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desertification

            
             Desertification occurs when humans use the land to an extent that it becomes vulnerable to erosion by wind and water. These include:.
             -Cultivation of land with unsuitable terrain or soils.
             -Deforestation without adequate replanting, done for farming use.
             -Improper soil and water resource management - leads to increased erosion, salinisation and water logging of soil.
             -Overgrazing - too many livestock on too little land area.
             The problem is mainly because of the increasing intensity of land use associated with rapid population growth and high population densities. Poverty is a related issue, as the poor are often forced by their desperate situation to exploit the lands beyond what would normally be considered as a sustainable level of use. When coined with prolonged periods of below average rainfall, famines are often the tragic outcome. Land degradation and incidence of famine are two of the major factors contributing to the increasing problem of environmental refugees. .
             Africa is particularly vulnerable to land degradation. In the harsh climate, marginally productive land easily becomes sterile. Prolonged droughts, lasting for two to three years, are common over two-thirds of the continent. Even in "normal" years, rainfall is very unreliable and is some seasons it does not occur at all. Throughout much of he region rainfall has been below average for the last 15 to 20 years. Some experts argue that this prolonged drought reflects a change in the region's climate, brought about by the large-scale removal of the natural vegetation.
             The spread of deserts is not limited to Africa - it is now a global problem affecting two-thirds of the world's nations. It impacts of the livelihood of at least 850 000 000 people. The earth's poorer nations are not the only ones affected, although they may be the worst off. It is estimated that 1.7 billion tones annually is either washed or blown away each year.


Essays Related to desertification

1. Desertification

... climate harsh. The economic impact is horrendous, with a loss of more than $40 billion per year in agricultural goods and an increase in agricultural prices. Climatic changes can trigger the desertification process, but human activities frequently are the proximate cause. Overgrazing of livestock strips the land of grasses. According to a UN study, about 30% of earth's land - including the 70% ... into the soil to provide moisture for plants. Even long-lived plants that would normally survive droughts die. As protective plant cover disappears, floods become more frequent and more sever...

  • Word Count: 688
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Future of the Great Plains

... these lands but far more today than 50 years ago. As time has passed, the land has become more and more vulnerable to erosion and desertification. These transformations have been caused by over-grazing and droughts. If these problems are not addressed, the Great Plains may one day, more or ... , some changes need to be made by the people who live on them. Agriculture and rangeland practices are the main causes of erosion and desertification. Some effects of agriculture and rangeland practices on the environment are, but not limited too, the over-grazing of pastures by large and small ......

  • Word Count: 1489
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Human Pressure on Desert Environments

... leaving us with an even drier environment. Between 1991 and 2000, rainfall in Andalusia fell by 9.5%. As the climate gets hotter there's increased risk of forest fires, causing deforestation and desertification. High temperatures and low rainfall have reduced surface water resources – fewer plants can grow (soil erosion). Over cultivation-nutrient content of soil is reduced to the point where it ... 's no longer productive – 80 million tonnes of topsoil is lost each year in Andalusia because of intense cultivation of olive trees. Over gazing is reducing vegetation cover, causing deser...

  • Word Count: 1593
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Water in the Wrong Places

... such as food sacristy, health issues and poverty which are all interlinked in many developing countries, particularly in the regions where freshwater resources are scarce. Desertification is another leading contribute to the loss of water. It is an unfortunate side effect from poor use of water. "It refers to the persistent ... degradation of dry land ecosystems by climatic variations and human activities." (Scientific Facts on Desertification) Water is the most vital component of life and without water we would cease to exist. So why then do we take advantage of something so ... water...

  • Word Count: 736
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Human Movement in the Sahara Desert

... on ecosystems (Nabi, A., 2012). The majority of human activities occur in areas of the Sahara closest to water (Tachi, R., & Giron, M., 2012). Currently, desertification is the major effect from human movement in the Sahara Desert (Tachi, R., & Giron, M., 2012). Desertification is a form of land degradation in which land becomes more arid, losing water, soil fertility, vegetation, and animals (Tachi, R., & Giron, M., 2012). It ... the inhabitants of the desert are nomads, cattle, sheep and other animals possessed by the nomadic people need to be fed/grazed. Over-grazing is an issue wit...

  • Word Count: 1175
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. development in mongolia

... : 2002: 11). The Global discourse at the time linked the tendency of individual herders to maximize the size of their herds to the increasing levels of desertification. The blame for this wasput directly onto the herders, as a result of their presumed mismanagement (Fratkin: 1997: 34) The ADB (Asian Development Bank) ... there was little regard for environmental concerns in Mongolia and as a result, the country is seeing increased water and air pollution, deposits of toxic wastes, desertification, deforestation, groundwater depletion, soil erosion, and overgrazing (ADB, 2000). Problems f...

  • Word Count: 2388
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Economic Considerations of Human Migration

... million people worldwide, with estimates of up to 20 million displaced in 2008 alone because of a rising sea level, desertification, and flooding.The report also notes that "migration can result from different environmental factors, among them gradual environmental degradation, including desertification, soil and coastal erosion and natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods or tropical storms." With all these environmental degradation ... ...

  • Word Count: 1064
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. Soil Erosion

... . The ongoing degradation of the earth's soils by human activity such as urbanization, deforestation, overgrazing of cattle, and poor agricultural practices has brought about irreversible consequences that may lead to desertification of an area. Erosion is the wearing away of material on the surface of the land by wind, water, or gravity. In nature, erosion occurs very slowly, as natural weathering ... is disturbed by manmade activities and soil erosion which cause the soil to deteriorate. Minerals are essential to the growth of plants. Without it, vegetation won't thrive leading to the ...

  • Word Count: 797
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. Overpopulation

... and south of the equator. In a small portion of the earth lies nearly half of earth's biological species, many endemic. The rapid rate of deforestation is erasing our bio-diversity. Desertification is closely related with deforestation. Again, forests are quite often cleared in an especially destructive manner, rendering them lifeless. This eventually leaves the land barren. Agricultural pressures are the other ... prime population-enduced source of 5 desertification. Increasing populations in developing countries drive people into drier and drier regions to farm. Attempting to farm in ...

  • Word Count: 3065
  • Approx Pages: 12
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

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