What is a Brittle Landscape

A brittle landscape is characterized not so much by the amount of total rainfall, but the erratic distribution of both precipitation and humidity during the year.
Typically, a 750-1250mm (30-50in) rainfall area with a very dry period in the middle of its growing season and a long dry season is likely to be very brittle in terms of the Savory Brittleness Scale. ( See below ) The poorer the distribution of humidity, particularly during the growing season, the more brittle the area tends to be even in an environment with a high rainfall. Seventy per cent of the world’s landmass is considered to be brittle.

Savory Brittleness Scale

A scale used to describe environments in terms of year-round, consistent and available moisture, where 1 represents a rainforest and 10 a desert.
Where an environment stands on the scale determines appropriateness of management tools.