare instead of 2.0 ... 2.5 tons. To increase soil fertility, it is necessary to constantly fight against possible degradation processes - overconsolidation, dehumification, erosion and deflation, acidification, waterlogging, secondary salinization, alkalinization, soil pollution.

For the protection of soils and nature in general, land cadastre data play an important role, especially if it is carried out on the basis of thematic mapping using aerial and space photo information.

General management of environmental protection should be carried out The State Duma Russian Federation, which determines the main directions of state policy in the field of nature protection. The overall implementation of this state policy is entrusted to the Russian Government. Specially authorized The central authority management and control in the field of nature protection is the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation. The ministry conducts management of the use of natural resources locally through the ministries of the republics within the Russian Federation, regional, regional, city and district committees of natural resources.

From public organizations for nature conservation, the largest is the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation (ROOP). In Russia, other associations have also been created, such as the Movement of Nature Conservation Brigades, the Green Movement, the Republican Society for the Protection of Animals, the Society of Hunters and Fishermen, and others.

Legal norms for the protection of nature are contained in the codes of the Russian Federation - Civil, Water, Land, Forest, On the protection of flora and fauna, On the atmospheric air, as well as in criminal codes. The legal basis for environmental legislation is the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the republics of the Russian Federation. The specific legal form conservation of nature and soil are nature conservation laws. Higher legislative act in Russia is the Law on Environmental Protection natural environment(1991). The legal basis for monitoring the state of the environment is also formed by the laws: “On the protection of atmospheric air"(1982)," On the protection and use of the animal world "(1982)," Water code "(1972)," Forest code "(1978)," On the subsoil "(1992)," On the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population "( 1991), “On Land Reform” (1990, 1993), “Land Code” (1991, with amendments and additions introduced by the RF Law “On Land Reform” dated April 28, 1993). The latter contains a large section on the protection of soils and lands, control over their use, on responsibility for violation of land legislation.

By-laws are normative legal acts government agencies Russia, the republics of the Russian Federation, issued on the basis of legislative acts, resolutions, decrees, sectoral and departmental instructions, manuals, regulations, rules (on the state ecological expertise, on the monitoring of lands in the Russian Federation, on the state comprehensive program for improving soil fertility in Russia, etc.) ... These rules and regulations establish the requirements for the use and protection of natural resources. They are subdivided into preventive, restorative, restorative, punitive and incentive measures.

The highest supervision over the exact implementation of laws on nature protection is exercised by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation and the prosecutors subordinate to him (the law "On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation" of 01/17/92).

Correct use of land resources is impossible without careful quantitative accounting and qualitative assessment of soils and economic conditions. These tasks are solved by the land cadastre (from the French cadastre register, registration) - a scientifically based system of information about the natural, economic and legal status of lands. It contains data on the distribution of land by category, by owner, land user and tenant; quantitative and qualitative characteristics of soils, soil grading; economic valuation of lands and land holdings; cadastral land maps (graphical display of the boundaries of agricultural land, soil appraisal and economic assessment of land, agro-industrial grouping of soils, general geodetic situation). The land cadastre is carried out by land management bodies of the Committee of the Russian Federation for Land Resources and Land Management.

All enterprises and farms engaged in agricultural production must have cadastral documentation:

1) an act for the right to use land;

2) cadastral land map;

3) cadastral land cord book.

For quantitative and qualitative land registration, various materials of large-scale soil research are used: soil maps, cartograms, soil reports. Of particular importance for a detailed qualitative assessment of lands is the agro-industrial grouping of soils - the unification of genetically homogeneous species and varieties of soils into larger groups according to the common agronomic properties, the level of fertility, the nature of agricultural economic use... In accordance with the scale of generalization and the nature of the use of soil mapping materials, all-Russian, regional and economic groups are distinguished. Depending on the purposes of using the territory and the nature of the cultivated crops in each of them, general (complex) and special (specialized) agricultural production groups are distinguished.

The all-Russian agricultural production grouping of soils is based on the similarity of agronomic indicators and genetic characteristics of soils, taking into account the zonal-provincial conditions for characterizing and accounting for the quality of land, calculating the area of ​​soils by land on a national scale.

Regional (republican, krai, oblast) agro-industrial groupings of soils are based on the same principles as the all-Russian one. They are necessary for the construction of scientifically based zonal systems of farming and crop rotation, fertilizer distribution, correct placement agricultural crops.

Economic agro-industrial groupings of soils - a form of agronomic generalization and analysis on a large scale

th soil survey of specific farms. These materials allow the rational use of soils, the effective use of fertilizers, agrotechnical and reclamation measures. The agro-groups are cartographically represented in the "Cartogram of the agro-industrial grouping of soils and the rational use of lands".

The general, or complex, agro-industrial grouping of soils unites soils according to a set of properties, which makes it possible to characterize their potential fertility, and, consequently, to determine the quality of soil resources and, in accordance with this, to set the boundaries of agricultural land, select agricultural crops, introduce crop rotations, and apply the necessary systems soil treatment, reclamation, fertilization, etc.

Such agro groupings are based on the following main criteria, or indicators:

1) belonging of the combined soils to one natural area, subzone, province or similar provinces of two neighboring zones;

2) genetic proximity of the grouped soils, which determines the commonality of agricultural production properties;

3) the similarity of geomorphological and hydrological conditions of soil occurrence;

4) the closeness of the properties and characteristics of soils to their granulometric composition;

5) uniformity of water-air and thermal properties and modes;

6) the similarity of indicators of chemical and physicochemical characteristics (pH, absorption capacity, composition of exchangeable cations, buffering capacity, etc.);

7) uniformity of characteristics that determine the nutrient regime of soils (total content of mobile forms of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, trace elements, degree of humus content, etc.);

8) the similarity of indicators that determine the ratio of soils to cultivation (connectivity, plasticity, viscosity, the possibility of crust formation and swimming, ripeness, etc.);

9) the proximity of the properties that determine the reclamation impact on the soil;

10) uniformity of indicators and conditions that reduce the productivity of lands, polluting their use (erosion processes, swampiness, salinity, etc.);

11) the similarity of the structure of areas or contours in connection with the specifics of farms and the possibility of using modern technology.

Special or specialized agro-industrial groupings of soils are combined according to one of the signs that affect the change in fertility, such as, for example, swampiness, salinity, alkalinity, stony, erosion, acidity, agrochemical, physical, physicochemical and other properties, the depth of dense rocks , steepness of slopes, etc. This allows for different levels to distinguish groups of soils according to various ameliorative effects:

1) improved by agrotechnical methods;

2) in need of liming, gypsum, clay or other "light" reclamation;

3) requiring drainage, leaching or other "heavy" reclamation;

4) practically not reclaimed.

Thus, agro-industrial groups reveal the comparative possibilities of using different soils in the composition of land and crop rotations, orient farm workers in relation to the differentiation of agricultural technology, the use of fertilizers, necessary activities for the implementation of a rational land use system. Usually, in farms for the cultivation of regionalized agricultural crops, it is recommended to distinguish 4 ... 5 categories of soils or agro groups in terms of quality (best, good, average, below average, worst) based on the analysis of the agronomic properties of soils. From this point of view, the agro-industrial grouping of soils is a qualitative preliminary stage of assessment, expressed in relative terms. It is advisable to carry out agro-grouping prior to soil appraisal, if it is revealed on the territory of the farm a large number of soil species. In the system of appraisal and land cadastre, agro-grouping is necessary when assessing the soils of a district, region, republics and country.

At present, in Russia, the grouping of soils according to their suitability for agricultural production (land classification) includes 7 categories (the category includes lands that are close in quality), 37 classes (the class includes lands that are close in natural, economic indicators and the nature of use). The following is general classification lands.

According to suitability for cultivated plants the following groups (subclasses) of lands are identified.

1. The most suitable land - arable land with optimal soil cover for a particular agricultural crop and growing conditions, unlimited factors. In these lands they get high yields.

2. Lands of average suitability - arable land with soil cover and other environmental factors, corresponding mainly to the biological characteristics of certain cultivated plants, but with some limiting factors (insufficient moisture or insufficient amount of nutrients). With fertilization and irrigation, high yields can be obtained.

3. Limited suitable land - arable land with soil cover and other important factors that do not fully correspond to the agrobiological characteristics of agricultural crops (high acidity or solonetziness, salinity, erosion, swampiness, etc.). To eliminate the limiting (limiting) factors of productivity, certain agrotechnical and reclamation measures should be carried out.

4. Lands of low suitability - arable land, the soil cover of which and other vital factors poorly meet the agrobiological needs of cultivated plants. These lands are suitable for growing crops only after the necessary land reclamation.

5. Unsuitable land - arable land with soil cover and other vital factors that do not meet the needs of plants. These lands are not suitable for cultivation of crops.

The land resources of the world are the earth's surface that can be used by a person for a life of activity. In characterizing land resources, the area of ​​the land, its relief, soil quality, and other conditions that ensure a high-quality and comfortable human existence are important.

The soil is an important part of the biosphere, it makes up the biochemical environment that provides life for all life on the planet. Soil is the most important condition for growing food, for providing food for the animal world. Precipitation accumulates in the soil, with its help the balance of water is regulated, the concentration of nutrients necessary for plants, the soil determines the quality of groundwater, forms these waters. On Earth, out of 510 million square kilometers, 149 million square meters. km is land. The area of ​​the world's land fund is 134 million square kilometers. Eleven percent of this area is agricultural land, 23 percent is meadows, thirty percent is forests, more than thirty percent is land of little use for humans. The earth cannot be artificially reproduced, it cannot be replaced by anything.

The soil cover is characterized primarily by fertility, which is determined by its internal nutrient reserves, climate, regimes of heat, water, air, solar energy... The soil cover is a self-regulating system. The land fund of the world is calculated based on the area of ​​land per capita. A resident of Asia and Europe accounts for a little more than one hectare, and an inhabitant of Australia - thirty-seven hectares of land. Less than a hectare is accounted for by the inhabitants of Egypt and China.

Types of land resources

Land resources are classified primarily by their intended use. According to this classification, agricultural lands, lands of forestry and water resources, lands of industry, settlements, energy, communications, transport, television, communications, informatics, radio broadcasting, defense lands, for conducting space activities, other lands of special purpose.

Special lands include plots that have scientific, environmental, aesthetic, historical, cultural, and recreational purposes.

The use of land resources in many countries is regulated by law. The land is the base for construction, placement of enterprises, objects of various purposes. These are agricultural land, a means of labor, a means of production, a condition for human life, the satisfaction of his needs. In many countries, agricultural land is being reduced, and large areas are being used for construction. In countries such as China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Canada, virgin lands are being developed to expand agricultural areas. With proper use of the land, it does not deteriorate, but is done better, does not become obsolete.

Assessment of land resources

In the economic assessment of land, its functional universality is taken into account, which will make it possible to carry out any type of material production on this land. Assessment of agricultural land is a relative assessment, because in agriculture, the development of agricultural machinery, the modernity of agrotechnical methods are of great importance. Since economic conditions dictate the principle of land allocation for functional use, they also determine the criteria for assessing land.

Today, those indicators are being identified that can form the basis for assessing lands.

Protection of land resources

Many countries are working to conserve land resources, trying to improve the structure of land resources, so that soils become more fertile and arable land more productive.

Among the measures that lead to the preservation of land resources are the rationality of land use, the fight against erosion, overconsolidation, acidification, dehumification, deflation, salinization, waterlogging, pollution, and alkalinization.

The problem of land resources in the world is the reduction of arable, fishing grounds, pastures, and environmental degradation.

State and distribution of land resources of the world

As part of the land, excluding Antarctica, the land resources that are practically at the disposal of mankind account for 13 392 million hectares, or 26.2% of the total surface area of ​​the Earth.

The lands on which the bulk of food is produced - arable land, gardens and plantations, meadows and pastures - make up only 8.9% of the surface of our planet. The rest of the area is occupied by forests, settlements, industrial and transport facilities, swamps, deserts, that is, from the point of view of agriculture, they are unproductive or unproductive.

From the above data, it can be seen that 10.8% of the total area of ​​land resources is currently plowed and cultivated in the world, 23.2% are occupied by meadows and pastures, i.e., the total area of ​​agricultural land is 34.0%.

Eurasia accounts for about 60% of the world's cultivated land.

The trend of population growth and, consequently, a decrease in land availability, sharpen the need to expand the total area of ​​agricultural land. Over the past fifteen years, their area has grown in the world by 360 million hectares. This increase is especially noticeable in South America and Asia. However, in Europe and North America during the study period, there was a decrease in productive land.

However, it should not be forgotten that a very important source of increasing food production is L more intensive use of the areas available in agricultural turnover. A significant proportion of cultivated land is concentrated in the arid regions of the world, where the level of their fertility is strongly dependent on the level of moisture supply of the territory, therefore, one of the important factors in increasing crop production is the development of irrigation.

TO early XIX v. the world area of ​​artificially irrigated land was 8 million hectares, by the beginning of the XX century. - 40 million and to date - 207 million hectares.

Thus, 15.2% of arable land is irrigated in the world today. These lands represent the base of stable, weather-independent, guaranteed yields.

For the period 1965-1980. the area of ​​irrigated land increased by 27 million hectares, or by 14.9%, with the most noticeable growth characteristic of Europe and South America. It is possible that the area of ​​irrigated land in the world will increase even more dramatically in the near future.

Meanwhile, considering the structure of land resources in the world, one cannot fail to note a completely natural tendency to decrease the area of ​​land holdings per inhabitant, which over the past five years has decreased from 1.15 to 1.03 hectares.

The countries of Europe and Asia are the least endowed agricultural lands.

However, land availability indicators without information on the quality of land are not exhaustive enough. Recently, a method has been developed for comparing land availability between individual countries of the world, taking into account not only quantitative indicators, but also data on the quality of land.

When analyzing land availability, in this case, the experience of agriculture and the use of land resources is taken into account and compared with respect to specific agro-climatic and soil conditions. In turn, comparison in a single system of agroclimatic and soil conditions is possible through indicators of biological productivity. Hence, it is quite logical to express the dependence of land supply on the level of biological productivity through equivalent indicators.

Based on data on land area, population and biological productivity (relative to the average productivity for the territory of the USSR, taken as 100 points), the land availability of the countries of the world in equivalent hectares was calculated.

Analysis of the above data shows that the differences in natural conditions make significant adjustments to land availability indicators. For example, if the USSR in terms of land provision with agricultural land and arable land in physical hectares is in the sixth and third places in the world, respectively, then when taking into account land provision in equivalent hectares, it is in thirteenth and ninth places.

The richest productive lands of the country are the main producers of agricultural products. The provision of land turns out to be one of the important factors determining the place of each country in the international division of labor in the field of agriculture.

Land resources and land use problems

The land is the spatial basis of all types of social activity and a means of production in a number of sectors of the national economy, primarily in agriculture and forestry.

Land as a means of production and a resource has features that distinguish it from many other means of production, namely: land is a product of nature itself; its surface is limited; it is irreplaceable by other means of production; the use of land is related to the permanence of the place; in terms of agricultural production properties, the land is of unequal quality; the land is an eternal means of production and, with proper cultivation, increases its fertility, its productive properties.

The peculiarities and properties of the land determine its exclusive place in the development of the productive forces of society. The "man-earth" relationship that has developed over the centuries remains at the present time and in the foreseeable future as one of the determining factors of life and progress.

To each social order inherent in the corresponding forms of land tenure and land use, which determine the nature and efficiency of the use of land resources.

The nature and forms of land use in different countries differ significantly. At the same time, a number of aspects of the use of land resources are common to the entire world community. This is, first of all, the protection of land resources, especially land fertility, from natural and anthropogenic degradation.

Modern trends in the use of land resources in the world are expressed in a wide intensification of the use of productive lands, the involvement of additional land areas in economic circulation, the expansion of land allotments for non-agricultural needs, the strengthening of activities to regulate the use and protection of land at the national level.

The problem of economical, rational use and protection of land resources in the last decade has become the object of close attention of numerous international organizations.

This circumstance is mainly determined by the exclusive place of the land in the development of the productive forces. The limited and irreplaceable land resources, taking into account the growth of the population and the continuous increase in the scale of social production, require their effective use in all countries of the world. On the other hand, the earth simultaneously acts as one of the main components of the biosphere, as a universal means of labor and as a spatial basis for the functioning of productive forces and their reproduction. All this determines the task of organizing scientifically grounded, economical and rational use of land resources as one of the most important at the present stage of human development.

Land resources of the world

total area the earth's surface our planet is about 51 billion hectares. The total land area is 14.9 billion hectares. The rest of the territory (over 70%) is under water. Excluding Antarctica, man has only 13.4 billion hectares at his disposal, which is 26% of the Earth's surface area.

According to UN data, the world's population is 6.6 billion people. Thus, there are 2 hectares of the earth's surface per inhabitant. And this is taking into account the "permafrost", deserts, mountains, impenetrable jungle. Thus, the area of ​​forests, mountains, swamps, deserts and semi-deserts in total makes up 64% of the land area.

Figure 1. Structure of the total territory of the Earth

Accordingly, there are not many land resources of the world that are directly suitable for a more or less comfortable life in the modern sense of this term, per 1 inhabitant.

The area of ​​land resources of the world available “for life” varies in different countries and is determined by natural and climatic conditions and historical aspects of development. So, in 2007, there were 12.07 hectares of the total land area of ​​the country per 1 inhabitant of Russia. In Australia, this figure is significantly higher - 40.4 hectares per 1 inhabitant, in Canada - 32.4 hectares per 1 inhabitant, and in the USA - 3.4 hectares per 1 inhabitant.

The most high density population - in Japan and is 338 people per 1 sq. km. In this country, there is 0.3 hectare of the country's territory per 1 inhabitant, which is 40 times less than in the Russian Federation and 7 times compared to the world average of the territory per 1 inhabitant of the planet. Despite the fact that a significant part of this country is occupied by mountains and is uninhabitable. In India, this figure is 0.32 hectares per 1 inhabitant, in China (the most populous country in the world) - 0.76 hectares. In some European countries - for 1 person there is less territory than in China, but more than in India. So, for example, in Great Britain there are 0.41 hectares per 1 inhabitant, in Germany - 0.43 hectares, in Italy - 0.52 hectares.

In the Russian Federation, the distribution of the population over its vast territory is heterogeneous. The bulk of the population lives in the European part of the country. So, per 1 inhabitant in the Central Federal District there is an average of 1.71 hectares (almost 7 times less than the average for the Russian Federation), in the Southern Federal District - 2.58 hectares, in the Volga Federal District - 3.31 hectares. But in the Far Eastern Federal District, there are 92.2 hectares per inhabitant. Thus, the difference in the distribution of the population between federal districts in the Russian Federation reaches more than 50 times.

Agricultural land

The natural source of existence and development of human civilization on the planet is agricultural land, which makes it possible to produce the bulk of the consumed products. In agricultural areas, 95-97% of products are produced.

The world's land resources suitable for agriculture are limited, and there are practically no free lands suitable for development. The areas on which the bulk of food is produced (arable land, orchards and plantations, meadows, pastures) account for only 9% of the world's land resources (i.e., on average, a little less than 1 ha per 1 inhabitant). They are different in natural properties and according to its potential.

Arable land resources of the world are mainly concentrated in the steppe and forest-steppe regions. Arable land and perennial plantations as part of the world's agricultural land resources occupy about 1.5 billion hectares (11% of the entire land surface), hayfields and pastures - 3.7 billion hectares (23% of the land surface). The total area of ​​arable land resources in the world is estimated by experts in various sources from 2.5 to 3.2 billion hectares (i.e., from 18 to 24% of the total land surface).

Europe and Asia (including Russia) account for 2.1 billion hectares of arable land and pastures, or more than 40% of the world's cultivated land resources.

table1. Land resources of the regions of the world (1990)

The largest arable land resources in the world are in countries such as Russia, the United States, India, China, Brazil and Canada. If in the whole world there is 0.25 hectares of arable land for each inhabitant, then in Asia, where 32% of the world's arable land is concentrated, this figure (0.15 hectares) is the lowest on the planet. In other words, in Asia, 1 hectare should "feed" 7 people. In densely populated Europe, 1 hectare already "feeds" 4 people, in South America - 2, in North America - almost 1.5 people.

The total area of ​​meadows and pastures exceeds the area of ​​arable land by almost 2 times. Due to the arid climate, the rangelands are less suitable for cultivation. Most of these territories are in Africa. On the other hand, meadows are more suitable for farming. This view lands prevails in Australia, Russia, China, USA, Brazil, Argentina, Mongolia.

The world's land resources provide food for more of the population than is currently available and will be in the near future. However, due to population growth, especially in developing countries(SEA, South America), the amount of arable land per capita is decreasing. Even 10-15 years ago, the per capita provision of arable land for the world's population was 0.45-0.5 hectares, now it is already 0.25 hectares.

According to the Committee on Agrarian Issues of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the production of food for 1 person requires from 0.3 hectares to 0.5 hectares of agricultural land (arable land + pastures), another 0.07 hectares to 0.09 hectares are needed for housing, roads, recreation. That is, taking into account the available land cultivation technologies, the existing potential of agricultural land can provide food from 10 to 17 billion people on the planet. But this is with an even distribution of the density of the entire population over fertile lands. At the same time, according to various estimates, 500 to 800 million people (8-13% of the total population) go hungry in the world today, and the world's population is growing by an average of 90 million people annually (i.e., by 1.4% per year). ).

The productivity of land use in the world varies considerably. For example, 32% of the world's arable land and 18% of pastures are concentrated in Asia, which makes it possible to maintain more than half of the world's livestock. At the same time, due to low productivity, many Asian countries remain dependent on food imports. The areas of agricultural land in individual countries are mainly determined by the natural and climatic conditions and the level of development of the population of the countries, the level of their technologies for the development and use of the world's land resources.

The per capita availability of arable land in different countries of the world varies widely. For Canada, it is 1.48 hectares per inhabitant, for the USA - 0.63 hectares, for Japan - 0.03 hectares. For Russia, the provision of arable land per capita currently reaches almost 0.85 hectares, which is significantly higher than the world indicator. At the same time, the share of arable land in Russia is only 7.6% of the territory, while in Western Europe it is 30%, in Asia - 15%, in North America - 13%.

The level of prices for land resources of the world

There is land of various categories (agricultural, forests, settlements, etc.). Different countries have different approaches to the regulation of the world land market. Some provide ownership of land to their own and foreign citizens, some do not provide them at all or only with certain restrictions. At the same time, the very "cadastral" (by category and value) accounting of land resources in the world - is not kept in all countries. Nevertheless, there are internal methodologies of statistical bodies of countries and methodologies of the World Bank, which allow accounting and comparison of the levels of value of the total land resources of different countries, as well as certain categories of land resources of the world.

Probably the most correct way to achieve the goal of comparing land values ​​across countries would be to compare the value levels of agricultural land. Because in the experience of some foreign countries prices for it are more homogeneous (compared to prices for land in settlements or in recreation areas), it occupies a significant part of the territory of almost every country, in contrast to vast areas of forests, it is actively exploited by the population and is a source of food security for each state.

According to the cadastral estimates of individual states, summarized in the materials of the World Bank, the level of prices for agricultural land in the world differs quite significantly.

Figure 2.Country estimate of the cost of 1 hectare of arable land and area of ​​arable land per 1 inhabitant

In accordance with the diagram presented, it is possible to trace an incomplete and insufficiently unambiguous, but nevertheless, dependence between the national estimate of the value of the world's arable land resources and their size per 1 inhabitant of the country. The less arable land per capita, the more expensive it is. Plus, the smaller the share of agricultural land in the total territory of the state, the more expensive it is. It should be noted that even in the so-called. In “developing” countries with a low level of GDP per capita (for example, India), the estimate of the cost of land is still quite high and is at the level of developed countries (Germany, France, Spain, Italy).

It is interesting to compare the assessment of the cost of 1 ha of arable land with the volume of GDP produced in the country's agricultural sector per 1 ha of arable land.

table2. The share of products "Agriculture, fishing and hunting" in the country's GDP

In the presented Table 2, the compared countries are ranked according to the level of GDP produced per hectare of arable land. As you can see, Russia has an extremely low indicator of the volume of GDP production. Only Argentina has a worse indicator (despite the fact that the estimate of the cost of arable land in Argentina is 2.5 times higher than the Russian indicator). Russia is often compared to Brazil, because economies of states are comparable. The share of agricultural GDP in the Brazilian economy is higher than that of Russia (7.4% versus 5.5%). At the same time, as you can see, the Brazilian GDP per hectare of arable land is 3 times higher than the Russian one, and the estimate of the cost of 1 hectare of arable land in Brazil is 4 times higher than the Russian one.

Even in countries such as Australia and Canada, where the national estimate of the cost of 1 hectare of arable land is closest to the Russian one (slightly higher than it), and the climatic conditions can be taken as conditionally comparable, the GDP produced per hectare of arable land is significantly higher.

In countries in which GDP per capita is significantly lower than that of Russia, and the share of agriculture in the total GDP of the country is significantly higher (in India - 25%, in China - 16%) - the produced GDP per hectare of arable land is significantly higher - in 3 , 5-7 times higher than in Russia.

Table 2.Efficiency of personnel in agricultural production

The following table shows the performance indicators of personnel employed in agricultural production in some countries.

As you can see, 1 employed in Russian agricultural production has low productivity and, accordingly, a low level of produced GDP. This indicator is 5 times lower than, for example, in Canada, which has natural and climatic conditions comparable to those in Russia, and the national estimate of the cost of 1 hectare of arable land in which is close to the Russian indicator. At the same time, the return on the use of agricultural land in Canada is only 1.5 times higher than the Russian indicator: for example, from an area of ​​land estimated by residents at $ 100, Russia produces $ 23 of the country's total GDP annually, in Canada - 33 US dollars.

Among the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China), Russia has the highest GDP produced on agricultural land, estimated at $ 100.

Table 3. Production volumeagricultural products by country

(in USD)

The earth acts as the main platform for all species. Its participation in the regulation of the ecosystem can hardly be overestimated, as well as its role in the food supply of the population. Distinctive feature topsoil versus other forms production processes, is irreplaceable. At the same time, the world's land resources can be viewed as an eternal instrument with which a person can provide for himself. necessary raw materials and food. Unfortunately, in the practice of land exploitation, many problems arise, which to this day are acutely faced by agro-technical and agricultural organizations.

What are the world's land resources?

Far from the entire land surface belongs to land resources, but only that part of it that can be considered from the point of view of economic use. Nevertheless, the general land fund is usually understood to mean all land, with the exception of the territory of Antarctica. In terms of area, the world's land resources amount to about 13,400 million hectares. In percentage terms, this is about 26% of the total area of ​​the planet. But this does not mean at all that all the 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 makes it possible to solve the problems of providing disadvantaged regions with food.

Classification of land resources

Among the resources of the land fund, there are three broad categories. The first includes productive land 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 external factors, among which the climate is of significant importance. The second category is unproductive territories. These are the land resources of the world and Russia, a significant part of which is represented by tundra, forest-tundra, swamps and steppes. Theoretically, these lands can be suitable for the requirements of the agro-technical 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 can be difficult to access or unfavorable 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.

Land as a means of production

People have used the fruits of the earth in one form or another since ancient times. The first forms of such use had the character of appropriation, but as the tools of labor developed, full-fledged features of production activity began to form. Today, there are several areas of such land use, including the cultivation of arable land, the organization of pastures and meadows, the planting of gardens and plantations. At the same time, the world's land resources and their use can also be considered from the point of view of indirect production. This means that in one form or another it can act as a link in a chain industrial production... However, the most widespread are still the main branches of agrotechnical activity, such as vegetable growing, floriculture, growing cereals, melons and fodder plants.

Land use levels

The model of structuring the world agro-technical complex usually involves the allocation of three levels of land use. On the first are the participants in the industry, who are engaged in the production of technical means for supporting agriculture. Here it should be noted and enterprises that process agricultural raw materials in order to obtain products for further use in the industry. We can say that this is an area that serves 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 assume different shapes operation, but the tasks of their maintenance must necessarily provide for the receipt of a certain product. The third level of the agro-technical complex is the industrial processing and marketing of raw materials and products obtained as a result of land cultivation.

Problems of using land resources

Although experts usually prioritize the insufficient use of available resources, many argue that the land under development is gradually degrading. This means that even an advanced foundation can eventually deteriorate 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 these processes that are of concern to many experts in the agricultural industry.

Land use trends

The structure of land distribution is constantly changing. On the one hand, the changes are caused by the expansion of the area of ​​cultivated land, and on the other, by the reorientation of territories that were previously in development. At the current stage of the development of the land fund, an increase in the rate of land processing is observed. To provide this opportunity, enterprises irrigate deserts, drain swamps and cut down forests. Such measures make it possible to increase the world's land resources suitable for production activities. Moreover, this process is stimulated not only by the need to move to virgin lands due to the unsatisfactory qualities of old lands. This is also facilitated by an increase in the population - accordingly, the demand for food is also growing.

Prospects for expanding agricultural land

It is more likely that in the coming years some parts of tropical forests and deserts will go into agricultural cultivation. Modern technical means allow leading economic activity even in such conditions. Moreover, the world's productive land resources can be increased by expanding coastal lines. The construction of dams and canals makes it possible to move settlements towards the sea. Similar processes are already being observed in Japan, Singapore and Belgium.

Conclusion

In addition to expanding sown areas, specialists pay a lot of attention to the tasks of more rational and efficient use of primary agricultural areas. The latest technologies of agro-technical 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 yields by stimulating soil fertility. At the same time, many states and international organizations develop new concepts of rules for the regulation of natural resources, which are guided by the optimization of the processes of exploitation of land resources.