Agricultural Land Use

Click on Image to Enlarge  (JPG) Agricultural Land Use (753,248 bytes) ( 2,120 x 1,610 )

Around the world, agricultural practices have developed as a function of topography, soil type, crop type, annual rainfall, and tradition. In this montage of six ASTER sub-images, the differences are graphically illustrated by the variation in field geometry and size. In Minnesota (upper left) the very regular grid pattern reflects early 19th century surveying; the size of the fields is a function of mechanization and that dictates a certain efficiency. In Kansas (upper middle), center pivot irrigation is responsible for the field pattern. In northwest Germany (upper right), the small size and random pattern of fields is a leftover from the Middle Ages. Near Santa Cruz, Bolivia (lower left), the pie or radial patterned fields are part of a settlement scheme; at the center of each unit is a small community. Outside of Bangkok, Thailand (lower middle), rice paddies fed by an extensive network of canals that is hundreds of years old, appear as small skinny rectangular fields. And in the Cerrado in southern Brazil (lower right), cheap cost of land and its flatness have resulted in enormous farms and large field sizes. Each ASTER sub-image covers an area of 10.5 x 12 km.

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Agricultural Land Use Type: (JPG) Size: (753,248 bytes) Resolution ( 2,120 x 1,610 )