Agriculture

For the last 30 years, the main cause of increased pressure on land resources has been increased food production. Agriculture will, in the future years, have to face the challenge of feeding a growing human population in a sustainable manner. Currently, many agricultural practices are not sustainable because they can damage the soil and other parts of the environment. For example, repeatedly growing crops on the same site requires the addition of more and more fertilisers to replace the nutrients lost from the soil and the use of large amounts of pesticides (with the danger of increased pests resistance).
The practice of rapid destruction of natural ecosystems (such as forests) to provide land for agriculture can also cause the widespread extinction of plant and animal species. Current farming methods, particularly in developing countries, often result in desertification and deforestation.

Rapeseed cultivation for biodiesel production in Austria		Planting rice in Japan		Harvesting corn and stover - DOE/NREL		Sugarcane production - DOE/NREL