Causes Of Desertification

Today, there is less than half of Australian’s arid zone environment used for farming. Majority of the farming in the arid zone of Australia is for either sheep or cattle, with only a few small, irrigated crops scatted throughout the area (Kaul 1971). As a result, this report will focus on other countries such as North, South and Central America, Africa and Asia (Creswell & Martin 1998). (Please note, Asia’s arid zones are known as a ‘dry zones’, but for this report the generally term ‘arid zone’ will be used).

When I am writing this essay, Jiangsu province is suffering from the most serious drought from last 50 years. Suzhou, a city should have been rainy. But I almost have not seen rain since I come to Suzhou. “Climate changes caused by human activities, most importantly the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and deforestation, are superimposed on, and to some extent masked by, natural fluctuations.”(Hamburg, S. et al, 1997) Due to these violent human activities, those kinds of extreme phenomena are becoming much more popular than before. Human burning countless fossil fuels recklessly lead to too

Now, humans have a steady food supply so they do not have to move about. Therefore, people use fences to keep their animals in one place, which causes overgrazing. Today we see many subjects being affected by desertification. Ute Schaeffer reports the affects of desertification in, Down to Earth: News & Views on Desertification,“(doc.3) It has presented a challenge for governments and aid agencies in over 110 countries for some time, and is a contributing factor in poverty and regional conflicts, for example in Sudan. It has also been a major issue in Egypt, where 90% of the country’s land mass is desert. Faced with a rising population, the government has had to undertake a number of settlement and irrigation projects to create additional living and working space.” Necessary changes were made in order to adapt to the conditions of the desert and the obstacles that have to be faced. It is always presumed that there are only negative aspects to deserts but this isn’t always the case. There is a side to the Sahara desert that acts as a home to several living organisms. The Sahara has vegetation and access to water, which allows life to exist in this region. The Nile Valley, for example, is an area that is still quite full of foliage, trees and other growing things. This area is an exception, because of the way it is fed by the Nile River. Another area of the Sahara that has some vegetation to it is in the North, along the Mediterranean where olive trees grow

The main industry is the agricultural sector which completely depends on the climate. There are strong linkages between poverty and environmental degradation, particularly poor water management, soil erosion, declining soil fertility and land degradation. In addition, the effects of climate change are undermining an already fragile resource base and have contributed to declining agricultural yields over the past decades. In recent years, drought has become a perennial problem in parts of Kenya. Episodes in 2009 and 2011 generated food emergencies, while flooding in 2010 affected parts of the country severely.

In addition, Darfur’s terrain can be classified into four individual sections: mountains, basement rock, watercourses, and sand. In Darfur a large amount of the arable land consists of goz (soil sediment where vegetation grows). Goz can be useful for farming but primarily offers land for grazing herds. Then, through a process the land around the watercourses and the goz makes the land fertile. Each year the land becomes less arable. Also desertification (process that includes arable land decreasing and the desert area increasing), deforestation, the drought and over use of the land have fueled the conflict between various tribal groups. This has caused most of Darfur’s population to become dependent on the southern region. The lack of fertile land is causing the

Drought can occur for many different reasons. Drought mostly occurs by not receiving rain or snow for a prolonged period of time. This can occur if wind patterns change. Humans can also cause drought by cutting down broad areas of trees resulting in the soil in the ground being unable to hold water, a great example of this is the dust bowl of the

The dust bowl is another name for the southern plains of the United States which suffered from severe dust storm during the 1930s. As high winds stormed through Texas, Nebraska, and other states many people died and millions of dollars were suffered in damage. During this period of time, the United States was suffering the effects of the Great Depression and this dust storms worsened the actual economic status of the United States. Many people were forced to leave their homes and move to other states in search of a better way of living. The dust bowl was caused by many reasons but the biggest reason is the excessive use of land

The dust bowl was a long period of time of severe dust storms that created major damage in the ecology and agriculture. During the 1930’s there was a severe drought and failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent wind erosion. During the drought of the 1930’s all the dry soil turned into dust which the strong winds blew away in huge clouds that sometimes made the sky turn black. The “black blizzard” or “black rollers” traveled across the country reaching as far as the east coast and hitting major cities. Some of the most important causes of the dust bowl were the major drought and wind erosion.

First, wind is a very powerful thing that can carry sediments. Wind can even break down trees! According to the article Wind vs Dirt by Birdbrain Science it states “This is the wind blowing a little bit of sand. Sandstorms happen when the wind carries lots of sand into the air and whips it across the desert.” To explain, wind can create storms with sand and other sediments. Sandstorms are like tornadoes of sand it’s dangerous to be near them. In the article Wind vs Dirt by Birdbrain Science it states “ Dust storms happen when the earth gets very dry and wind carries a lot of dust into the air. The dirt can get in people's eyes and mouths, and it can kill crops. “This means that, wind can be very dangerous not only to the areas it affects but the people in that area. According to, BirdBrain Science, “Wind is usually the one thing that causes weathering. It starts to break apart rocks and chip.”Wind is strong enough to smash rocks up against other rocks.That is why wind is a very powerful resource

Desertification is the change of land once suitable for agriculture into a desert. This progression changes arable land into a desert unequipped for the growth of crops and farming practices. Dry land affects millions of people lives because the land becomes unsuitable for agriculture so the people cannot grow crops, therefore, they cannot feed them self or their livestock. Which leaves the people without food. Desertification also causes problems in the food chain. Three main causes of desertification are drought, deforestation, and Overgrazing

Climate change is a rising issue of importance in our day and age, and one that is threatening our global society on many levels. In the past few decades, scientists have discovered that our planet’s climate has been changing at an alarming rate. The way in which we have changed the land to

There are a variety of causes held responsible for the water crisis in Africa. These causes have been taken from African’s control and desperately need to be solved. Climate change is one of the countless reasons that there is a high demand for water in Africa. An article entitled “Africa’s Water Crisis Deepens” written for the 2006 News Scientist, states that Drought, famine and spreading deserts have plagued Africa for the past 30 years. With the expansion of desertification, the process in which land becomes increasingly dry with little to no water resources, areas of land have dried out and are useless to humans due to the lack of rainfall on the African continent over the past several years.

Drought is another factor of climate change that causes severe damages to agriculture and livestock. The effects of drought on agricultural production and livestock holding can be a detrimental issue and result in quality dissatisfaction of products. The agricultural industry can be affected by drought both economically and environmentally. The economical effects of drought on crops and animals can lead to the loss of money and time. When droughts occur farmers lose money because they will have to spend more money earned from their

Desertification is a term few people recognize and even fewer are concerned about. This paper will cover what desertification is along with why it is a global crisis, what the root causes of desertification are, what can be done to reverse the harm full desertification process, it will also cover how farmers can work together to prevent future desertification.

Significantly, desertification also cause soil erosion, which means soil surface is worn by wind and water. Desertification makes soil easy to erode by water or wind, as soil is exposed and soil structure is instable without forest. LaI R(2003) says that ““Land area globally affected by erosion is 1094 million ha (Mha) by water erosion, of which 751 Mha is severely affected, and 549 Mha by wind erosion, of which 296 Mha is severely affected.” To control soil erosion, an obvious way is virescence, enlarging forest cover, which can protect the soil far from exposing to strong wind. Also, the roots of plants under ground play a role as a framework, as they are obstructions to soil movement,