DESERTIFICATION

Rana Audi

JINAN UNIVERSITY

Definition

Historical Backgroun

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Causes Effects

Countermeasure and

prevention

DEFINITION:- -More than 100 formal definition.- 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.- land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities (UNCCD).- the process of fertile land transforming into desert typically as a result of deforestation, drought or improper/inappropriate agriculture (Princeton University Dictionary).

process by which previously biologically

productive land is transformed into

wasteland.

CLASSES OF DESERTIFICATION USED IN MAPS PREPARATIONS:-

SLIGHT•Little or

no degradationof soil and plant cover

MODERATE•25 to 75

percent of original topsoil lost

•soil salinity has reduced crop yields 10 to 50 percent

SEVERE•erosion has

removed all or practically all of the topsoil

•Soil salinity has reduced crop yield by more than 50 percent.

VERY SEVERE•land has

many sand dunes or deep gullies

•salt crusts have developed on very slow permeable irrigated soils

Trade wind

Midlatitude

Rain Shadow

Types of Deserts

Coastal

Monsoon

Polar

HistoricalBackground

- Became well known in the 1930 although the term itself was not used until almost 1950.- Formed by natural process interacting over long interval of time. - It has played a significant role in human history.- The first worldwide effort to call attention to the problems and potentials of arid regions was in 1950’s decade.- Drylands occupy approximately 40–41% of Earth’s land area and are home to more than 2 billion people.- It has been estimated that some 10–20% of drylands are already degraded, the total area affected by desertification being between 6 and 12 million square kilometres, that about 1–6% of the inhabitants of drylands live in desertified areas, and that a billion people are under threat from further desertification. . North America and Spain have the largest percentage of their arid lands affected.

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- Farming becomes next to impossible.- Hunger and poverty.- Flooding.- Poor Water Quality.- Overpopulation.

Countermeasures and prevention ??

- Reforestation.- Developed Biodiversity Action Plans.- Restrict human activities that increase global warming.BARRIER

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TO SUM UP…

Desertification is a huge problem that needs to be addressed accordingly, and if we take the time to do it now, we can prevent other problems from happening with it in the future. By taking that critical look at desertification, we have the tools that we need in order to get through the processes effectively.