RICE TERRACES, WESTERN YUNNAN PROVINCE, CHINA, 2012: ‘This sustainable farming method has been practised in China for over a thousand years,’ the book reveals. ‘If done properly, it prevents erosion, retains moisture, and can support the biodiversity that keeps soils naturally fertile’

DESERT SPIRALS, VERNEUKPAN, NORTHERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA: ‘These whimsical patterns, reminiscent of the abstract mark-making of primaeval artists, have a practical purpose,’ reveals the book, ‘to convert desert into arable land. Also known as swales, they were ploughed in the dry season to capture water during the infrequent rainfall, trap wind-borne seeds and prevent erosion’

SALINAS, CADIZ, SPAIN: Pictured above are salt marshes near the Atlantic port city of Cadiz, with ‘briny streams of turquoise seawater running through them’. The book adds: ‘Looking like cloisonné [coloured glass] jewellery, the multicoloured ridges that secure the marsh were built long ago to create salt pans, but the small-scale craft industry has since died out’

NICKEL TAILINGS, SUDBURY, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1996: This ‘hellish picture’ was taken outside the northern Ontario city of Sudbury in central Canada, which is famous for its nickel deposits. The book reveals that the image shows what looks like molten lava, but is in fact oxidized, water-borne waste, adding: ‘It is actually an illusion of scale. We are not looking at a river, but at a small creek, just over a metre wide that can be easily jumped over’

THJORSA RIVER, SOUTHERN REGION, ICELAND: This incredible picture shows the result of currents in the Thjorsa river eroding silt into ‘wispy patterns’, with the tome adding: ‘Volcanic minerals are responsible for the surreal colours of [Iceland’s] famous lakes and rivers’

SALT PONDS, NEAR FATICK, ATLANTIC COAST, SENEGAL: This stunning picture shows a patchwork of hand-dug depressions, the result of artisanal salt harvesting. The colour variations are caused by salt-resistant microorganisms and varying rates of evaporation, the book explains

SALT PONDS, NEAR NAGLOU SAM SAM, SENEGAL: There are three photographs in the exhibition of salt harvesting in Senegal and each is formally different, attesting to different harvesting styles from region to region, the book reveals

PENGAH WALL, KOMODO NATIONAL PARK, INDONESIA, 2017: ‘Here’s what a healthy coral environment looks like,’ says the book, ‘a riot of colour teeming with life and reminiscent of a mid-century “all-over” abstraction à la Jackson Pollock. A challenging photograph to create, the subject is in a remote and dark location, at a depth of 65 feet off the coast of Indonesia and somewhat protected by its UNESCO Natural World Heritage designation. A team of 12 divers was required to accomplish this mural, which is made up of multiple images electronically stitched together. Alarmingly, this spectacular coral wall is among the declining survivors of global warming and ocean acidification. Such habitats are falling victim to rising ocean temperatures, industrial pollution, dynamite fishing, and to urban development’

SATELLITE CAPTURE, PIVOT IRRIGATION NEAR BURAYDAH, SAUDI ARABIA: The book says: ‘Pivot irrigation produces the vast stretches of green crop circles that we see when flying over arid regions such as Saudi Arabia and the American Southwest. Water is pumped up from aquifers deep underground and distributed along lengthy motorised pipes. Sprinkler and row irrigation systems are much less efficient than pivot and drip irrigation because the evaporation rate is high in arid regions. Although the practice has dramatically increased food production, it is not sustainable; “fossil water” is limited and takes centuries to replenish. Many pivot-irrigated farms elsewhere have run dry as evidenced by the fading circles in this image’

PIVOT IRRIGATION, HIGH PLAINS, TEXAS PANHANDLE, USA: Burtynsky used a ‘gyro’ to stabilise his camera to get this perfectly squared image, which was shot through a hole in the floor of a fixed-wing airplane

EROSION CONTROL, YESILHISAR, CENTRAL ANATOLIA, TURKIYE, 2022: The book says: ‘Türkiye’s landscapes are consistently at risk of topsoil erosion and desertification. Ambitious terracing programs such as this capture water and stimulate reforestation, thus successfully preventing erosive flooding’

BAY OF CADIZ, SPAIN, 2013: ‘The fantastic vermiculation [wavy lines cut into stone] of this marshland is a natural occurrence,’ the book says. ‘Nearby are old, largely abandoned salt pans that impose a more convenient geometry on the natural pattern. Like most salt marshes, this one has a rich biodiversity’

TAILINGS POND, WESSELTON DIAMOND MINE, KIMBERLEY, NORTHERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA: ‘This boldly elegant study in shades of grey is kimberlite, the waste material from diamond mining,’ the tome explains. ‘A conveyor belt, which looks here like the stem of a chrysanthemum, brings tailings to pour down in long petals into the waste pond’

URALKALI POTASH MINE, BEREZNIKI, RUSSIA: The book explains: ‘About 350 metres below the Russian city of Berezniki is a 3,000-kilometre-long tunnel system created by potash mining. The variegated rosette patterns are the bore marks of giant tunnelling machines that chew up the stratified mineral. The red colour is the sediment of ancient sea life, the effective ingredient in this powerful fertiliser’

CERRO PRIETO GEOTHERMAL STATION, SONORA, MEXICO: The books says: ‘Cerro Prieto is a volcano south of Mexicali near the Colorado River delta. Since 1973, electricity has been generated here by harnessing the heat from the molten magma beneath the Earth’s crust. Geothermal electricity is a relatively clean renewable energy. In this case, however, the steam produced by pumping water into boreholes drilled into geothermal hotspots activates turbines to generate electricity also produces hot, mineral-rich water. The artificial lakes seen here allow the minerals to settle so that the water may be recycled. In recent years, the area has seen an increase in health complaints from people ingesting the briny vapours’

SALT LAKES, BIRD TRACKS, YARISLI LAKE, BURDUR PROVINCE, TURKIYE: The book explains: ‘This turquoise saline lake in southwestern Türkiye attracts about 140 different species of migratory birds, including large flocks of flamingos. They come to feed on the nutrient-rich alkaline water and leave behind the erratic filigree [delicate] patterns of their steps that we see here. These will be washed away when the weather begins to cool and the lake is replenished’

CANOLA FIELDS, LUOPING, YUNNAN PROVINCE, CHINA, 2011: The book says: ‘Here we see a surreal scene of storybook mountains and monochromatic monoculture, industrial farming… that leads to high yields at the cost of soil degradation, reduced biodiversity and a heavy reliance on polluting chemicals’

SUPER PIT, KALGOORLIE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, 2007: The book says: ‘The Fimiston open pit, known locally as “Super Pit”, is a 600-metre-deep gold mine. It was the largest in Australia until it was surpassed in 2016. Nevertheless, it remains a popular local tourist attraction with a lookout over the operation. Sightseers come to view these deep excavations, also known as open cast or open cut pits, to behold the exposure of millions of years of geologic time’

PIVOT IRRIGATION / SUBURB, SOUTH OF YUMA, ARIZONA, USA: ‘Looking like a diagram on parchment, this sparse suburb on the edge of Yuma shares an arid plain with neighbouring farmland,’ the book says

LITHIUM PROCESSING PLANTS, ATACAMA DESERT, CHILE, 2017: The book says: ‘Lithium can be found in rock or in ocean brine, such as in the aquifer beneath the scorching Atacama Desert, where the concentration of the ultra-light metal is particularly high. The driest non-polar place on Earth, the Salar de Atacama is challenging to reach because of the hard, razor-sharp, tire-lacerating salt crystals that cover it. Highly volatile and flammable, lithium is a hazardous material that must be handled with great care. It is transported in liquid form from here to the coast for further processing, then shipped to its surging world markets. A bi-product of the lithium extraction process is fertiliser, seen here covered in blue tarps. The reddish section is a higher-quality fertiliser’

COAL MINE, NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA, GERMANY: ‘This German lignite, or “brown coal” operation, is an extreme example of strip mining,’ the tome reveals. ‘In the distance, the world’s largest autonomous vehicle chews up the landscape to reveal the cheap, but dirty, fuel that keeps the powerplants of central Europe humming and its people warm in winter. Whole villages and highways have been lost to the search for low-cost coal. Last year, the government of North Rhein-Westphalia announced that it will phase out the use of coal by 2030’

CLEARCUT, PALM OIL PLANTATION, BORNEO, MALAYSIA, 2016: The book says: ‘The fabled rainforests of Borneo, the third-largest island in the world, are shrinking fast. Administratively divided between three countries – Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia – Borneo is a major producer of tropical lumber, which is clear cut and replaced with oil palm plantations. Highly versatile, palm oil is used in everything from processed foods to lipstick. Anyone in the world who regularly reads ingredient labels will know it well. Deforestation, such as we see here, is a major cause of global warming, soil degradation and species extinction’

SAW MILLS, LAGOS, NIGERIA: ‘Makoko is the informal settlement we see here at the east end of Lagos,’ says the book, ‘the largest city in Africa. A third of Makoko is built on stilts well into the city’s eponymous Lagoon, the most polluted ecosystem on the continent. Nigeria’s lowland forests are disappearing fast to illegal logging, much of which ends up in Makoko’s sawmills. The deforestation that ensues enables the expansion of agriculture to feed the industrialised and oil-rich country’s booming population’

CHUQUICAMATA COPPER MINE OVERBURDEN, CALAMA, CHILE: ‘This is the largest open-pit copper mine by volume in the world, and the second deepest,’ the book reveals. ‘Accounting for 29 per cent of the world’s copper production, Chile is the largest exporter of this extremely useful metal’

ROCK OF AGES, ACTIVE SECTION, E.L. SMITH QUARRY, BARRE, VERMONT, USA, 1992: The book says: ‘Established in 1880, Rock of Ages is the world’s largest “deep hole” granite quarry. The dimension stone mined here is known as “Barre Gray” granite for nearby Barre, Vermont. Used primarily for funerary monuments, its fine grain is also popular among sculptors’

GREENHOUSES, ALMERIA PENINSULA, SPAIN: The book says: ‘A large proportion of Europe’s off-season fruits and vegetables come from this peninsula on the Mediterranean coast of southern Spain. Formerly arid scrubland, since the 1960s it has gradually become the world’s largest concentration of greenhouses. It relies on an abundance of sunlight, a dwindling aquifer and plenty of chemicals for its remarkable yields’

POLDERS, GROOTSCHERMER, THE NETHERLANDS, 2011: Explains the book: ‘Over a quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level. Were it not for medieval engineers, 65 per cent of the country would be underwater at high tide. Polders, such as these erratically striped islands, are reclaimed marshland separated from the sea by a system of seawalls, dykes and sluices. The country’s famous windmills were erected to pump water back out to sea’

PUNTA GORDA, CHARLOTTE COUNTY, FLORIDA, USA, 2012: The books says: ‘This is a detail of Charlotte Park, a neighbourhood of Punta Gorda, Spanish for “fat point”. The neighbourhood juts out into an estuary on the west coast of Florida. The Gulf of Mexico region is famously prone to hurricanes, but this community is somewhat protected from surging storm water by a thick mangrove forest whose deep roots stabilise the coastline. Over the last century, however, this estuary has lost up to 60 percent of its vital mangrove forests to urban development. The vermicular street plan was designed to maximise water frontage for as many homes as possible’

This incredible shot, highly commended in the Coastal category, shows the moment a lightning bolt struck off the coast of Sussex. Writing about his love of photographing the sea on his website, photographer Jamie Fielding comments: ‘The sea presents nature in its rawest forms, from still and gentle to wild and powerful’

Commended in the Classic View category, this glorious image shows the river of Cowside Beck weaving through the landscape near Arncliffe village in the Yorkshire Dales. It was captured in the light of the evening by photographer Martin Priestley 

Martin Priestley captured this wintry scene, which is highly commended in the Classic View category. Titled ‘Dales Mist’, it shows the view from a hill known as Beamsley Beacon on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Martin says he likes the way the building in the frame ‘was highlighted by the sunlight, and also framed with autumnal trees’

This magical shot shows the landscape leading up to Ashcombe Mill, Sussex, under a pink haze. Highly commended in the Classic View category, it was captured by photographer Lloyd Lane 

This autumnal shot of the ‘Tu Hwnt I’r Bont Tearoom’ along the River Conwy in Llanrwst, Wales, is commended in the ‘Youth – Classic View’ category. It’s the work of young photographer Llewelyn Thorold

This atmospheric shot, captured by Guy Corbishley, shows early morning mist over the River Thames, ‘abstracting London Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast’. The picture is commended in the Cityscapes category

Belgian photographer Julien Delaval takes the top prize in the Classic View category with this beautiful image. It shows The Needle, a rock formation on Scotland’s Isle of Skye, on a November morning 

This enchanting image shows Glastonbury Tor in Glastonbury, Somerset, emerging from the morning mist. Taken by Adam Burton, it is highly commended in the Bird’s Eye View category

Lightning strikes the Solent, a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Britain, in this vibrant image, captured from the hamlet of Lepe along the Hampshire coast. Photographer Stuart Bennett comments: ‘The old boathouse at Lepe looks out towards the Isle of Wight with a storm overhead. A brief lull in the torrential rain allowed me to capture a shot that I’d been thinking about for a few years.’ He says that ‘fighting the wind and the rain’ proved the most challenging part of capturing this shot. The picture is commended in the Coastal category

In this eerie photograph, taken from the banks of the River Tamar in Saltash, Cornwall, the Grade-listed Royal Albert Bridge disappears into the fog. Captured by Elizabeth Coles, it’s highly commended in the My Railway Journey category 

This evocative photograph shows locomotive 7029 Clun Castle hauling the Cumbrian Mountaineer Express north on the Settle-Carlisle Railway over Cumbria’s Arten Gill Viaduct. Photographer Matthew James Turner remarks: ‘Standing alone in the pouring rain for this picture was definitely worth it once the train arrived, as the stormy conditions and powerful steam trail combined to create a timeless railway scene.’ The shot is highly commended in the My Railway Journey category 

Bamburgh Castle along the Northumberland coast pierces through the fog in this remarkable picture by Alan Leghtley. It is commended in the ‘Classic View’ category

Shropshire’s Highley Station, a stop on the Severn Valley Railway, is illuminated by lamplight in this shot by Rebecca Lammas. It’s commended in the My Railway Journey category

In this image, Richard Bowden captures ‘intense light shining through a rainbow arch’ onto the base of Arkle mountain in the Scottish Highlands. The picture is highly commended in the Classic View category

This serene picture has earned Aaron Northwood the title of Young Landscape Photographer of the Year.  Titled ‘The Wishing Tree’, it was taken near the town of Craven Arms in Shropshire. Commenting on the image, awards founder Charlie Waite says: ‘The graceful arc and slant, the detail of every delicate branch, the supportive, appropriately vague adjacent hedges, and the snow dusting around the trunk base all deliver nature’s beauty to us to our immense satisfaction. Look carefully to see the suggestion of a rook or crow in the top left-hand segment’

Dorset’s Corfe Castle Station is the subject of this moody photograph by Tony Cowburn, which is commended in the My Railway Journey category

A rainstorm rolls over the landscape of Scotland’s Assynt region in this powerful picture by photographer Ben Lateu-Smith. He notes that Assynt ‘experiences all kinds of weather throughout the year’, adding: ‘This particular rain storm appeared as quickly as it vanished, saturating the mountains along the way.’ Lateu-Smith reveals he was on a ‘very cold and wet’ wintertime camping trip when he took the shot, which is highly commended in the Change in the Landscape category

This breathtaking image shows the Enys Dodnan Arch near Land’s End off the coast of Cornwall. Photographer Ewan Chen notes that when he captured the photograph, the weather was ‘dramatic’ with ‘short bursts of light breaking through the clouds’ and a ‘visibly incoming hailstorm’. The image takes the top prize in the ‘Coastal Views’ category in the youth section of the contest

LEFT: This eye-catching shot by Peter Thompson shows a full moon rising behind the top of the Shard skyscraper in London. It’s commended in the Cityscapes category. RIGHT: ‘As sea stacks go, North Gaulton Castle on the west coast of Orkney’s mainland is hard to beat,’ says Adam Burton of the subject of this epic photo, which is commended in the Coastal category. ‘At 170ft (52m) high, this incredible stack is a monster and yet to look at it from this angle you could be forgiven for thinking it is incredibly delicate and about to crumble into the sea,’ he adds. ‘However, the angle is deceptive… its depth is around four times greater than its width’

This brilliant photograph of the ‘iconic’ Burnham-on-Sea lighthouse, captured by Colette Hood, is highly commended in the ‘Change in the Landscape’ category 

Drumroll… this is the photograph that has earned Mik Dogherty the title of Landscape Photographer of the Year. It shows the aftermath of a heath fire near Beaulieu in the New Forest National Park, Hampshire. He says that the charred branches in the frame were later ‘mostly devoured by the New Forest ponies and cattle’ 

Landscape Photographer of the Year – Collection 16, published by Ilex Press, is on sale now for £35. The picture on the cover, showing Thurne Mill in Norfolk, is commended in the Classic View category. Setting the scene for the image, photographer Jay Birmingham says: ‘On this particular morning, the water was still and a mist hung over the [River Thurne].’ He adds: ‘As I took the photograph, a bird flew into the scene on the right-hand side, completing the moment of tranquillity.’ The image is commended in the Classic View category

Commended in the ‘Landscapes’ category, this otherworldly photograph by Alan Johnstone shows a misty morning in Binning Wood in East Lothian

This picture by photographer Glenn Murray shows Gairloch Church in Northwest Scotland in the late afternoon. Murray says: ‘The pre-setting sun provided this rich, saturated scene.’ The image is part of a wider collection that is highly commended in the ‘Portfolio’ category 

Titled ‘Going Up’, this picture by photographer Graham Niven shows a waterfall ‘defying gravity’ on the Isle of Skye. It’s from a collection of images that are highly commended in the ‘Portfolio’ category 

This atmospheric picture shows Ardmair Beach near the village of Ullapool in Northern Scotland ‘under leaden skies’. Commended in the ‘Seascapes’ category, it’s the work of photographer Rob Sutherland

The ferocity of Storm Brendan, a storm that struck Scotland in early 2020, is captured ‘raging’ against the ‘ballast bank’ earth bank in the town of Troon, South Ayrshire, in this dramatic shot by photographer Stuart Strachan. It’s a runner-up in the ‘Seascapes’ category 

A runner-up in the ‘Landscapes’ category, this dreamy photograph shows ‘trees appearing through a cloud inversion at sunrise’. It’s the work of Marc Pickering

This enchanting shot by photographer Robert Quig shows mist over a cluster of lochside trees. It’s from a series of images that are highly commended in the ‘Portfolio’ category 

This glorious shot from Quig’s portfolio shows ‘a splash of sunlight’ on Luskentyre beach on the west coast of Harris, in the Outer Hebrides, ‘prior to a stormy weather front approaching from the north’

Commended in the Seascapes category, this stunning aerial shot by photographer Bill Crookston shows a rocky beach at the southern end of the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute 

Appropriately titled ‘White Out’, this cleverly-composed picture of a snowstorm in Aberdeen takes the top prize in the Urban category. Photographer David McLauchlin points out the person ‘casually walking across the road’ in the image, ‘seemingly unconcerned’ by the snowy weather as they look at their phone

LEFT: Describing this breathtaking image, photographer Grant Bulloch says: ‘A day of passing snowstorms provided a backdrop to the oil platform on the far side of the Firth of Forth.’ Bulloch adds that the picture was taken from the slopes of Arthur’s Seat, a hill in Edinburgh, using a special telephoto lens. It’s commended in the ‘Seascapes’ category. RIGHT: Commended in the ‘Landscapes’ category, this spectacular image was captured by Steven Oates at the Corrieshalloch Gorge in Braemore. Oates says ‘an early morning, summer visit’ to the gorge was ‘rewarded with a fast-flowing and full falls, mist, and some striking rays from the low rising sun’

Commended in the ‘Seascapes’ category, this painterly photograph by Mark Ferguson shows waves crashing against the sea cliffs of Yesnaby on the west coast of Orkney Mainland island 

This moody shot of St Andrews Harbour by Graham Hutchison, titled ‘City Lights’, is commended in the ‘Urban’ category 

Fog spills over Craigmore hill near the Perthshire village of Aberfoyle in this powerful shot by photographer Richard Fox. It’s part of a series of images that is highly commended in the ‘Portfolio’ category 

LEFT: This enchanting photograph forms part of Erik Lornie’s ‘highly commended’ collection of images in the ‘Portfolio’ category. Titled ‘Winter at Loch Gamhna’, it shows a beautifully soft orange sky in the ‘afternoon light on a peaceful winter’s day in the Cairngorms National Park’. RIGHT: The sunrise brings a beautiful amber tone to this striking photo of the Needle, a 37m- (121ft) tall rock in the Quiraing on the Isle of Skye. It is part of a wider portfolio by Jos Pannekoek that is highly commended in the ‘Portfolio’ category

This magnificent shot – a second image from Jos Pannekoek’s highly commended portfolio – shows Stac Pollaidh mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland behind radiant reeds bathed in ‘golden light’, with a ‘beautiful rainbow’ overhead

Almost tropical in appearance, the turquoise waters of Farr Bay on the north coast of Scotland can be seen in this brilliant shot by Calum Hamilton, which is highly commended in the ‘Seascapes’ category 

‘I left Inverness at 8.30 in the fog and rain as this was the first time in Torridon I was out for some photos and new locations,’ says photographer Arthur Mitchell, describing the story behind this magical image of a Highlands fisherman’s hut. The photo forms part of his commended portfolio

Steve Marson recalls capturing slender Downy Birch trees ‘in the rising sun on a wintry autumn morning beside the River Dee’. It’s from a collection of images that are highly commended in the ‘Portfolio’ category 

This dynamic photograph from Steve Marson’s highly commended portfolio shows ‘challenging conditions on the west coast of Lewis’, with ‘dramatic seas and skies’ 

Captured by Alan J Bain, this charming shot of Edinburgh’s Circus Lane ‘caught in an early morning snow shower’ is one of a collection of images that is commended in the ‘Portfolio’ category 

Autumnal trees are reflected in the waters of the Union Canal on a foggy morning in Linlithgow, a town in West Lothian, in this richly-coloured shot. Taken by David Queenan, it’s from a collection of pictures that are highly commended in the ‘Portfolio’ category 

This striking photograph is the handiwork of photographer Ian Bowie, whose body of work is highly commended in the ‘Portfolio’ category 

Another image from Ian Bowie’s highly commended portfolio, this image shows the Harris mountain landscape in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The photographer says: ‘I’d been expecting conditions to be fine and, with light showers forecast, I headed up An Clisham hoping for a sunrise over these little but impressive range of summits’

This shot was commended in the ‘Portfolio’ category, with photographer Bob Davis saying he was ‘struck by the juxtaposition of the washing line against the industrial harbour’

Finn Curry captured this striking photograph shortly before the arrival of a storm. It’s one of a series of photos that have been named runner-up in the ‘Portfolio’ category

This magical winter-time scene, featuring the mountain of Buachaille Etive Mor in the Highlands of Scotland, was captured by overall winner Brian Pollock. He describes the snowy landscape – captured from his perch on the nearby peak of Beinn a’Chrulaiste – as ‘pristine’. The picture is from a collection of photographs that also take the top prize in the ‘Portfolio’ category 

This transfixing picture, taken by overall winner Brian Pollock, shows the mountain of Binnean Beag (foreground) and the peaks of the Grey Corries in the West Highlands ‘as light breaks at the edge of a rain storm’