The possession of rich soil and agro-climatic resources in the modern world is becoming one of the key factors for sustainable development in the long term. With increasing overpopulation in some countries, as well as pressures on soils, water bodies and the atmosphere, access to sources of quality water and fertile soil is becoming a strategic advantage.
Regions of the world. Agro-climatic resources
Obviously, soil fertility, the number of sunny days per year, and water are unevenly distributed on the surface of the planet. While some regions of the world suffer from a lack of sunlight, others experience an excess of solar radiation and constant droughts. Devastating floods regularly occur in some areas, destroying crops and even entire villages.
It should also be taken into account that soil fertility is far from a constant factor, which can vary depending on the intensity and quality of exploitation. Soils in many regions of the world tend to degrade, their fertility declines, and over time, erosion leads to the fact that productive agriculturebecomes impossible.
Heat as the main factor
Speaking about the characteristics of agro-climatic resources, it is worth starting with the temperature regime, without which the growth of crops is impossible.
In biology, there is such a thing as "biological zero" - this is the temperature at which the plant stops growing and dies. For all crops, this temperature is not the same. For most crops grown in central Russia, this temperature is approximately +5 degrees.
It is also worth noting that the agro-climatic resources of the European part of Russia are rich and diverse, because a significant part of the Central European region of the country is occupied by black soil, and there is an abundance of water and sun from spring to early autumn. In addition, heat-loving crops are cultivated in the south and along the Black Sea coast.
Water resources and ecology
Given the level of industrial development, increasing environmental pollution, it is worth talking not only about the quantity of agro-climatic resources, but also about their quality. Therefore, territories are subdivided according to the level of heat supply or the presence of large rivers, as well as the ecological cleanliness of these resources.
For example, in China, despite significant water reserves and large areas of agricultural land, it is not necessary to talk about the complete provision of this densely populated country with the necessary resources, becausethe aggressive development of the manufacturing and mining industries has led to the fact that many rivers have become polluted and unsuitable for the production of quality products.
At the same time, countries such as Holland and Israel, having small territories and difficult climatic conditions, are becoming leaders in food production. And Russia, as experts note, is far from using the advantages of the temperate zone, in which a significant part of the European territory of the country is located, far from being at full capacity.
Technology at the service of agriculture
The more people inhabit the Earth, the more urgent the problem becomes to feed the inhabitants of the planet. The pressure on soils is growing, and they are degrading, the sown area is shrinking.
However, science does not stand still, and after the Green Revolution, which made it possible to feed a billion people in the middle of the last century, a new one is coming. Considering that the main agro-climatic resources are concentrated on the territory of such large states as Russia, the USA, Ukraine, China, Canada and Australia, more and more small states use modern technologies and become leaders in agricultural production.
Thus, technology makes it possible to compensate for the lack of heat, moisture or sunlight.
Resource distribution
Soil and agro-climatic resources are unevenly distributed across the Earth. In order to indicate the level of resource endowment in a particular region, the most importantcriteria for assessing the quality of agro-climatic resources include heat. On this basis, the following climatic zones are determined:
- cold - heat supply less than 1000 degrees;
- cool - 1000 to 2000 degrees per growing season;
- moderate - in the southern regions heat supply reaches 4000 degrees;
- subtropical;
- hot.
Given the fact that natural agro-climatic resources are distributed unevenly on the planet, in the conditions of the modern market, all states have access to agricultural products, in whatever region they are produced.
