Desertification is the persistent degradation of dryland ecosystems by variations in climate and human activities. However, as the trend of urbanization increases, the demand for resources only grows bigger, drawing more and more resources and leaving behind degraded lands that easily succumb to desertification. One of the latest humanitarian crises has been declared in countries that have been dependent upon resources provided by lake Chad, where lake water gets quickly replaced by inhospitable sand dunes, destroying fishing and farming communities. - the roots of trees hold the soil together and help to reduce soil erosion from wind and rain. Due to unfavorable conditions, plants grown on these damaged soils strive and often do not produce sufficient yields. Unable to grow crops, farmers had to leave their villages in search of better lands. c. Engine mechanical problems They are home to more than 2 billion people, so it is clear that many of these areas are farmed, even though they are very fragile and can easily turn barren. Lands turn to desert due to a number of reasons, but much of the desertification that is occurring around the world today is caused by human activity on lands that are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and improper agricultural methods. b)One hot, dry summer. #1 Overgrazing Overgrazing and desertification have been always closely linked together. If biodiverse ecosystems disappear, we will be left with pollution, drought, hunger and lack of resources. Overgrazing causes vegetation to be removed, causing soils to be exposed to water and wind. While the main reason for desertification of the Sahara lies in slight changes of the Earth’s orbit, which affected the intensity of the monsoonal rains in the area, early farmers might have been to blame as well. But we couldn’t be more mistaken, for desertification is slowly creeping up into our lives and has the power to change everything. The reasons why this has happened are longer periods of droughts and the overextraction of water for irrigation and mining projects [12]. Hot deserts are an important ecosystem with distinct characteristics and adaptations. There have been many records of water scarcity and pollution problems that are linked to desertification or other forms of land degradation across dry African and Asian countries. Desertification is a process of degradation of the land. When ecosystems cease to support us and our livestock, only bad things happen. c)Rerouting a river. But trying to provide for more people easily results in overexploitation of available resources, even if unwillingly. Overgrazing has become a problem that has escalated into an ecological and agricultural collapse in the country. Pretty much every continent has some dryland area that is currently threatened by desertification if no immediate preventative measures will be taken. Greentumble’s writer Deogracias has described how is the problem of deforestation linked to the livelihood of some people in his country, Malawi. In areas of low precipitation, like Sub-Saharan Africa, long droughts that turn arid land to unproductive, barren soil are a … Still, as a process, it can be as much man-caused as natural and therefore is one of the natural hazards best suited for mitigation by those who plan, implement, and manage regional development efforts. One third of the land surface on Earth has fallen victim to desertification and according to the estimates, another 12 million hectares (approx. d ) overly responsive design . There are many historical accounts of how various people groups throughout human history experienced collapse of their civilization as drought and desertification occurred to their lands. Loss Of Hair Cells In The Cochlea. These irrigation methods often lead to a buildup of salt in soils. It is no wonder, that throughout history, desertification events have been a major driver behind migrations of large human populations. The Aral Sea used to be the world’s fourth largest saline lake until 1960s, when the Soviet government diverted the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, which have been feeding the lake with fresh water. In places where there are developments in mining and tourism, people are attracted by jobs. • To encourage teachers and students to act locally to combat desertification. Why Is Biodiversity Important to Ecosystems. This list of causes and impacts of desertification is just a brief fraction of the whole scope of such an extensive problem taking place on our lands every day. Human causes: the misuse of water and soil mainly for agriculture produces an alkalization of soils causing plants to die and not grow in place, which causes soils to dry out. After some time, no vegetation remains to prevent soil from blowing or washing away. By Lauren Carlson | January 24, 2014 In the film, “Hope in a Changing Climate,” reviewed last month, there is a discussion of overgrazing leading to soil desertification.But how does this happen? Another common problem of the crop cultivation in vulnerable areas is the employment of improper irrigation methods, such as canal irrigation. However, it is the paradox of life that especially in these vulnerable regions, animal herding is often the only livelihood people can have and there are no restrictions in place that would regulate the maximum number of animals for a given space. Desertification affects the livelihoods of millions of people, as it occurs on all continents (except Antarctica). Home to a third of the human population in 2000, drylands occupy nearly half of Earth’s land area. Desertification is caused by a number of different issues. D) streptococci. And it was good they did, because since then, the area they have been cultivating became one of the biggest deserts on Earth – the Sahara Desert. Increased salinity happens because irrigation water mobilizes naturally occurring salt in these soils. It is the spread of arid areas caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change (particularly the current global warming) and overexploitation of soil as a result of human activity. -decrease precipitation. Perform CPR. Growing crops in this way can improve the quality of the soil as it is held together by the roots of plants and protected from erosion. Local communities that used to live by the lake rich with fish and biodiversity, live now only amidst dust, pesticide pollution and scorching heat. Do you know what that means? However, the main reason why desertification goes widely unnoticed is that 90 percent of people affected by this phenomenon currently live in developing countries, mainly in Africa and Asia, and belong to the world’s poorest [4]. Not many people realize this when walking on the streets of their city or some magnificent tourist resort, but in order to build these structures, original ecosystems had to be irreversibly wiped out. A sad example of the destructive power of such a mismanagement is the drying out of the Aral Sea. More people means higher demand for natural resources (including water(!) The deterioration of land in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas due to changes in climate and human activities is termed: desertification. For example, up to 50 percent of the Canadian Prairies spreading over Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are likely to battle with some of the negative effects of desertification in the upcoming years. After all, history tends to repeat itself, so perhaps the story of the Maya could serve as a warning sign for us. Desertification is a process by which fertile land is transformed into desert as it becomes progressively drier and unable to support any plant growth for food production. Nongonococcal urethritis can be caused by all of the following EXCEPT A) Mycoplasma homini. Once the overexploitation takes place, desertification often follows, leaving behind only barren land and misery for those who haven’t left. But Collobrative effort s are needed especially from the powerful nations of the world leaving behind their egotism. Be it true or not, unfavorable conditions still forced early people to leave their homes and everything they were familiar with. FRIGHTENING FACTSIn Nigeria, overgrazing and over-cultivating are converting 351,000 When people gather and keep too many animals in one area, grasses start dying because their roots are often weakened by animals constantly stepping on them and plucking out newly re-growing parts before plants have time to grow resistant enough and to multiply. There have been numerous cases when overgrazed areas of land became severely damaged. The loss of land to desertification has major impact on many places on our planet today and is expected to affect humanity even more in the future as population numbers will grow bigger and the availability of natural resources will decline. If they fail to do so, they will become extinct for their inability to cope with a sudden change of their environment. Read more about us. Topsoil is crucial for plant growth because it contains most of the organic matter and 50 percent of important nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium. An increased population is putting greater pressure on the environment for resources such as wood and water. They provide opportunities for development but also cause challenges such as desertification. Without plants stabilizing the soil and slowing down the runoff, rainwater flows faster and floods human settlements in the blink of an eye. Lack of water to support farming and desert sands encroaching villages are already causing trouble to rice farmers throughout the regions of northern China. E. This means that the original ecosystem of these lands is well-adapted to withstand dry seasons during which plants enter so called summer dormancy, a temporary cessation of growth, in order to preserve themselves, only to turn green and strong as soon as rains come again. Vegetation plays an important role in cleaning our water. All of the following are causes of desertification except A. poor farming techniques B. one hot, dry summer C. growing populations that use natural resources D. long, sustained climate shifts Examples of civilizations that met their doom due to droughts include the Carthage Civilization, the Harappan Civilization, people groups in Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, and people groups in Ancient China [22]. Superb Article . How does overgrazing cause desertification? As the population in desert areas increases, there is a greater need for fuel wood. You can read the whole story here to get a better understanding about the situation in this developing country and reasons why preventing desertification gets difficult in some areas. As the soil dries out, it hardens, and it becomes difficult for any rainfall that does occur to penetrate below the soil’s surface. Additionally, artificially added water also rises otherwise low groundwater level which in turn dissolves even more salts [7]. B) Candida albicans. With significantly reduced rainfall, drought occurs and triggers problems such as failing harvests, drying creeks and boreholes, poor pasture that weakens livestock, and more frequent outbreaks of wildfires that destroy remaining vegetation. Furthermore, through the use of unsustainable irrigation techniques, salt concentration can also rise in many cultivated soils, rendering the soil useless for growing crops or other plants. Population growth is the primary cause of soil erosion. The war that has been going for nearly a decade now [18,19,20]. However, something that we don't hear so much about is that over recent years there has been an Top Answer. B. interpersonal relationships. The situation in Mongolia is alarming, particularly because this land degradation has taken place just recently. For example, the destruction of the native tropical forest in the Indus Valley opened up a pathway for the desert to claim more and more land, leading to the doom of the Harrapan Civilization. By their very nature, arid and semiarid ecosystems are characterized by sparse or variable rainfall. Once the soil is degraded and the precious nutrients are lost, only infertile and lifeless swaths of land are left behind. According to model simulations ran by the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the end of the Mayan empire probably happened due to prolonged droughts caused by cutting down the rainforest to expand their cities and plant crops to feed their growing population [9]. It occurs because of man-made activities and climate change. D. work demands. is the process of land turning into desert as the quality of the soil declines over time. Defining desertification has been a continuing problem. When livestock eat plants down to the roots, the plants grow short, unsustainable roots and eventually, the plants will stop growing altogether. While desertification certainly leads to these problems, they can also be its cause. - an increasing population results in larger desert areas being farmed. )Water pollution can be caused by all of the following except. In many instances, these people go to larger cities, hoping for better life by finding a new livelihood. We are working hard to improve our content. Their loss to buildings and other infrastructure is, therefore, rather wasteful. Iran is a country that has been suffering of this problem. When the land is cleared of trees, the roots of the trees no longer hold the soil together so it is more vulnerable to. The problem of worsening desertification doesn’t have to be linked only to agricultural lands, unsustainable water management happens even in cities and tourist destinations that are build in arid or semi-arid areas. As we continue to remove natural vegetation from landscapes, we change radically the water absorption capacity of soils. Under circumstances like these, people often overextract water from available resources like creeks, rivers or even groundwater to irrigate the crops. As you may have noticed, desertification problems are often related and lead to one another. D. demand inflexibility. That doesn’t sounds like such a bright future, does it? Forests are being cut down at much larger scale than ever before, to be used as fuel, to provide products we use in our daily life, or to simply create more space for agriculture to sustain growing human population. Man has no control over weather and macroclimate, but he does have control over microclimate. • To provide teachers with a solid educational foundation on the theme of desertification. You can see this wonderful resilience of the plants in Serengeti. This means that natural resources, which are continuously needed for the proper functioning of any densely inhabited area, have to be taken from the surrounding environment. Desertification reduces the ability of land to support plant life. 56. And when you think about it, it’s just a natural reaction of any living organism to survive – “fight or flight.”. Countries affected by desertification do not have to be located only in hot regions of the world because it is the local climate and land use that shape the health of the land. Loose soil buries plants or exposes their roots to the sun, so they cannot fulfill their function. This leaves the soil exposed to erosion. As soon as livelihoods are endangered, people turn against each other, which sets in motion series of events that lead to the collapse. Salt buildup on cultivated lands, then, makes it difficult for crops and other plants to grow, further exacerbating degradation of these lands. Desertification - causes and prevention strategies. They are the ones who have seen the ugly face of desertification slowly reaching their doorstep, and they are the ones who are also witnessing how fast sand and dust consume even more land every year. A low or discharged battery. Work stress can be caused by all of the following EXCEPT A. promotion. Greentumble is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. What is the key to their success?https://t.co/179Z5AnYTw pic.twitter.com/Qw7hXuBBQK. These places often draw high amounts of groundwater from natural aquifers, not letting them naturally replenish and eventually facing water scarcity just like Cape Town in South Africa. The . Flooding is not the only problem, sand storms are another big issue, mainly because wind-blown particles (including those that are polluted) can travel long distances and cause health problems to people even in distant urban areas. It is these problems that pressure people to slip into the vicious cycle of repeating all the previously listed causes of desertification–actions which naturally open up the door to the ecological catastrophe of irreversible land degradation. They can cope with incremental challenges and adapt, but beyond a certain tipping point they collapse. All that is left of the lake is just a large salt desert. This is what makes the reversal of the process extremely difficult. Because of ambitious cotton farming projects in the dry Aral Sea basin that needed irrigation. This lesson, which is titled Desertification Caused by Human Activity, covers the following objectives: Recognize the importance of the top layer of soil Examine the results of desertification The region currently faces extensive desertification caused by numerous factors. Build Up Of Wax In The Ears. Across the world, desertification affects the livelihoods of millions of people who rely on the benefits that dryland ecosystems can provide. - this is made worse by overgrazing and the removal of wood. As mentioned previously, grasses and other perennial plants also prevent water runoff by slowing it down and promoting rainwater infiltration into soils. Formerly, the second largest lake in Bolivia filled with diversity of fish and birds had completely dried up just in the span of three years, 2014 to 2017. Desertification is caused by a combination of factors that change over time and vary by location. As cities expand, more land in the vicinity is used for the development projects. Not only that up to 6 million people suffer of hunger in the Chad Basin recently, they are also terrorized by Boko Haram, one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world. - the global climate is getting warmer. This is exactly what has been happening in the Sahel. Since 1990s, when the lack of jobs due to the breakup of the Soviet Union forced people to rear livestock as their only possibility to earn money [6]. Introduction. -increase temperatures near the surface. Plants and trees function like natural water filters, storing pollutants, such as heavy metals, pesticide residues, fertilizers and other, in their own bodies. The word ‘desertification’ may seem like a word depicting a very distant and abstract environmental problem that most of us do not consider being important in our daily lives. This is fundamental to the understanding of what desertification really is and how it can be controlled and rehabilitated. That means also less rain throughout the year. The main causes of desertification include: Desertification can be reduced by adopting the following strategies: Our tips from experts and exam survivors will help you through. For 50 years, large herds of livestock grazed over the Syrian steppe until the effects couldn’t be overlooked anymore. With less permanent vegetation that would help retain moisture in soils and with less moisture evaporating into the air from plants, less clouds form in that particular area. c)Growing populations that use natural resources. If this occurs long enough, it leads to extensive desertification. Desertification is the process of land turning into desert as the quality of the soil declines over time. Just look at previously mentioned examples, they all point to this conclusion. Drylands, the most susceptible areas to desertification, are characterized by a scarcity of water during certain periods of the year. These are huge numbers and huge level of dependency upon these lands that should not fail us. These include indirect factors such as population pressure, socioeconomic and policy factors, and international trade as well as direct factors such as land use patterns and practices and climate-related processes. This leads to increased sedimentation and eutrophication–both processes disturb aquatic ecosystems and deteriorate water quality. Additionally, if the land is used for grazing at this stage, it only results in a quicker loss of plant species and total degradation. With plants dying, already scarce rainwater gets washed away instead of being drawn into the soil, which only scales up the problem as remaining plants do not have enough moisture to survive dry spells as they used to. Higher food prices, water availability, violent conflicts for land, migration, increasing poverty, pollution from wind-blown dust particles coming from distant lands, could be the outcomes of desertification if we let it consume more of our planet. Besides, while preparing the soil for sowing, natural vegetation that holds the brittle soil in place is removed, letting the last bits of the productive soil layer fully wear away in just a few short seasons. The loss of fertile land to desertification has brought an end to many majestic civilizations throughout the human history. We live in a world where climate change is often a hot topic of discussion. Unfortunately, desertification is a proof that in some places, we have reached this tipping point. For example, China’s autonomous region of Ningxia owes its existence to the Yellow River, which has been the only life giver to communities of rice farmers in this arid land that is encircled by sand dunes. We need abundance of plants and animal species richness to have oxygen to breathe, clean water to drink and nutritious food to eat. d)Long, sustained climate shifts. Let’s have a look where it all started and what are the consequences. The following are some of the primary causes of desertification in our world. One of the biggest transitions that has forced first farmers in the early Holocene to abandon their lands happened when their previously fertile lands started to turn drier and drier. We are a couple of environmentalists who seek inspiration for life in simple values based on our love for nature. Boko Haram is believed to constitute of young people deprived of livelihood possibilities due to constant disputes over disappearing water among diverse ethnic groups, inhabiting the area [17]. Deforestation is one of the leading human causes of desertification. Which of the following is NOT an operational problem that you will learn in this text? In general, desertification is caused by variations in climate and by unsustainable land-management practices in dryland environments. And the land of the dry lake basin became a saline desert where nothing grows on its own. This means that affected areas and even adjacent areas have compromised capacity of withstanding extreme weather events. Sheep, cattle and goats are overgrazing the vegetation. The document further goes on examining the serious and complex web of problems that have arisen from worsening land degradation of the earth’s drylands, which are home to 2,000 million people, comprise of 44 percent of all the world’s cultivated land and should sustain 50 percent of the world’s livestock [13]. What remains left is only a lifeless pile of dust instead of a life-giving medium. Species that once lived in a fertile and productive climate may not survive in a newly desertified region. a)Urbanization. Let us know if you liked this article. Sadly, the very same process continues to threaten the existence of at least 1.5 billion people (mainly from developing countries) until the present day [1]. This includes natural filtration of water for drinking, climate regulation, recycling of nutrients, carbon sequestration, soil regeneration. Desertification is the process of land turning into desert as the quality of the soil declines over time. Desertification makes natural disasters worse because it reduces natural resilience of ecosystems. Events such as flash floods, landslides and dust storms, become stronger in areas with heavily degraded soils. Sign up to view the full content. The link between soil erosion and other consequences of desertification only confirms this, as erosion is another negative outcome but also a catalyst of previously mentioned problems. Desertification is a serious form of land degradation that results in the destruction of natural ecosystems and the end of services they provide for us. Extended droughts, prolonged flooding or sudden extreme changes in temperature can deplete food sources of species causing starvation. Furthermore, additional problem arises from the space problems. Land degradation due to urbanization has affected strongly many countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, Spain and other places with hot climate, where urban and tourist areas spread along the rivers or coastlines, sealing these lands and pushing farming away onto marginal lands, which will only accelerate their desertification over the time [11]. So much could be written about the effects of climate change on the health of our lands, as climate change can lead to land degradation for many reasons, and it is very often climate change that exacerbates the progress of desertification in increasingly many places. C. pay increase. Since small subsistence farmers do not have the means to ward off sand dunes crashing their houses and burying their crops, all they have left is to gather their possessions and leave. Microclimates can change, for better or worse, depending on man's interventions.