- There are a variety of factors that cause the issue of desertification. ...
- United Nations predicts that within the next 10 years, 50 million people in the drylands will be displaced due to desertification. ...
- Approximately 2 billion people rely on and live in dryland area climates.
What happens during desertification?
The UN has defined desertification as a “diminution or destruction of the biological potential of the land which can lead ultimately to desert-like conditions.” Desertification can occur when extended periods of drought in arid, semi-arid, or dry sub-humid areas — known as drylands — sap the land’s productivity until ...
What is true about desertification?
Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid .
What desertification means?
The United Nations’ official definition says desertification is land degradation in typically dry areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities . ... Many things can cause desertification. Drought, overgrazing, fire, and deforestation can thin out vegetation, leaving exposed soil.
What is desertification in very short answer?
Desertification refers to the process of fertile land becoming unproductive . This means that the land struggles to grow any type of vegetation due to lack of minerals and nutrients in the soil.
How can desertification affect humans?
Land degradation and desertification can affect human health through complex pathways . As land is degraded and deserts expand in some places, food production is reduced, water sources dry up and populations are pressured to move to more hospitable areas. ... the spread of infectious diseases as populations migrate.
What are the benefits of desertification?
Combating desertification yields multiple local and global benefits and helps fight biodiversity loss and global climate change . Efforts to reduce pressures on dryland ecosystems need to go hand in hand with efforts to reduce poverty as both are closely linked.
How can desertification be prevented?
- Planting more trees – the roots of trees hold the soil together and help to reduce soil erosion from wind and rain.
- Improving the quality of the soil – this can be managed by encouraging people to reduce the number of grazing animals they have and grow crops instead.
Why is desertification a problem?
* Desertification is mainly a problem of sustainable development . Its causes include over-cropping, over-grazing, improper irrigation practices, and deforestation. Poor land management practices such as these often stem from the socioeconomic conditions in which the farmers live, and can be prevented.
Why is desertification bad?
Desertification affects topsoil, groundwater reserves, surface runoff, human, animal, and plant populations . Water scarcity in drylands limits the production of wood, crops, forage, and other services that ecosystems provide to our community.
In what four ways is desertification harmful to human?
Four areas affected by desertification
Rain-fed croplands , which experience unreliable rainfall and wind-driven soil erosion. Grazing lands, which are harmed by overgrazing, soil compaction, and erosion. Dry woodlands, which are plagued by the overconsumption of fuelwood.
What is desertification and types?
Desertification is a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly arid , typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife. It is caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities.
Where is desertification occurring today?
Africa is the simple answer to the question: where is desertification happening? More specifically, desertification plays its largest role in the grasslands of East Africa , the Kalahari Desert and the Sahara Desert. These regions span over 65 percent of the land.
What are some examples of desertification?
Additional savannas, grasslands, and woodlands are common indications of desertification in arid and semi-arid areas. Well-known examples of this occurrence include, Europe’s Adriatic Sea, the Middle-East’s Saharan desert, and China’s Taklamakhan Desert . Sand dunes are formed in the Sahara Desert in the image above.
What is desertification class 8 short?
Desertification is a process of degradation of the land . Desertification is the degradation process by which a fertile land changes itself into a desert by losing its flora and fauna, this can be caused by drought, deforestation, climate change, human activities, or improper agriculture.
How does desertification affect the society?
“The [result is] declines in crop and livestock productivity, loss of biodiversity, increasing chances of wildfires in certain areas . Naturally, these will have negative impacts on food security and livelihoods, especially in developing countries.”
