Change in the distribution of anthropogenic biomes, 1700-2000

This map shows the distribution of the global land surface, according to type of biome, between 1700 and 2000. The proportion of wildlands and semi-natural areas has been halved within the space of 300 years: in 1700 it occupied over 90% of the earth’s surface compared with 45% today. Most land has now been transformed, even if partially, by human activity. This anthropization has mainly come about by land being turned into prairies, meadows, and grassland, pastures and cultivated soil, representing 40% of global cover in 2000.