Content Curator
Desertification is the degradation method by which a fertile land changes itself into a desert by losing its flora and fauna, this may be caused by drought, deforestation, global climate change, human activities, or improper agriculture.
- It may be a process of degradation of the land.
- It happens as a result of semisynthetic activities and global climate changes.
- This process takes place once a specific form of community converts into a desert community.
| Table of Content |
Key Terms: Desertification, Land, Area, Drought, Environment, Dryland.
What is Desertification?
[Click Here for Sample Questions]
Land degradation in drylands within which biological productivity is depleted because of natural strategies or suffering from human consistency, leading to fertile areas turning progressively dry is considered as the process of desertification.
- It's the unfolding of arid areas elicited by varied factors, such as temperature changes like heating and overutilization of soil ensuing from human actions.
- Throughout the history of earth science, the evolution of deserts has transpired naturally.
- In recent times, the potential impacts of human action, improper land management, deforestation, and weather variation on desertification are a topic of research.
Read More: Environmental Issues MCQ
Impacts of Desertification Process
[Click Here for Sample Questions]
Around 250 million people's lives are suffering from drought and desertification.
- This process has the potential to displace nearly one hundred thirty-five million individuals by the top of the year 2045, thereby turning into one the foremost devastating natural hazards for humans.
- As dry lands cowl nearly 1/2 the ice-free land surface, it's the potential of impacting several of the poorest countries in the world.
- The United Nations Environment Programme records that the process of desertification has reworked 36 million sq. kilometers of land and is a very important international observance.
- Consistent with the UNC (United Nations Convention), major policy interventions and changes in management approaches are indeed required to combat desertification.
- Such arbitrations ought to be performed from native to world scales, with stakeholders' and native communities' active involvement and commitment.
Read More: Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming
Causes of Desertification Process
[Click Here for Sample Questions]
Desertification is caused by many problems. Natural occurrences and human hands will provoke or spark the desertification process. In regions of low precipitation, like geographic areas, prolonged droughts that flip arid land into childless, barren soil area unit a continuing reason for the geologic process.
- Drought alters everything, farming chances as well as food and water security, increment, and migration.
- Drought exasperates impoverishment, which is already an associated event in several desert countries like African countries, Ethiopia and Senegal.
- Many people in these areas are inadequate to confront what causes this process without correct formation.
- Soil erosion plays a major role in desertification.
- It converts liveable areas into deserts.
- One-half of the land's productivity has become quite small because of eroding and desertification processes.
- This explains desertification as a result of depletion of diversity , degradation of the soil, and alteration within the life system.
- Overcropping or over-cultivation has become another reason for desertification.
- Soil nutrients are drained and become blank in areas wherever farmers overuse and overharvest earlier productive land.
- In Nigeria, over-cultivation could be a major issue threatening its citizens living who depend upon agriculture on nearly unproductive land.
- The excessive amounts of manure and pesticides to maximize crop yields within the short term usually ends up in vital depreciation of the soil.
- At the end of the day, this could transmute the fertile land into associated arid land.
- It may change to not being appropriate for farming functions since the soil becomes detrimental over time.
- Hence the excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers also are the cause of desertification.
- Overgrazing of domestic animals is another vital reason for desertification.
- Before farmers would graze domestic animals by relocating the animals to a close area, however, this can not be the case for long.
- Animal grazing in a very perpetual area affects the restoration of the plants in that area.
- Overgrazing makes the soil unusable because the land is insufficient to stay up with the needs of animals.
- This can be a major menace in most regions, like in central Asian rangelands, like Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
- Climate change is another vital issue that plays a huge role in desertification.
- As the native climate is dynamical speedily, several places are experiencing regular droughts, leading to ultimate desertification.
Read More: Biomagnification
Measures to Stop Desertification
[Click Here for Sample Questions]
Deforestation, drought, and temperature change contribute to the intense world issue referred to as desertification. The result of desertification is dry and unproductive land that can't be accustomed to growing food or crop or for alternative agricultural functions. Prevention strategies are required because the method of restoring already barren and broken lands is expensive and has a tendency to possess comparatively unsuccessful yield.
- Firstly water and land management may be followed to stop desertification. Proper practices are at the center of the prevention measures. Overgrazing, deforestation, irrigation, and alternative damaging soil practices have to be checked and controlled regularly.
- Secondly, protecting the soil from water and wind erosion helps stop environmental services loss throughout droughts. Another key issue is different farming and industrial techniques that are less demanding on native land and natural resources use, like dryland cultivation for fish production and industrial compounds, limit desertification.
- Lastly, establishing economic opportunities outside drylands and unpacking new opportunities for individuals to earn sustenance, like urban growth and infrastructure, may cut back and stir pressures bearing the desertification strategies.
Read More: Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
Desertification in India
[Click Here for Sample Questions]
According to the survey conducted by Government, the data recently conferred to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), India lost 5.65 million hectares or can say 31%, of pieces of ground space within a decade.
- Population growth, soil erosions, overgrazing, removal of wood, etc. are all the necessary factors that have caused desertification in India.
- Between 2003-2005 and 2011-2013, 26 states experienced a rise in the level of desertification in India.
- As per records, over 105 million hectares, or concerning 32% of India’s areas have degraded due to desertification.
Read More: Human Impact on the Environment
Things to Remember
- Degradation of the land in drylands when biological production has been reduced as a result of natural processes or human actions.
- Research has recently focused on the possible effects of human activity, poor land management, deforestation, and weather variance on desertification.
- Prolonged droughts that turn dry terrain into childless, barren soil are a constant cause of the geologic process in low-precipitation places like geographic areas.
- Drought changes everything, including farming opportunities, the security of food and water, population growth, and migration.
- Drought exacerbates poverty, which is already a known phenomenon in many arid nations like Ethiopia and Senegal in Africa.
- Desertification is a serious problem across the world that is exacerbated by deforestation, drought, and climate change.
- Dry, unproductive terrain that cannot be used to produce food or crops or for other agricultural uses is the outcome of desertification.
Sample Questions
Ques. Explain desertification in detail. (3 Marks)
Ans. Desertification is a type of land degradation that decreases ecosystems’ natural potential and renders rural populations food shortage vulnerability, weather vagaries, and natural disasters. It affects 2/3 fraction of the countries and 1/3 fraction of the earth’s land surface, where more than one billion folks reside. It doesn't concern natural deserts and solely transpires ashore, which is exposed to desertification. It leads to persistent degeneration of dry land and fragile ecosystems because of human-made activities and changes in climate.
Ques: What are the lead causes of desertification? (3 Marks)
Ans: ‘Human activities’ and ‘Climatic variations’ may be considered the 2 main causes of the process of desertification. Drought, Global climate change, and loss of moisture across the world are the explanations clubbed underneath climate variation. Overgrazing, removal of natural vegetation, deforestation, and agricultural activities within the vulnerable ecosystems of arid and semi-arid areas, are so strained on the far side of their capability. These activities are triggered by an increase in population, the impact of the economy, and economic conditions.
Ques: What are the consequences of desertification? (2 Marks)
Ans: Desertification reduces the power of the land to support life, and affects wild species, sheep, agricultural crops, and other people. The reduction in plant cowl that accompanies desertification results in the accelerated wearing of soil by wind and water.
Ques: Compare and tell the difference between Drought and Desertification. (3 Marks)
Ans: Desertification and drought are closely connected phenomena. Over the years, drought can convert massive areas and have severe social, economic, and environmental consequences. Whereas drought may be a phenomenon whose outcomes may be intense by human activities that don't seem to be at home with the native climate, land degradation is the method of adjusting fertile land into less or non-productive land. In acute cases in dry lands, this is often termed desertification. Land degradation and desertification are difficult aspects induced by un-adapted acts combined with land and environmental condition coercion. Inappropriate use of lands like monocultures, deforestation, unsuitable agricultural practices, and overutilization of water sources will generate land degradation that may be exacerbated by drought.
Ques: State some consequences of deforestation. (3 Marks)
Ans: Deforestation can have subsequent consequences:
- It can cause a shortage of wood and alternative food products.
- It can cause a rise in the temperature of the earth's atmosphere resulting in global warming.
- Deforestation can cause wear of soil, creating unfertilized land and causing desertification.
- Deforestation can cause frequent flooding of rivers resulting in loss of life and property.
- Deforestation affects the water cycle resulting in a decrease in rain. The decrease in rain lowers the water table and will cause droughts.
- Deforestation results in the extinction of many wild animals and plants.
Ques: Why is desertification a problem? (2 Marks)
Ans: About 1.2 billion folks are in danger from this process as deserts expand and degraded drylands cowl getting ready to 1/3 area of the world’s land area, the United Nations estimates. As per the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the speed of desertification is dashing up. Approximately one-third of the land within the U.S. is tormented by desertification and a quarter of Latin America and The Caribbean. Africa is the worst affected continent; with 2/3 fraction of its land being either desert or dry lands.
Ques: How will desertification have an effect on the economy? (2 Marks)
Ans: The impact of desertification on the socio-economic lifetime of rural households results in a discount in crop and animal production, further inflicting, domestic animal deaths, and a rise in the costs of foodstuffs. Folks migrate as a consequence of drought and desertification to urban areas or to alternative rural areas.
Ques: How will desertification be stopped? (3 Marks)
Ans: Desertification may be reduced by adopting totally different ways. One in all of them is by planting a lot of trees – As the roots of trees hold the soil along and facilitate cutting back wear from wind and rain. The opposite strategy one will accept is raising the standard of soil, this may be managed by encouraging folks to cut back the quantity of grazing animals they need and grow crops instead. The animal manure may be used to fertilize the crops fully grown. Growing crops like this will improve the standard of the soil because it can help control along by the roots of plants and be guarded against erosion. This kind of farming is a lot more profitable and preventive. Another necessary strategy is water management. This is often done by storing water in earth dams within the wet season, so it may be used to irrigate crops throughout the season.
For Latest Updates on Upcoming Board Exams, Click Here: https://t.me/class_10_12_board_updates
Check-Out:
Comments