摘要：In agrarian developing countries the natural environment is a key determinant of both poverty andnutritional status. Climate, terrain, and soil characteristics drive the agricultural system,determining in large part cropping patterns, choice of crops, yield rates, and overall productivitylevels. The human resources crucial to agricultural productivity are also influenced by the naturalenvironment. For example, conditions that encourage or mitigate the incidence and spread ofdisease have adverse effects on the health and nutritional status of rural families and in turn ontheir productivity.To date, however, most studies on the location, magnitude, and distribution of poverty are forindividual countries or other administrative entities that do not necessarily coincide withecoregional boundaries. Poverty, which manifests itself in high incidences of malnutrition, is aserious problem in some regions, especially Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. That livingstandards vary widely within regions is well known, but do some of these variations have theirorigins in agroecological differences.
