Land cover describes the physical material at the surface of the Earth — the natural or human-modified vegetation, soil, ice and water that blankets the land. Understanding its spatial distribution is foundational to all land cover change analysis in VCE Geography.
| Land Cover Type | Approximate % of Land Surface | Key Regions |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | ~30% | Amazon Basin, Congo Basin, Southeast Asia, boreal belt |
| Grassland & Savanna | ~26% | Sub-Saharan Africa, North American Great Plains, central Asia |
| Bare lands / Desert | ~20% | Sahara, Arabian Peninsula, central Australia, Atacama |
| Agricultural land | ~12% | Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, South/Southeast Asia |
| Tundra | ~8% | Arctic fringe of Canada, Russia, Alaska, northern Scandinavia |
| Wetlands | ~6% | Pantanal (Brazil), Siberian lowlands, Mississippi Delta |
| Ice and glaciers | ~10% of land | Antarctica (~98% of continental ice), Greenland, mountain glaciers |
| Inland water | ~1% | Great Lakes, Lake Baikal, Amazon floodplain |
Note: percentages vary by source; VCAA exams expect relative magnitude, not precision.
Forests cluster in three global regions:
- Tropical rainforests: equatorial belt (0–10° latitude) where high precipitation and warmth support dense canopy — the Amazon, Congo, and Indo-Malayan forests.
- Temperate forests: 40–60° latitude in Europe, eastern North America and eastern Asia, shaped by seasonal rainfall.
- Boreal (taiga) forests: 50–70°N, a vast band across Canada and Russia, dominated by coniferous species tolerant of cold, short growing seasons.
Grasslands occupy continental interiors where moisture is insufficient for tree growth but adequate for grasses — the savanna belt of Africa straddles the tropical dry season, while the steppes of central Asia reflect extreme continentality.
Tundra rings the Arctic Ocean where permafrost prevents tree establishment; mean annual temperatures below −5°C and a growing season of fewer than 90 days limit vegetation to mosses, lichens, sedges and dwarf shrubs.
Deserts and bare lands occur in two main zones:
1. The subtropical high-pressure belt (~20–30° latitude) — Sahara, Arabian, Kalahari, Australian interior.
2. Rain-shadow interiors far from moisture sources — Patagonian, Gobi.
Wetlands are concentrated in low-lying areas with persistent shallow water: floodplains, coastal deltas, permafrost depressions and tropical peatlands.
Ice and water: Antarctica holds 26.5 million km³ of ice — over 60% of Earth’s fresh water. Greenland holds a further 2.85 million km³. Mountain glaciers are found on every continent but are disproportionately large in Alaska, the Himalayas, Andes, Alps and New Zealand’s Southern Alps.
VCAA exams frequently present choropleth maps or satellite composites of global land cover. Key skills:
- Identify the dominant land cover of a region from a legend.
- Describe the distribution using directional language (e.g., “forests are concentrated in equatorial and high-latitude regions”).
- Link spatial patterns to climate, latitude and topography.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Global land cover is not random — it is organised by latitude, climate, and topography. Forests dominate humid equatorial and mid-latitude zones; deserts occupy subtropical high-pressure belts; tundra and ice cover polar regions.
EXAM TIP: When describing spatial distribution, always use directional terms (north, south, equatorial, polar), name specific regions or continents, and link the pattern to at least one explanatory factor (e.g., precipitation, temperature, altitude).
COMMON MISTAKE: Students confuse land cover (the physical surface) with land use (human purpose). A forest is land cover; a timber plantation is both land cover (trees) and land use (forestry). Keep these concepts distinct in your responses.
