**Abstract**

This study aimed at the environment, agriculture, and land use pattern and in the arid region of Pakistan. Physiography and location of the study area with respect to coastal region are the key factors that control the climate. There are a number of factors that have their influence on the cropping pattern in the area apart from climate. They include the type of soils, availability of irrigation water, government policies, socioeconomic condition, advance technologies, market value, human demand, etc. The soil of irrigated plain in lower Punjab and Sind is more suitable for the agriculture than other parts, where the water is insufficient for cultivation.

**Keywords:** environment, agriculture zones, arid region, land use pattern, soil, natural vegetation

#### **1. Introduction**

The chapter covers the environment of the arid region in relation to agriculture and land use pattern. The carrying capacity of any area in the biosphere to produce enough food and other crops for the human population and domesticated animals depends a lot on environmental conditions and human technical capabilities. The work elaborates the environmental conditions in the arid region of Pakistan and how the farming patterns have been adjusted to these conditions. It has been divided into four sections. The first section on physical setting explores the landform, soil, climate, and natural vegetation and their role in agriculture of the arid region. The second section on human environment discusses the distribution of population, human settlements, and the socioeconomic setup and their relationship to agriculture sector. Furthermore, the third section discusses the agroecological zones and its characteristics with reference to agricultural. The concluding section highlights the findings of the chapter.

The arid region extends northeast to southwest from latitude 37°N into 23<sup>1</sup> /2°N and longitude 60°E to 75°E. The northeastern and northwestern part of the arid region consists of high mountain ranges like the Himalayas [1], Hindu Kush, and Karakorum with highest peaks like K-2 (8475 m), Rakaposhi (7665 m), and Tirich Mir (7569 m). The study area covers about 63 districts and total area of 676,400 km2 (77.1%) on which approximately 78.7 million population resides (**Figure 1**).

It extends from the Arabian Sea to the interior of Pakistan, while in the extreme north, it covers the whole Gilgit-Baltistan province and a part of the Chitral and Dera Ismail Khan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The arid region of Pakistan includes southern and central Baluchistan, southern Punjab, southern and northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sind, and the Gilgit-Baltistan province. The well-known deserts of the arid region comprises of Cholistan, Thar, Thal, and Kharan Desert.

**Figure 1.** *Arid Region Location, GoUSA [2], online, ftp://ftp.glcf.umiacs.umd.edu.*
